Topper Spice

Yeh but if you hve the skills and the boat isnt too harrible you still could be able to.

Originally posted by 5420 you sail with your mates and at the same time you are all going bankrupt

Lets think, major bits on current boat (the one in tha avatar) I bought a new main for my old Cherub 1988, I built the new boat and got a new mast, jib and kite in 89, kept the main from the other boat. I replaced the kite with an asymettric in '91, got a new jib in 92. I took three years of sailing it from 94, got another new jib in 98 after a rule change, and had the kite recut. 2001 I got a new mast, main and jib, 2003 a new kite and put in a mast stump, 2004 a new boom and bowsprit. 2003 I won the inlands, 2004 I took the "Pre 97" built boat prize at the Nationals.

Most SMOD sailors at my club have had four or five boats in that time.

I luv Wight is I think still on the same spars and main main on his 97 boat which has taken 3 championships, I think he's had two jibs and kites in that time.

I don't really think that sounds like bankruptcy - at least not compared to what the 29er sailors I know spend... The stuff about development class sailors spending a fortune is a myth, just the same as the one about SMOds having closer racing. When you do the research there's no great correlation between what people spend on boats and how tight the class rule set is, and similarly there's no correleation between the spread of finish times in the Champ fleet and how tight the rule is either.

If you want to sail one designs that's great, if you want to sail open rule boats that's great too, but the amount of money you spend or how close the racing is will have very little to do with that choice. There are plenty of good reasons to sail smods, the chief one being that you don't have to think about how to set up your boat (although that would be hell for me), but don't kid yourself that closer racing or cheaper costs are among them.

Not at all - with changes in development it simply means the old boats can still be competive. Take Jim Champ, his cherub is an 1988 hull but still winning! If you did the same with an 1988 laser it will get killed on the circuit! Development means you can pretty much have the hull for life, just doing a little bit to make it latest spec rather than spending an absoulte fortune on a brand new boat.

Ok i take back everythign that i said then.

Yeah the closeness of racing has to take into account not only the number of boats that race but also the spread of their ability. Some of the classes that have massive starts have all the boats from club levle to national level compeating. It just means that the starts are harder but that the 'closeness' of racing is still the same. But if you have a class where all the boats are of realy good ability then the racing is bound to be close reagrdless of how many boats there are.

This topic has exploded since yesterday and there are so many things I want to say that I have forgotten most of them

Someone said that Development class sailors depend on thair cheque book and technology to win and not sailing skill. There is one cherub where the owner has built everything himself apart from the fittings and rope! Does that not take more skill than phoning up RS and quoting your credit card Number?

There is one (Soon to be two) cherub at the moment using a T-Foil rudder. Built by me in my garden shed with the complete carbon rudder and stock and tiller for a materials cost of between £150 and £200 I would be supprised if you could buy a 29er or 800 rudder for less than that.

The cherub does not have big fleets and sailing one takes a bit more commitment than sailing a one design, as with such a light weight hull they get damaged easily, but you easily develop the skill of repairing it yourself which is half the fun.

I enjoy thinking about hull shapes and rig designs and crew ergonomics and have more ideas for how to build boats than I can ever put into practice and that is all part of the fun of sailing a development class.

The One Designs have there place not everyone has the time or enthusiasum to sail a development class and the new breed of boats L400, RS800, 29er are not realy that bad but once you have sailed a real high performance boat Int14 or Cherub or A class Cat, and go back to a heavy one design you can realy feel the difference.

I weigh 12.5 stone and am 6ft 3.