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Contact Brian Bennett

Surprisingly fresh water critters can be more aggressive than those found it saltwater.  Brian has some thoughts on preventive measures for water storage.  Have you contacted him? bennettyachting@gmail.com

It is not recommended without serious bottom prep.  I do not leave my boat in saltwater for longer than 5 days.  There are clever water storage solutions like using a PWC lift or an inflatable dock.

What rating did you receive?

Ben's demo sail.  He had never been out in the ocean surfing a dinghy.  Now he has.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ_C5pelLAk

Hello David.
No west coast regattas per se.  We go to events that accept our PHRF (108).  Until we have 5 boats entered in one event we will not get our own start.  I believe you have 3 boats in the seattle area.  I'm in SF and there are 2 boats in LA.  I have raced the VX 1 in Seattle a couple of times and travel to LA to race with those boats.  Next big regatta for me will be Whiskytown in Redding Calif end on May.  I hope to get 1 boat to come up from LA.  There may be a race in Long Beach late summer.  Waiting on details.
Kelly

You are correct. 
Part of the fun for me with this boat has been refining the lines, blocks, etc to make it easy to sail.  When I was younger I could brute force my way along.  Now with my wife as crew it requires a lot more testing of set ups to make it possible for her to control the boat too.  She has half my strength and endurance.  If I want to race I can't wear her out.

Good luck

Spin sheet end taper 82". 
Spin halyard top taper 244", bottom taper 181".

I bought my first set of tapered lines from Vela.  They dramatically reduced the line drag.  I found that depending on the blocks in the spin sheet system there were holding issues due to the core's low friction.  I made new lines of different construction to improve and change to larger blocks.  It will also depend on your crew's strength. 

For the halyard length, you may want more or less depending on who handles the line hoist.  A little longer so the skipper can do it too or shorter to cut down on the excess line floating around on the deck.

I have a quick video for taking the VX 1 mast apart @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAspTiXHcJ0  which you may want to look at.

Good question.  This has been suggested.  The harken pivot block has a limited cleating angle range which may be a problem.  My layout has more range because the block can swing fore and aft. However it is set up for the skipper to use.  When I have 3 on the boat the mid crew is too far forward to play the mainsheet unless I rotate the cam arm forward.  In addition you will want a ratchet block in the system.  The pivot block does not include that feature therefore you will need to swap one of the other block out to a ratchet. 

The pure dinghy sailors stay with original block.  I give up a little feel for the sail for the convenience of cleating the mainsheet, but I sail more hours than race.
Good luck

Yes I launch and recover single handed.  The addition of guides to the rear of the trailer are recommended.  I posted a picture of the guides in tips & techniques.

The US aluminum trailer weights 500 lbs. Add 575# to 600# for the boat and your are at 1100#.  I have posted some other trailers mods in this section which make launch and recovery of the VX a little easier.   I launch from lots of west coast ramps and a beach with the trailer.

I have North too.  The vang movement range is about 3" along the boom.  I look at the leech and telltales more than the gnav location.  I also tied a bungie between the main clew and the gnav shoe to assist the outhaul movement off the wind.

The only difference for my setup is I have a ball on the halyard to stop the soft shackle from being sucked into the mast.

Welcome to the forum and VX world.  Which sailmaker made your sails? 

Re: Ca Regattas - If we enter 5 boats most regattas will give us a start. Currently I sail PHRF Keel boat at Richmond YC, Folsom, Yosemite, & Whiskytown.   Racing in Long Beach would be epic.  A course out to Pt. Fermin buoy and back outside the breakwater would be awesome.