Moth Sail Development Background

The Moth sail design program sail design started reluctantly when Tim Webster asked Andrew McDougall to design him a Moth sail in 1995 for the Lake Macquarie World Championships. After some months of cajoling, Andrew finally agreed to make them from monofilm. Emmet Lazich also ordered one (much to Tim's disgust). The two of them took the top two places in the Australian and World Championships that year, starting a new era in cambered Moth sails.

As Andrew was no longer sailing a Moth, development of the sails was erratic at best until in early 2001 when, after a break of nearly 16 years, Andrew got back into Moths to have another crack at the World championships in Japan. After a lot of training through Melbourne's cold winter, Andrew only dropped one place since the last attempt (in 1985), to come a close third with his MSL5 design. As a result of the campaign, more development work was completed in six months around the 2001 World Championships than the previous six years.

Andrew sailing with the MSL5 in the 2001 Japan World Championships.

In December 2002, the MSL6 model was released with much anticipation from the international Moth fleet as it is a huge jump on all previous moth sails. It is noticeably and if not extremely easy to sail in moderate to high winds due to its low profile, low centre of effort and its ability to totally flatten off unlike any moth sail has ever done before.

In the light airs, it is just as efficient and adjustable, giving it the best performance of any of the KA sails to date. This theory was only reinforced at the 2002/3 Australian National Championships some three weeks later when Rohan Veal won the title and Andrew McDougall was third.

Rohan Veal and Andrew McDougall on the way to a first and third at the 2003 Australian Championships both using the MSL6.

In March 2003, the MSL7 prototype was designed, built and tested right here in Melbourne, Australia at our new sail loft showing huge improvements over the MSL6. Using a MSL7 production model, Rohan Veal finished 3rd in the 2003 World Championships held in France.

The MSL7 with square top head and low foot.

The MSL8 has a number of small changes over the MSL7 to improve on accurate sail adjustment, including screw in batten tensioners but more noticeably, the use of our new X-ply sail cloth to increase durability and sail life. Our monofilm now has a large black weave going through it which enables us to use a lighter weight film and therefore not only makes the sail stronger, but also reduces the overall weight by 500 grams. Rohan Veal used this sail to win the 2004 Australian National Titles in Lake Coothabra.

The MSL8.

The MSL9 was the biggest breakthrough however in terms of results and sales. The design was improved, luff round increase, seam shape decreased, head profile reshaped, clew raised and improved mini leach battens. The MSL9 filled 5 of the top 6 results at the 2005 Worlds not to mention 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th at the 2005 European Championships held in Lake Garda, Italy. In July 2006, the MSL9's also went on to claim 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall in the 2006 World Championships in Denmark.

The MSL9F as used by Rohan Veal to win the 2005 World Championships.

The MSL10 has had limited success so far against the MSL9's to date, due to the flatter design and the sail area reduction, now in place from the International Moth Class Association. However the MSL10 has been proven to be the fastest upwind sail on the market in anything from 18-30 knots of wind. It is also ideally suited to a sub 65kg helmsman that wants an all-conditions and bulletproof sail.

The MSL10 with distinctive hollow leach.

Due to the new size restrictions in place on any new Moth sails made after 1 January 2005, the MSL10 was the first batch of sails to be made by any sailmaker under the new rules. The 0.25m reduction in total area from the MSL9 meant that there was a challenge for the KA Sail design team to make the MSL10 just as fast by reducing drag. The result was fantastic for strong winds, however it suffered in light winds due to the flatter shape and shorter sail width.

We have since improved on this design with the MSL11 which was released in November 2005.

Scott Babbage finished 2nd overall in the 2006 Australian Championships using the MSL11.

Since November 2005, KA has built and sold more MSL11's than any other Moth sail ever made. It has also helped win three major titles in Australia, including the Australian National and both the Victorian and NSW State Championships.

In November 2006, the MSL12 was released as a slight upgrade on the MSL11. The changes included new colour scheme to reduce heat around the mast, black batten pockets to see sail shape better and a larger hounds fitting hole to allow for a wider range of masts to fit.