Dinghy Show 2012 3-4 March

Originally posted by Mark Jardine Originally posted by rogue Sounds like a pretentious, elitist crock of sh1te Al... sadly that doesn't surprise me with dinghies anymore. Oddly enough if a 1950's original was so beautifully and sympathetically restored to wow the judges, the fair enough. But a lipstick class tart up with a cheque book... not impressed, sorry. One of the best pieces of advice I was given when I was a kid is if you haven't got something useful to say, don't say anything at all.

Sorry Mark, I hadn't realised you were on the judging panel.Clearly a symmetric, 20 grand, pimped up 20th century design is the best the dinghy world can offer in 2012....

James, I fear you have completely missed the point of a Concours d'Elegance - it's a contest in which the entries are judged chiefly on excellence of appearance and turnout. In our (the judges) opinion, which is of course entirely subjective, the Merlin Rocket was the best turned out boat at the show.

The past winners have been pretty diverse; a GP14, Redwing and Cherub.

Our shortlist this year was also pretty diverse; a Merlin Rocket, Flying Fifteen and International Canoe.

I loved the look of the Aura, but this couldn't have won the Concours - our judging critera include that the boat on display must have been on the water and also must be on a class association stand.

I get the heritage, I guess I would hope the dinghy world would be less superficial Mark. But if you guys judged it to be the best presented boat on CA stand, then fair enough, the ''Crufts Award" goes to the Merlin.

Thanks to the other folks who've taken photos of more interesting things-that's equally subjective of course.

Originally posted by G.R.F.   Pretty much everything looks cool black.

Originally posted by alstorer The Aura racks are four piece, for transport- the four bolts that attach the cross pieces to the hull are easily unbolted, the longitudinal tubes then simply slide out, so the four bits can be stowed in the boat. Might need a fair bit of padding or a custom rack to stop them too bashed around though I'd think- but then the likes of the 900 or Rebel wings will need a but of padding in transit too. Maybe not as much the wing bags for the Devoti!