About the MX-Ray
Q.: What is the MX-Ray?
A.: MX-Ray is the first high performance one person dinghy equipped with an asymmetrical spinnaker. The spinnaker not only doubles the sail area on reaching and running legs, making the boat two times faster than any other one person boat; it also adds a great deal to the balance of the MX-Ray and makes her a very simple and well behaved boat.

Q.: For whom is the MX-Ray?
A.: MX-Ray is a fast and fun boat for everyone who wants and dares to sail her. MX-Ray is equally in her element on the racing course as well as on a blast along the beach. For racing purposes, the optimal crew weight is 140-190 lbs (60-80 kg), although there are both lighter and heavier sailors who race her extremely competitively. MX-Ray is an ideal learning boat -- modern and fast, supercharged with an asymmetrical spinnaker -- for junior sailors ages 15-16 and up. In short, MX-Ray is for the young and for the young in heart -- for Generation-MX.

Q.: What's so special about the MX-Ray?
A.: In two words, Spinnaker Package.
Before the MX-Ray, the generally accepted formula for one-person boat was: 'one man -- one sail'. MX-Ray is, to our knowledge, the first one to carry a spinnaker. While sailing upwind, there is only one main, and the boat is not overpowered and is easily controlled. Then, on reaching legs, by some sort of "magic", the sail area can be instantly doubled to allow boat to plane even in the lightest wind. The MX-Ray's magic is her unique spinnaker handling system, which enables one person to do the job.
When you sail a conventional dinghy downwind, as soon as you ease the main, center of effort moves far off centerline. Resulting momentum works to turn the boat around and to bring her upwind. Especially in puffy conditions, conventional boats become very unbalanced, tricky to handle, and can easily fall into broach.
MX-Ray's spinnaker, launched from the bowsprit, brings the center of effort forward and creates counter momentum that tries to turn the boat downwind, not letting her broach even in the heaviest gusts. All this results in MX-Ray's great balance, stability, and ease of handling.

Q.: Is the spinnaker difficult to hoist and handle?
A.: Just the opposite, it's surprisingly simple! Spin halyard has a reverse purchase, allowing the spinnaker to be brought up by just one short pull. Tackline is connected to the halyard, so the same pull brings the spinnaker tack to the end of bowsprit. The line cleats automatically. That's it; now you just pull the sheet and take a flight! Spinnaker sheet is one continuous line, so you can grab it at any point -- very convenient. The other end of the spin halyard goes through the spinsock and is attached to two patches on the spinnaker. Ease this end from the cleat and pull it, and the spinnaker will easily fold three times and slide into the sock. The MX-Ray's spinnaker uses some clever ideas, developed by an avid dingly sailor, Vladimir "Kuli" Kulinchenko.

Q.: Is the MX-Ray stable?
A.: MX-Ray has a very narrow waterline beam for high speed, and it has flared side wings that spread beam on deck to full 5' for enhanced stability. At the beginning, you may find the boat a bit tippy, but don't worry, take your time and get used to her motions. Very soon, you'll get a feel for what it takes to keep MX-Ray under control. Wide beam on the deck provides a great leverage for hiking, and a leeward wing gives additional support if boat heels to much. In a sense, MX-Ray is more forgiving that most other dinghies, as at heel of around 35-40 degrees, leeward wing will provide enough flotation to resist capsize for a moment and give you another chance to get things under control.

Q.: What should I do when I capsize?
A.: MX-Ray carries a powerful rig, so capsizes do happen. The good thing is that you could very easily bring her back on a right keel. She has no tendency to broach, and capsize is not as violent as it is on some other boats. Leeward wing resists capsizes and gives you extra time to either get the boat under control or to get prepared for a swim. I'm not talking a lot of time, just a few seconds, but in most cases, that's enough time to take actions. If capsize is inevitable, move to the windward wing and pull down the spinnaker if you are on a downwind leg. If you try to right the boat while spinnaker is still out, there's a good chance you'll get knocked down again. When capsized, MX-Ray floats on the narrow edge of her wing -- very unstable position -- so it'll take only a prod on the daggerboard to start rolling her back. Quickly climb back into the cockpit, pull the main, and you are off again. After a few days of sailing, you'll master the technique and will be able to stay dry when the boat capsizes.

Q.: How fast is MX-Ray?
A.: So far, we haven't performed a formal speed test. During photo sessions, we tried to match speed of a chasing motorboat to the MX-Ray it was following, and found that the MX-Ray reached about 20 knots. We are planning to measure speed of the boat with precise instruments in the near future, and the results will be posted here.
No matter what the actual boat speed is, MX-Ray gives you absolutely sensational feeling of flight over waves -- more exciting than any other small monohull.

Q.: Is there a book or other literature that gives more information about sailing the MX-Ray?
A.: There is no literature yet specifically about sailing an MX-Ray, but many MX-Ray owners write in with comments - we will post them as we get them. Also, we recommend Frank Bethwaite's book "High Performance Sailing" published by International Marine. It contains incredible amounts of information on skiff sailing, most of which may be applied to the MX-Ray. If you want to know the theory behind sailing fast, this book is a must! Eventually, we plan to have our own book.