What are the Supernovas doing right?

and

   To my eye it is one of the ugliest boats out there, and it competes in a mature and crowded market against the Laser, Solo, Aero, Zero, OK etc. I can’t really see what it offers that none of the others do, but it seems to be going from strength to strength with over 100 pre-entered for the Nationals - so it must be doing something right.  

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Guests Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Quote Reply Topic: What are the Supernovas doing right? Posted: 29 May 18 at 2:11pm
	To my eye it is one of the ugliest boats out there, and it competes in a mature and crowded market against the Laser, Solo, Aero, Zero, OK etc. I can’t really see what it offers that none of the others do, but it seems to be going from strength to strength with over 100 pre-entered for the Nationals - so it must be doing something right.

Sam.Spoons Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 12 Location: Manchester UK Online Status: Offline Posts: 3401	Post Options Post Reply Quote Sam.Spoons Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 May 18 at 4:07pm
	The boat's not bad looking (at least the mk2 anyway) but the rig looks a bit dated but it is well sorted) and it all seems to work ok. I had an old mk1 for a while with the current rig but never really got to grips with the FB sail on a small lake so I sold it. What they hav also been doing is building them in epoxy, stiff and down to the new mk2 weight of 50kg (which is 12.5kg less than a down to weight mk1 and probably near 20kg lighter than a typical one).
	Spice 346 "Flat Broke" Blaze 671 "supersonic soap dish"

Alistair426 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 02 Jun 08 Location: Vatican City State Online Status: Offline Posts: 201	Post Options Post Reply Quote Alistair426 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 May 18 at 5:16pm
	It's a fairly straightforward SMOD with a reasonably high boom and no 'jocks' sailing it. Friendly crowd. Mark IIs are quite competitive on handicap and being epoxy, last well as the rig loads aren't great. Decent performance for the older gent and carries weight OK. Not so clever if you can't kneel. Self-draining and fairly easy to get back in to after a swim. The Supernova has got at least one thing over each of the classes Peaky lists. Still not quite sure what the magic is. It's probably the Citroen 2CV racing of the dinghy world.

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6662	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 May 18 at 5:53pm
	Probably a good CA. For mainstream boats I reckon that's more important than the boat.

E.J. Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 19 Feb 06 Online Status: Offline Posts: 184	Post Options Post Reply Quote E.J. Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 May 18 at 6:32pm
	I owned one or a while and they are getting a number of things right. At the entry level the boats are cheap and the builder offers a very competitive part ex scheme, keeping the trickle down going. They seem to attract both Solo and older Laser types, the first wanting a similar level of fit out but without the added complexity of rig/hull choice, the 2nd wanting a better version of plug and play. The recent rise of Aero/DZero may be the reason the numbers have plateaued as this niche is now being catered for with more choice. They are very cheap to run after the initial spend which is not huge either. The opens and Nationals are competitive but there are less superstars/ringers at the top, its got a club level feel which is attractive to those who want a relaxed event without embarrassment. The class has made the events cheap to enter and the Builder does lots to support this. The boat itself has a rig of the 90s, but is not difficult to sail relatively well, but as has been said before the boat is such a small part of the equation.

Guests Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Quote Reply Posted: 30 May 18 at 8:20am
	Thanks for the replies. They’re certainly doing something right - probably the biggest adult entryat a Nationals this year!

L123456 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 30 Apr 12 Online Status: Offline Posts: 500	Post Options Post Reply Quote L123456 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 30 May 18 at 9:42am
	I suspect the class is achieving significant fleets at a few clubs which gives the critical mass... Which clubs have fleets of these ... I'm guessing in the midlands and the north as I have never seen one ...

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6662	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 30 May 18 at 10:05am
	Looking at the PY returns they seem to be pretty widely distributed round the country, although perhaps not that many in the SE. They don't seem especially concentrated anywhere by the looks of things. Edited by JimC - 30 May 18 at 10:07am

Ardea Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Groupie Joined: 06 Oct 15 Online Status: Offline Posts: 70	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ardea Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 30 May 18 at 11:21am
	They are reasonably fast (by pond and river standards) and simple boats which don't have any major vices and perform ok on a wide range of waters. Combine that with a relatively cheap price point they seem like a good stepping stone for someone who is looking to move up from the £500 laser option. One design helps smooth transition from the laser too. I'd say that the above points position it well against the other singlehanders mentioned at the top.

Oli Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 23 Mar 05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1020	Post Options Post Reply Quote Oli Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 30 May 18 at 12:36pm
	perhaps missing info comes from the large one design fleets not returning to py list Jim. The national list has 15 from costwold and 15 from bolton, they dont show up in the py list when i search for supernovas.
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