Chilly Beneteau 31.7 North Sails Ireland 3Di Sea Trial Bears Fruit for Camira & Crew

17th April 2018

Peter Beamish (right) with the Camira crew at Dun Laoghaire Marina all set for a 3di Sail Trial on Dublin Bay

North Sails Ireland's Maurice "Prof" O'Connell had a chilly evening's test sail on Friday April 13th, unlucky 13th for Prof, as he had no foul weather gear!

The occasion was the unveiling of new sails on the Beneteau First 31.7 "Camira" in anticipation of the new DBSC season starting later this month.

Camira's new mainsail and light/medium no.1 genoa were both designed and constructed using North proprietary '3Di' technology.

Camiras new 3Di Light Medium No. 1 Genoa Camira's new 3Di Light Medium No. 1 Genoa on test on Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay Sailing Club skipper Peter Beamish, his team and Prof fitted the sails, set the correct mainsail batten tensions using built-in "wingtip" adjusters and headed out on a light airs Dublin Bay evening.

Camira's new mainsail and light/medium no. 1 genoa were both designed and constructed using North proprietary "3Di" technology

Control systems (halyards, jib car positions, outhaul, cunningham) and rig adjustments (cap shrouds, lower shrouds, forestay) were adjusted with plenty of lively debate onboard.

Commenting after the session on "Camira", skipper Beamish said "Thank you, Prof for a fascinating few hours and see you next Friday" (when a further session with the North Sails man is planned).

Published in Beneteau 31.7

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North Sails Ireland

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Beneteau 31.7 sailing in Ireland

In Ireland, the Beneteau First 31.7 Ireland One Design Class Association encourages and develop the use of the Beneteau First 31.7 yacht as a one-design keelboat, mainly for racing.

Each year the association stages national championships with boats coming from different sailing across Ireland. The main centre is Dun Laoghaire Harbour where the bulk of the fleet (15 boats) are based at the National Yacht club but are moored at Dun Laoghaire Marina.

The Beneteau 31.7 boat is not new to Dublin Bay, as boats of this size and type have competed in DBSC in the Cruiser 2 class for some years.

However during the 2006 season, due to their increased numbers, DBSC granted the class its own racing start, thereby facilitating one-design racing for this cruiser/racer.

Since then it has become one of the biggest one-design keelboat classes on the Bay.

One-design rules were drawn up to discourage modifications, maintain a level playing field and set a generally ‘Corinthian’ ethos.

To preserve the cruising dimension, the boat races with cushions aboard.

Numbers entered in DBSC have settled down to approx 15-18 boats, and regular Thursday and Saturday attendances over the season are usually of the order of 14 to 16 boats, reflecting good participation by members. Racing is close and competitive.

In addition to scratch results, ECHO results are also posted. This combines the best of both worlds, providing one-design racing which the members like, while also providing an incentive and interest in turning out for those boats who may not always approach podium position on scratch.

At A Glance – Beneteau First 31.7 Specifications

L.O.A 9.61 m
Hull length 9.50 m
L.W.L. 8.80 m
Beam 3.23 m
Draught min (Deep draught keel) Cast iron 1.90 m
Ballast weight (Deep draught keel) 1 025 kg
Air draught (max) 13.90 m
Light displacement (EC) 3 750 kg
Fuel capacity 30 l
Freshwater capacity 160 l
Engine power 21 HP