How The KA Sail Range Developed
 Tim Webster - 1995 Australian World Championships |
The KA Sail range has seen much success over many years. Read how the sails have evolved over time and become the most successful range of sails in the modern era of Moth sailing.
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Andrew McDougall - MSL5 in the 2001 Japan World Championships |
The KA Sail Moth program saw success from the very beginning when Tim Webster asked Andrew McDougall to design a Moth sail in 1995 for the Lake Macquarie World Championships. After some months of cajoling, Andrew finally agreed to make them from mono-film. 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.
In December 2002, the MSL6 model was released with much anticipation from the international Moth fleet as it was a huge jump on all previous moth sails. It was 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.
 Veal & McDougall 1st & 3rd 2003 Australian Championships using the MSL6 |
 The MSL7 square top head and low foot |
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 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 mono-film 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 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.
 The MSL8 had better durabilty amongst other aspects |
In July 2006, the MSL9's also went on to claim 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall in the 2006 World Championships in Denmark. 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 MSL9F - Used by Rohan Veal to win the 2005 World Championships |
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.
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.
During 2007 the development process went down a path where two sails had been developed, allowing designs that cater for lighter sailor and heavier sailors. The MSL 10 and MSL 13 have won all before them in recent years, giving the Moth fleet a variety of options depending on their weight and conditions.
See current designs - Click HERE
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Scott Babbage - 2nd overall in the 2006 Australian Championships using the MSL11 |
Mach2 Latest & Quicklinks
The New Mach2.2!- Sailing rock stars and their Mach2's
- Mach2.2 Ride Height Adjuster kit
- Mach 2.2 Gearing Adjuster
- We Now Stock Bladerider Spare Parts
- Mach2's Dominate At Garda
- Mach2 Sailors Shine At The Olympics
- Glen Ashby - Why I bought a Mach2
- KA Sail's Latest Design - MSL16
- Nathan Outteridge Says
We’ve done some development! Yes the Mach2 (we call it the 2.2) has got even better.
But wait, hang on!
Before we tell you all about it let’s just talk about Moth development. It may come as a bit of a surprise for those new to Moth sailing, but Moths have been going for nearly 85 years! Yes that’s right, and in the old days, when you needed a new boat every year development was rife! Moth sailors used to emerge from their cellar or garage, blinking in the light, ashen grey and possibly newly single.
Still, they were quite possibly clutching the key to the next chapter in Moth evolution. Some of course weren’t but they were pioneering times. And with the shiny polished hydrofoiling boats you see now, an onlooker would be forgiven for thinking that the development is quite stable, and compared to those big leaps, has almost stopped.
But it hasn’t. Read more...
Most of our customers are Mach2 sailors like you and me - dinghy sailors from all over the world who sail as much as they can in the free time they have, and enjoy it immensely! A number of our customers however are well known professional sailing heroes who have won medals, broken records and achieved accolades the world over, and are now choosing the Mach2 as their weapon of choice. You can probably understand how pleased and honoured we are that the world’s best have chosen to sail a Mach2, and we thought you would be curious to know their names. Of course many of these sailors span sailing categories, often from the Olympic Games to the Cup, and part of the problem is - where to start with such a glittering line up? Read more...
After a year of prototyping we have worked out a much better way of controlling your height abovethe waves. This custom titanium / brass system provides lightweight, high strength and low friction- no slip system to prevent jamming and rope tangling to increase ease of use even in the hairiest top mark rounding.
The system is the same length as the current Ride Height Adjuster allowing you to just fit the new system to any existing Mach2. Like the current RHA, it has fine adjustment (0.8mm per turn) keeping the pulley system simple. More info here
From very early in the development of the Mach2, the intention was to have the gearing at the front of the boat adjustable from the wings. (This is why all Mach2’s have a utility tube.) We wanted to adjust at the front as this also adjusts the angle of the wand due to the offset of the adjuster nut.
This new system not only reduces slop, flex and the possibility of the adjuster screw bending, it also is easily adjustable on the fly from the wings! The low friction.............
Click HERE to read more
We scoured the world for stocks of Bladerider parts and bought them to one place. Not only do we have stocks of original BR parts, but we have some refurbished parts too. More importantly we have some items that are made to an improved design, or with better material than the original parts. Now you can keep your BR going for more years of enjoyment.
Mach2 is our main business, but we believe keeping old BR's in a race ready state will help grow the class.
Bladerider spares - Click HERE
Mach2 won it's fourth consecutive World Championship, whilst KA Sail secured it's eighth. We were very pleased to see 92 of the 117 competitors chose to sail Mach2's at the event, whilst 96 chose to use a sail from the KA range!
Congratulations to Josh McKnight on winning a hard fought battle at the top of the leaderboard
Check out all the results, reports and footage - Click HERE
The 2012 London Olympics has seen some incredible competition amongst all the sailing classes, with Mach2 sailors dominating. Australian's Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen won Gold at Weymouth in the 49er Class from second place and fellow Mach2 sailor, New Zealander, Peter Burling. Australian Laser sailor Tom Slingsby won Gold with an impressive regatta, where he had the event all but won coming into the medal race.
To read more - Click HERE 
'It has been something that I really wanted to have a go at. The lure of sailing a flying machine that looks like so much fun to sail upwind and downwind, that offers so many new challenges along with supreme efficiency and performance, has really interested me for quite a while now.
'The opportunity to purchase a Mach2 foiling moth and have a new personal sailing challenge has been an exciting thought and one that I am sure will make me re-think all that I have learnt in the past. To read the full story - Click HERE
Check out the brand new MSL16 which features include:
- Complete redesign from the previous MSL10 and 13
- Wider luff pocket
- Combination of soft and light materials for the pocket
- Shape moved forward and down to reduce drag /increase power
- Gap between sail and boom closed.
- Extra cam and batten in at the bottom of sail
- Suits medium mast/soft with high forestay for improved response to the vang and Cunningham.
- Brand new cams for better entry profile
Probably the very best skiff sailor on the planet, current Moth and 49er World Champion Nathan Outteridge has this to say about his Mach2
"The Mach 2 is an amazing piece of engineering, I have sailed many boats over the last few years and my Mach2 is by far my favorite boat to sail or should I say fly! With out a doubt this is the future of sailing." 
