My first hour of moth sailing

Doug Halsey graciously lent me his moth for a little demo sail. Now I need to get my own.

[@johnmoss8044]

There are very few things more satifying than watching a sailboat fly past a powerboat running flat out on Narragansett Bay on wind power alone.

[@jaysparc]

You got just enough of a taste in that first leg, then that high speed one sealed it. For those who don't sail, going fast is addictive.

[@mijnaduister5288]

Very much so!!

[@jmdibonaventuro]

In my experience, sailing in general is addictive. You are correct in saying speed is the most potent member of the sailing family. If it weren’t the companies behind 49ers, Moths, and Race Scows would soon go out of business, along with almost every competitive sailing tournament.

[@Tintenfinger]

Wonderful video, thanks for sharing! I’m approaching 73 years of age, still rather fit for my age (with the exception of my knee joints), and have been wondering if I should try foiling before I die. I am thankful for doing 5 knots in my 4-ton steel yacht (which, since 1979, after sailing the »Pirat« class, 470 and 505, has taken me to all kinds of places in the German Bight, Scotland, Denmark, England and the Channel Islands), but this kind of sailing seems to be an otherworldly experience. Very motivating, Seth!

[@rabidcougar6465]

Try before you die? How about try if you want to die.....LOL!

[@shanemartin8904]

i think youre a little old. Thanks for the question

[@mijnaduister5288]

Great, do try!!

[@blacksquirrel4008]

I’m 70 next year and thinking the same thing. Perhaps a catamaran?

[@james5553]

foiling A class?@@blacksquirrel4008

[@BosonDaddy]

Nice job Seth. That cracked me up. I'm shopping for my first moth and expect a similar first hour!

[@redrover9988]

That thing really sings when you get it going. It really stops quickly also when you dig a wing in. Nice job, enjoyed watching you.

[@jamescaldwell5]

Thanks so much for sharing this. A small hydrofoil sailboat is on my bucket list. The pros make it look so easy. Seems like some temporary pontoons on the edges of the trampolines (parallel to the haul) could be very helpful for beginners. You were doing better than I expected if you really haven’t done it before.

[@user-sv9je7bz4j]

Boat salesman: ...and here's a sailboat that is always trying to kill you in open water. This guy: I'll take it.

[@stuartwallace6154]

Even the older moths were ridiculously unstable and difficult to get going as for the foiling one's....well done 👏👏👏

[@dacarls]

It really helps that Doug tuned her up for you. Really. My experience was that the foil & rudder adjustments were either broken or wrong, nothing properly adjusted. Eventually.........it got better.

[@r.williamcomm7693]

The man in the arena.

[@HHF3D]

Maybe a new title - my first hour swimming lol - looks like it is a good laugh ! may have to give it a try some day - well done !

[@jonneville2287]

I remember doing this a lot back in the '70's when first starting out, then I learnt to read the wind, and things started to improve. Very fond memories.

[@chriswilliams6568]

They had these back in the 70s?

[@Red4staire]

@@chriswilliams6568 no, first moth to fly with only two foils was born in 1999

[@rachidmachado1722]

SÓ DE SE TER CORAGEM PARA TENTAR....JA É UMA VITÓRIA !!! NÃO É UM BARCO PARA QUALQUER UM . REQUER MUITO TREINO E HABILIDADES INCOMUNS ! HUGS FROM BRAZIL.

[@howardcroft3748]

I sailed a Moth in High School...late 1970's .... that's nor exactly what I remember 😅🤣

[@flyingtonyw]

I'd love to have a go. Nice to see you cracked it.

[@alistairmcdonald2382]

What fun is this 😁

[@Ab0minati0n]

I used to sail Moth scows and skiffs back in the '80's and the skiff was like sailing a cork whcih i imagine is what this is like

[@ChristianWilliamsYachting]

Wonderful!

[@kriley9386]

Doug Halsey! That guy has been sailing Moths for more than half a century. I knew him at UF, before Moths could fly. (Years later, we both worked for McDonnell Douglas, that’s why Doug can tweak a sailboat like no other.)

[@benrobertson7855]

Hi ,my old man built 3 moths in a weekend ,with two mates they pushed out for over 13 years ,about 790 months all over nz....I grew up with moths...and A class cats ,but mostly 18 foots.now my kids are hassling to rig the current moth on the beach.... 3 gen.... crash pilot vacancy... regards.

[@mercfrosst3128]

Just picked up a LowRider. Can't wait to go swimming 😂😂😂

[@Andy_XT]

Thanks for sharing! It looks like a beginner's nightmare 😅

[@KasperiVonSchrowe]

This was the most hilarious sailing video ever! Sorry for this opinion. But you really made my day and made me also want to try Moth some day and make myself ridiculous for a time.

[@kgilliagorilla2761]

So these things take a little practice eh? Very cool.

[@Joe-oe4lo]

Cool, great video as well

[@andrefranzmann6123]

I think you should try to do the turns and gybes in a radius to keep the speed. similar to a catamaran, you should never take momentum out of the hull. with you it looks like you want to cross the hull in order to turn. but up to now it has certainly worked excellently. ☺

[@hiwind58]

Makes windsurfing and kiteboarding look easy.

[@iamikejones]

They all are extremely difficult

[@samuelcruz9258]

Dont know how complicate and dangerous but you have a lot of fun.

[@lindalakota38]

Wow. Thing fly when going good

[@edmondsstephen1531]

Those who ride the wind are one with nature !

[@ronnieg6358]

Great fun when it gets going but rather like wind assisted swimming.

[@leeedwards6791]

well done looks good fun

[@blacksquirrel4008]

You’re a good man.

[@wassup934]

Looks fun. 21kn ...cooking along

[@fabmanly1070]

Wing Foiling……………..game over!

[@robtrapnell6617]

WELL DONE

[@Yetipfote]

me bringing my life on track:

[@isakengelbrecht2979]

Love it

[@GMCrypto]

may you tell me the windspead in this video? Looking to buy one soon

[@pedromarcos1472]

How much wind you sailing on?

[@stevesyncox9893]

So cool, I’m desiring one myself.

[@walkrshaw7244]

soooo much fun..

[@surferatapollobay1341]

Try sailing a moth in inland waters...lots of swimming!!

[@gregparrott]

Amazing! I saw videos of 'Moth Sailing' for the first time just now. I saw that there is a thin stick at the LEADING TIP of the hull, and that stick dangles on the water's surface. While it does not cause much drag, it would not be there if it doesn't serve a purpose. What does that do?

[@AngusMcIntyre]

This is the 'magic wand'. It is connected to the control surfaces on the main foil by a series of pulleys. It is designed to control ride height. The closer the wand is to horizontal, the more the control surfaces lift the hull from the water. As it becomes vertical, the control surfaces will try to lower the hull.

[@gregparrott]

@@AngusMcIntyre Thanks for the detailed description. Someone was smart to figure that one out and tune it so that what looks like pretty minimal drag across the water is sufficient to control quite a lot of lifting force.

[@AngusMcIntyre]

@@gregparrott it's very similar to the ball valve to in a toilet. Simple but genius

[@peterebel7899]

and the second hour?

[@BrendanHeussler]

Looks like Misson Bay?

[@alphasxsignal]

Not enough wind

[@ACETezzel]

Hey there, lovely video. Just stumbled upon some moth videos and it really gives the desire to try. If I may, I've never sailed a moth before but I have done some windfoiling (foil on a windsurf). Though it is little experience, I think you should move your body weight a bit forward. This is especially visible around 2:30 in the video where the boat is pointing towards the sky too much. At this moment, the foil is useless because of all the air surrounding it, and the boat tips downwards as a result. Hope you understood what i meant. Cheers from France!

[@callumwyper8946]

Moving backwards and forwards has very little effect on the height of the boat as the rudder just takes more load when it sinks adding angle of attack and bringing it back up again. In the video you can see that he has massive amounts of bow up on the rudder pin which is the cause of the problems he was facing.

[@pineholo]

17 knots! why am I keel boat sailing lol

[@alanaldpal950]

Can’t believe there are no questions on cost. How much are they? Off to do a search.

[@MontyD]

how did you add a speed counter to imovie?

[@It-b-Blair]

It’s the overlay for his camera, it’s not a post edit thing.

[@pcatful]

I wish it showed how you right it and get up. That is cut out every time...no cam cleats? Have to pull the sheet all the time?

[@benrobertson7855]

Yep done this with the last carbon ,+3.3 mm multiply scows. Taught my girl friend how to sail on a over powered moth by falling over the second tiller with a mast head single luff kite going 29 _ 32 according the clubhouse. After each flight over 35 kn land speed,I really had to pull the pressure chambers,and re attach things.just a tiny bit of cotton and snot .got over 50 against my speed mate,driving foiled small boards in 40 kn mean.on kiapara lagoon,( just avoid the air force ...).I could always get so much more power than he could standing/ leaning. O I see you doin fooling ... but for pure speed and power, I know I would do laps around the set up you currently have. Best regards Ben, And thankyou for bringing my crash pilot days back.have just finn a foil 11ft ,,,yer can come under moth.but a Townsend zephyr.down to min.ans going 30 + with either kid.....summers here and flat water, seabreeze....ta.

[@toneroable]

Is moth sailing for young guys ??......looks like a Hobie Cat activity........I love it but I am a 65 yr old......... I am looking for speed Thanks for a Replay....!!!!!

[@stevesyncox9893]

Fun.

[@jaimeriveras]

Isn’t the boom dangerous? Looks like it could break your scull. Best wear a helmet?

[@rebeccaabbott3241]

Are you still doing the a class

[@ShorelineSailboats]

Seth, could we use clips from your Moth experience in one of our sailing videos with credits to you? Best regards from us at Shoreline Sailboats.

[@SethSiegler]

Sure!

[@ShorelineSailboats]

Thanks Seth. Just wondering. Are you still sailing the Moth? If so, was your first experience typical of what others would experience on their first attempt? Thanks, Kyle at Shoreline

[@SethSiegler]

I ordered my own moth the day after this video was shot. I'm sailing it every free moment!! It's tough to say if everyone would have the same experience on their first ride. What's the nature of the video you want to use this for?

[@ShorelineSailboats]

I have never sailed a Moth. My brother and I at Shoreline have always wanted to try one, but never had the opportunity. We carry a line of small sailboats in the Finger Lakes region of NY. Our sailing season is very short compared to other areas of the US. We have just become UFO dealers. I am going to video my own first attempt at sailing the foiling UFO as a way to try and get less experienced sailors involved in foiling - if possible. Your Moth is a F-16 compared to the Piper Cub (UFO). I believe the athleticism that you show in your video would intimidate a large section of the sailing community. However, If i can entice them into foiling the UFO, they could feel like the next step up would be the Moth or other larger foilers. I will let you approve the video before I make it public. I do not want to show the Moth in a bad light. I would like to make foiling a possibility for 13 year olds and fit 65 year old.

[@SethSiegler]

Ok sure, as long as it doesn't paint the moth in a bad light. The moth and UFO really probably don't compete with each other and should coexist, in my opinion. There are a bunch of differences including price, speed, difficulty, etc. I'm all for more access to foiling.

[@rachidmachado1722]

Very difficult !!!

[@joecamilleri6370]

Looks very wet!

[@bood22ataol]

Wouldn't it be effective to have two sails, one at each end (smaller at rea, separate controls) and be ''saddled' mid section. Possibly some rudders on the wings.

[@bood22ataol]

reverse cog system from front to rear sail.

[@user-ti5ny3wg1b]

哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈

[@burningflame5527]

5:57 *Wipeout*

[@djacob7]

Burning Flame , there's no 5:57

[@gpapich25]

Try same conditions on a windsurfer with big skeg and a 7.5m rig. Doing similar in 1986

[@MrClickbang357]

The jackass in me makes me want to say maybe you should learn to sail, starting with an Optimist Pram! Scratch all that - you've done something I have not yet accomplished - built a boat!! Looks to me like some line, high viz pool noodles and some haevy knotting all that across the middle of the hiking wings would help so you can get to "the other side" with the quickness you need would help. Why high viz noodles? So you can quickly distinguish them form the hiking lines.Looks like a real blast on the water!!! Color me jealous!!!!!

[@igorvas5097]

бедный чувак не понимает ,что поворот фордевинд не одним рулем делается

[@jacklondon8385]

looks like a bitch to get under that boom. once you can work out how to limbo under it you will be super smooth

[@galbar-or7851]

it's almost too painful to watch!

[@bogdam422]

final epico

[@floorskin1]

If that thing was a pair of undies, it would be a g banger with gusset flaps.

[@PhantomCucu]

😂😂😂 better a old Laser sail ⛵ boat.

[@bjooppeg]

Great start on a Saturday, see how you struggle. But it look fun.