Fulcrum Speedworks Rocket
- Thread starter Will S
- Start date
familysailor
Super Anarchist
Ok, I'll explain it as simply and clearly as possible. This looks like an interesting, fun, affordable boat. Designed and built by very smart, experienced guys. It's been years! How is it possible that there isn't extensive video evidence of the boat being sailed in a variety of conditions? It's mind boggling to me. Pay a good college sailor 100 bucks, get his girlfriend to record the fun for a couple hours. Add shitty music that I can mute. What other means does the consumer have to evaluate the boat? I'm watching it on Facebook and it seems like the guys that have bought them spend most of their time messing with the rigging and sailing in 3 knots of breeze. The 3 second video above shows the boat being sailed in some breeze but it's only 3 seconds! Dissatisfaction!
martin 'hoff
Super Anarchist
If you're after videos from fulcrum, there's a bunch of those. I thought you wanted non-sponsored videos.
And for videos by actual owners, well, I'm going to guess people buy it to sail it, not to satisfy random internet strangers' curiosity. Only a small subset of sailors are crazy about making videos and posting them publicly... and that's not a fault of the boat IMHO.
And for videos by actual owners, well, I'm going to guess people buy it to sail it, not to satisfy random internet strangers' curiosity. Only a small subset of sailors are crazy about making videos and posting them publicly... and that's not a fault of the boat IMHO.
- Moderator
- #468
It's a sunfish with a better cockpit, better construction, and lighter weight. It's slightly sexier than a sunfish, but is still a singlehanded non-trap boat with a lateen rig. Why would anyone make a highlight reel of a sunfish clone doing sunfish shit unless they are trying to sell it?
I went out for the third time in mine on Saturday, first time in big breeze. Moved the boom as far forward as I could, and went fast. Nothing broke.
So far I am very happy with my purchase. I would never have bought a sunfish because of the cockpit and lack of interest in giving any money to LP. But for something that will easily hold two people or three kids with quite a bit of stability, a super easy rig, plenty of speed on a reach, and solid, durable build quality, it checks the boxes. I expect to bequeath this boat, not sell it.
Kenny Dumas
Super Anarchist
Because “pics / video, or it never happened”
- Moderator
- #470
it ain't really an SA kind of boat, then or now
fastyacht
Super Anarchist
- 12,928
- 2,600
If you pull it into your android you can make that a GIF and watch it continuously. Then it lasts longer than 3 seconds.
Dillon Waltner
Member
There are maybe 150 boats being sailed in the wild so far. The vast majority of them don't have the time or inclination to make sailing videos, nevermind publish them for the whole internet to scrutinize. I have made a few, in varying wind conditions (although nothing approaching what you are looking for). There is no way I'm going to put them up on YouTube. (If you want to see them, you'll have to join the Rocket group on Facebook.) The idea that videos on the internet are the primary means to evaluate a boat's performance is really funny. My suggestion is to do what my dad did back in the 70s- find someone who owns one and ask if you can try it. Or just take a risk and go buy one for yourself and then sell it if you don't like it. The latter is how I ended up with both a Sunfish and a Hobie 16 as a kid.
fastyacht
Super Anarchist
- 12,928
- 2,600
When I started sailing as a little kid, home movies were super 8. There was no such thing as "video." Reading SAIL magazine you had to use your imagination to see the motion. But then you'd go to a John Biddle movie night and W O W!!!!
Nowadays with video everywhere, I think the impact is frankly less important. We all know that the only real experience is, well, real experience.
Nowadays with video everywhere, I think the impact is frankly less important. We all know that the only real experience is, well, real experience.
But if SA is a representation of singlehanded sailing in the USA the Rocket is a perfect SA kind of boat as it’s a better sunfish.
In the same way if you want a boat to sum up singlehanded sailing in the uk, it wouldn’t be a i moth/musto skiff or even a Aero/I.L.C.A, it would be a Solo . 😂😂😀
martin 'hoff
Super Anarchist
The real factor here is that board boats and millennials-that-post-on-tiktok don't meet in the Venn diagram.
I'm sure thousands more hours of hairy guys on board boats and lasers are sailed than foilers, but what do you see on yt/'gram/TikTok? Skinny bikinis wing foiling. And Ruggero Tita on his moth.
UniformWhiskey
New member
I put a down payment on an Interceptor for next spring. I can't promise anything approaching a display of skill but I will certainly hang a Go Pro on the boom and take her out in the white caps.
Dex Sawash
Demi Anarchrist
How much is the Interceptor upgrade?
Didn't see it on the website and didn't want to waste Fulcrum asking
UniformWhiskey
New member
It's on the Rocket Page way down at the very bottom, there is also mention of a expedition/camping setup:
Upcoming options:
“Interceptor” Setup
-Your Rocket with afterburners
-Features Rudder T-foil for advanced planing performance and pitch control and a performance optimized rig and sail
$6950
“Backcountry” Setup
-Go absolutely everywhere
-Features cargo hooks, oars, clips in cockpit for oar storage and integrated oarlocks
– Pricing TBD
Cheers,
-John
tillerman
Super Anarchist
Is there a video of the Interceptor?
UniformWhiskey
New member
Not to my knowledge, I've only seen pictures of it on this forum.
It looks like it will have a traveler for the mainsheet block and possibly a fancier rudder. According to a comment by Scott Sandell in the linked my2fish blog post the the sailing rig will be the latest version of what Farrar Sailing and the Breakwater YC Sunfish fleet have been playing with to upgrade their boats.
The fellow at my boat dealership talked to Dave Clark and it sounds like the Interceptor will be backwards compatible with the standard Rocket lanteen rig.
Cheers,
-John
It looks like it will have a traveler for the mainsheet block and possibly a fancier rudder. According to a comment by Scott Sandell in the linked my2fish blog post the the sailing rig will be the latest version of what Farrar Sailing and the Breakwater YC Sunfish fleet have been playing with to upgrade their boats.
The fellow at my boat dealership talked to Dave Clark and it sounds like the Interceptor will be backwards compatible with the standard Rocket lanteen rig.
Cheers,
-John
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