The Mystery Owner Of The Blaze Pearl Boat

The Blaze is a sailing boat designed by Ian Howlett and John Caig. It is built by White Formula, Cirrus Raceboats Limited, and Hartley Boats. The Blaze offers high performance while remaining simple to sail, with a comfortable cockpit and a powerful, easily driven hull. It has a stayed SuperSpar M7 or carbon mast and the latest Hartley sail, delivering usable power across a wide range of conditions. The Blaze also features a pivoting centreboard, eliminating the hassle of a daggerboard. The boat is known for its high speed, crisp handling, and blistering off-wind performance.

Hartley Blaze boat builders

Hartley Boats is the oldest business of its kind, providing build-it-yourself boat plans since 1938. Based in New Zealand, the company has sold plans for more than 100,000 boats, which have been built by enthusiasts worldwide.

Hartley Boats offers a wide range of boat plans, including sailboats, powerboats, catamarans, trimarans, dinghies, canoes, kayaks, surfboards, vintage powerboats, and self-steering capabilities. The company provides customers with full-size frame patterns and a variety of resources, such as books and study packs, to guide them through the boat-building process.

In addition to their extensive range, Hartley Boats is committed to innovation and improving their offerings. They acquired the Blaze, a high-performance single-handed race boat, and made significant improvements to its design and construction. The Hartley Blaze, as it is now known, features a stiffer floor and hull, improved wings, and a fully moulded bulkhead system, enhancing its performance and stability.

The Hartley Blaze has a length of 4.2 meters and a very wide beam, providing exceptional stability. This stability, coupled with its responsive helm and easy sailability, makes it appealing to both mature and experienced sailors. The boat's design allows for mistakes without capsizing, making it a forgiving and enjoyable vessel to sail.

Hartley Boats takes pride in their standards and build quality, offering a 4-year guarantee on their boats. They also provide a full boat handover to ensure customers understand how to rig and get the best performance from their new boat. With their expertise, dedication, and customer-centric approach, Hartley Boats has established itself as a trusted name in the boating world.

Blaze boat design

The Blaze is a powerful winged single-hander dinghy designed by Ian Howlett and John Caig in the mid-1990s. It features a well-developed 10 m2 sail and pivoting foils, making it highly suitable for shallow waters such as estuaries and lakes. The boat was originally built and marketed by Topper International.

The design of the Blaze focuses on performance and comfort. It has a sitting-out rack that provides armchair-like comfort and a 2.48m beam for better handling. The boat's rig includes a stayed SuperSpars M7 or carbon mast, with the latest Hartley sail offering a more tweakable and durable engine. All key control systems for the rig and centreboard are easily accessible from the rack, allowing for fingertip adjustments even during high-speed sailing.

One of the standout features of the Blaze is its pivoting centreboard, which eliminates the hassle of dealing with a daggerboard. This design innovation allows for stress-free sailing and easy manoeuvring, such as throwing a quick gybe without worrying about the foil fouling the boom. The boat's hull is designed for high speed and crisp handling, with a fine entry that flares into wide planing sections at the aft for maximum stability and outstanding off-wind performance.

The Blaze also prioritises racing comfort with its sheeting arrangements and open transom, providing a spacious racing area. The cockpit is self-draining yet maintains a comfortably deep area, catering to a range of sailors. The boat's high-efficiency power sail is a further refinement, resulting in superb handling, high efficiency, and controllable power.

The Blaze class is primarily concentrated in the UK, but boats can also be found in other countries. As of November 2007, there were just under 250 registered Blaze boats.

Blaze boat construction

The Blaze is a 10.4m² boat designed by Ian Howlett and John Caig in 1996. It has been built by Cirrus Raceboats Limited (Mk3 and Mk3a) and Hartley Boats (Mk4). The boat combines high speed and agility with a powerful, easily driven hull. It has a wide planing section aft for maximum stability and a comfortable cockpit.

The Blaze has a stayed SuperSpars M7 or carbon mast, with the latest Hartley sail, which offers a tweakable and durable engine. The rig provides usable power across a wide range of conditions. All key control systems for the rig and the centreboard are located in the racks, allowing for fingertip adjustment while sailing.

The Blaze features a self-draining cockpit that is comfortably deep, with sheeting arrangements and an open transom. Both foils are lifting, making sailing in shallow water stress-free. The boat has a pivoting centreboard, eliminating the hassle of looking after a daggerboard.

The Blaze's hull construction is made of Epoxy Sandwich, with Polyester used for the Mk1 and Mk2 versions. The outer racks and boom are made of carbon composite or alloy, and the mast is 6.5m long, made of Superspars M7 or carbon.

Blaze boat foils

The Blaze, a dinghy designed in the mid-1990s by Ian Howlett and John Caig, is a powerful winged single-hander with a well-developed 10 m2 sail. What sets the Blaze apart from other recent performance designs is that both foils are pivoting, allowing for centreboard adjustments from the wing, making it ideal for estuaries and shallow lakes.

The Blaze was originally built by its designers and marketed by Topper International from 1996. Over the years, the Blaze has undergone several design and manufacturing changes, with different companies taking over its production. One notable change was the abandonment of equalisation, where lighter weight helms were allowed wider rack widths but had to carry compensating lead weights.

The Blaze class is primarily concentrated in the UK, but there are boats in several other countries. The boat has a length of 4.2m, a wide beam, and a recently introduced sealed mast, providing a stable platform for sailors of all ages and experience levels.

The Blaze is known for its speed and responsive helm, making it a popular choice for those looking to join the fantastic Blaze fleet. The boat's design gives sailors extra time to correct mistakes, making it a forgiving and exciting boat to sail, especially upwind. The wide beam of the Blaze provides stability, offering sailors both speed and comfortable sailing.

The Blaze has a full class association that organises racing events and a well-attended National Championship each year. With its impressive performance and stability, the Blaze is well-loved by sailors, and its continued evolution by different manufacturers ensures it remains a competitive and appealing choice for sailors worldwide.

Blaze boat performance

The Blaze is a high-performance boat that offers a seamless sailing experience. Its design combines high speed with agile handling, housed in a powerful and easily driven hull. The boat's shape flares into wide planing sections at the back, providing maximum stability and exceptional off-wind performance.

The Blaze is equipped with a comfortable and spacious cockpit, ensuring a secure sailing experience. Its sitting-out racks provide ample space and comfort, while its 2.48m beam offers excellent leverage to manage the powerful rig. The boat's mast, made of SuperSpars M7 or carbon, stands at 6.5m, and its sails are designed by Hartley, optimising performance across a range of conditions.

The Blaze's control systems are conveniently located on the racks, allowing for easy fingertip adjustments even during high-speed sailing. Its self-draining cockpit is thoughtfully designed, providing a comfortably deep area while maintaining instant self-draining capability. The boat's open transom and sheeting arrangements further contribute to its impressive racing comfort.

One of the Blaze's standout features is its pivoting centreboard, eliminating the hassle of managing a daggerboard. This innovation allows for stress-free sailing in shallow waters and effortless launching and recovery. The boat's sail design is also noteworthy, utilising a 'moderate square top' configuration to deliver superb handling, high efficiency, and controllable power.

Overall, the Blaze is a sophisticated and versatile boat, offering a unique blend of performance, comfort, and ease of use, making it an excellent choice for sailors seeking a high-performance sailing experience without compromising on convenience and control.

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