The hull is produced from a female mould using pre-preg carbon fibre and a 5mm foam core. This allows the hull to be cured at high temperatues using minimal resin, giving an extremely light and stiff construction, weighing approximately 20lbs once painted.

The other parts of the boat are constructed as follow:

• The wing frame is made from pre preg carbon fibre tubes with hand laid joins.
• The Mast is made from 41mm High grade carbon fibre, and only weighs 4 lbs.
• The boom is a stiff oval carbon fibre tube weighing just over 2.5 lbs.
• The rudder gantry is carbon tube with hand laid joins.
• The spreaders are carbon sandwich.

The founders of Fastacraft, Garth and John Ilett in Perth, Australia, were the first to develop a two-hydrofoil system for the moth with active flap control for the main foil via a surface sensor called the "wand". When the boat is sailing in the low riding position, i.e the hull is touching the water, the wand skips along the surface of the water ensuring the hydrofoil is generating maximum lift. As the hull lifts out of the water the wand drops automatically changing the angle on the hydrofoil to reduce lift. This ensures that the hull stays out of the water and the base of the foil stays beneath the surface - if the foil were still generating lift the entire boat including foils would literally fly completely out of the water. Tuning this wand is an important part of foiling even the smallest adjustment can affect how the boat performs.

The inverted 'T' shaped centerboard foil has a movable flap on the trailing edge of the horizontal bottom part of the foil. The hinge within the trailing edge of the foil uses a thin laminate of Kevlar impregnated with a rubber like epoxy resin. The angle of this flap controls how much lift the foil generates. The flaps angle is controlled by a pin that runs up the trailing edge of the vertical part of the foil. The top of the foil is then attached through the FBOX to the surface sensor called the "wand".

The inverted 'T' shaped rudder foil does not have the same flap as the centerboard. Instead the angle of the entire foil can be adjusted by twisting the tiller extension. This adjustment can be used to fine tune the foiling characteristics of the moth while sailing.

KA have been developing sails for the Moth since 2001 which is before the arrival of the foiling moth. The sails are made from X-ply sail cloth which had great durability ensuring a long sail life. The monofilm has a large black weave going through it which not only makes the sail stronger but allows the film to be thinner resulting in less overall weight. Some of the sails features include:

• Longer foot
• Slightly hollow leach
• Wider luff pocket
• Refined shaping to optimize efficiency once on the foils
• Better range of downhaul tension without head distortion
• New profiled battens
• New mini battens
• More streamlined batten ends
• Symmetrical batten pockets

The fittings on the boat are a mixture of Ronstan and Harken. All of the control lines are made from spectra. The hydrofoil control cables are all marine grade, low friction and have quick release end couplings.

FINISHING

The moth class has been around in some form since the 1930s. Being a development class, the moth has evolved from a hull that could best be described as a heavy, narrow scow or a blunt nosed skiff, (weighing about 110 lb) to todays remarkable foilers with hull weights of under 25 lb.

The Class Associations includes fleets in more than 14 countries including France, the UK, the US and Australia. The 2008 Worlds held at Weymouth in the UK had 99 entries and the 2009 Worlds which is going to be held at Portland in Oregon, USA is anticipating many more.

The International Class Association (www.moth-sailing.org) has a great website filled with the latest news from around the "Mothosphere". They also have a good collection of images and videos as well as links to all of the Class Associations around the world. The US has a very active website with plenty of information about events and discussion about Moth sailing.