Dinghy popularity

Originally posted by iGRF

Originally posted by iGRF

Simply put it's because the sport is marketed to newcomers by its incumbents and they want the new folk to sail what they sail.

It's because the industry never had a structure that supported marketing in the modern day sense of the word, that and the cottage industry nature that never really got stamped on by anyone.

So even if a wonder product did happen along, where could you secure orders large enough to make it viable from your network of dinghy sales agencies? No, because there was never a big enough profit margin for such a network to become established, so we are left with the infernal class structure within which it is generally in everyones parsimonious interest for nothing much to happen so their investment is never challenged, until of course it's too late and the class dies.

The only reasonably successful sales model is a dinghy retailer gone vertical, but their model is such that programmed obsolescence was not considered and their designs were pretty much re workings of traditional designs.

....ah so near, yet (as often) so far.... you know I re-read this and the subsequent podium-hammering ranting stuff as well, and there are grains of truth in here, but so much chaff too IMO.

The reason 'something very different' has not yet "taken off mainstream" is because there is a flourishing 'fringe' in UK dinghy sailing, such that doesn't exist elsewhere except perhaps in one other area, Aust/NZ.  I'd argue that there have actually been some pretty bl**dy awesome product intro's, great innovations and frankly, wacky off-the-wall OMG that actually works stuff at times in the last 20yrs or so, even more if you stretch back further; twin pole systems, jib sticks like N12's and Ent's have now, kite chutes on cats, cartridge rudders, assymetric kites, gybing poles, pump systems, raking rigs, t-foils, hydro-foils, foil-wands, FRP, epoxy fillets etc.. etc..

Yes, completely agree that today, most of the 'marketing' is done by incumbents towards newbies and very much aimed at the 'join in' rather than 'do this, it looks cool' mentality.

Yes, the cliquey (spelling sorry!) nature of the 'industry' and bit-party nature of the club structure doesn't lend itself to mass marketing, or mass-appeal.

BUT, BUT, BUT... if the "wonder product" comes along then yes, you would secure orders and, managed sensibly, make enough margin to see it as a) viable and b) attractive in a wider sense. 

The bicycle had been 'done' in every way imaginable, until some Californian's came up with MTB.

Who the heck would have believed in 1974 that Triathlon would be a multi-gazillion dollar industry by the 2000's?

Did anyone honestly see the MAMIL and mega-balloon in cycling in UK coming say 10, or perhaps 15 yrs ago?

If the next big thing comes, we'll buy it.  Sailing is fun.  We are an island surrounded by some absolutely great sailing waters.  There's lots of us.  We still have, comparatively speaking, a bit of excess cash to spend when we want to find it.  To me, at least, it's not aspirational to sit indoors watching nice weather go by through the window.