I decided to turn the Europe into a Europa Moth and sail it myself. Talking to people in the past they have said that the Euro makes a great Classic Moth. This boat needs a new plywood foredeck but is other wize perfect. It is VERY stiff and extreamly light, built buy Galletie in Italy. As far as I know it is one of 2 all wood euros in this country.

"While I was in the process of selling the boat I realized that the conversions to become a Classic Moth isn't that big of deal. So in turn I decided to keep the boat and race it as a moth just as soon as I find time to rebuild it! You guys were so helpful getting things together for me and I thank y'all a lot. You don't find that kind courtesy often these days and it's a nice change from what I'm used to. I have one more request though, can you tell me where I can get a copy of the class rules? That way I can figure out what I need to do! Also can you take my boat off the for sale list and thank everyone who helped me out.

Cheers and hope to see you on the water soon!"

Gary Van Tassell gwvt2@aol.com

From Walt Collins:The boom should be OK. We have looked at EUROPE's in the past. The only mod really required is to use a CMBA legal sail. The foils do not have to float to be legal. Tape on spars is only OK for local races. Nationals will require paint unless a special exemption is made. The owner will need to make a case to CMBA about the hardship painting would cause.

Walt

Gary,

I am the CMBA class measurer. I would be delighted to send you a copy of the rules and discuss the reasoning behind any areas where you have concerns. The rules can also be found on the CMBA Web Page in the section "What Are Classic Moths".

Your EUROPE has good promise as a CLASSIC MOTH. If the current deck and floatation tanks are substantially built, it may be possible to make a significant weight reduction during the restoration and end up with a hull near the minumum weight. A detailed inspection of the hull will be needed to assess this. The spars on recent EUROPES are no heavier than the spars we use so they need not be modfied. If your sail is in good shape, one of the local sailmakers, Dan Winters, can probably recut the leach and head area to make a legal CMBA sail for less than $100. The luff of your sail is cut to match the unstayed mast of the EUROPE. If you plan to replace the mast with a stayed rig, recutting the sail is probably not economically feasable. An inspection here will be helpful also. The main performance difference difference between the stayed and unstayed rigs shows up in light airs. The mast cannot be bent to flatten the luff curvature without closing the leach. For this reason pointing ability in light airs is sacrificed in return for additional power as the wind picks up. Also, the EUROPE has more wet surface than the narrower waterline designs some of us are sailing. Since EUROPE's are one designs, the whole fleet has these characteristics and competition is even. If the rig is not redone except for legalizing the EUROPE sail, You should expect to be most competitive in medium to heavy air.

Do you have a time schedule you would like to work toward to do the conversion/rebuild? I can come see the boat and talk to you as early as this Sunday evening. My phone number is XXX-XXXX. I look forward to helping you any way that you would wish.

Walt

11/23/1999:

Confirm the status of Subject Europe. It is at Joe's undergoing repairs in prep for delivery to Jerry Carter. The story about not for sale and the ad on the Buy And sell need to be amended.