RS500 ...

'The Buzz is hardly the most modern hull shape, the rig is nothing special, and, most to the point, RS don't sell it!'    

 I agree completely with the last point. However the supposed design criteria is:  'Yardstick of around 1000, - stable enough for the "August sailors", and buoyant enough for Dad to enjoy...'  

I don't understand what a more modern hull shape would bring, more stability than a Buzz? it can't be much faster since the yardstick is to be around 1000? And excluding building materials and having been designed recently, what exactly defines a more 'modern' hull shape?

Rig wise it doesn't sound like RS are intending to use a carbon mast..... I'd like to think that RS will make use of recent design developments (whatever they are)to design a significantly better boat which as argued earlier will allow british sailing to further develop. Rather than build a boat that is similar to many and further saturate market, and use the RS brand name as a selling point.

Incidentally I used to have a Buzz, have done a couple of seasons in an 800 and have a 600. As I probably appear to be defending the Buzz a little too much! I'm sure the V3000 fits a similar sort of criteria.

Also significant on the page was the likely price and competitors:

Should be at the January Boatshow …and available for delivery next season,
likely retail price £4895 inc vat, and launching trolley

- comparing to £5795 29er, £6250 420, and £4495 Vago (this is polyethylene).

This is really about market share, i.e. RS competing with Ovinington and Laser, rather than a gap in the market!

Proportionally I'd expect that the newer classes are more active. Old classes have a huge install base and if the nationals is promoted many of the occasional sailors wheel their boats out for the nationals.

Rick

Jim,

But Ford don't make hatchbacks to race together in a class... it is not a valid comparison.

RS can do what they like; it's a free market but it's an enthusiasts market and the dynamics to a general consumer market are very different.

The internet empowers owners groups just like this forum does and companies like Dell and Apple have had a bad time on the web recently through the power of bloggs and forums when they have ignored the market ... they qucikly learned to listen to the voice of on-line forums.

Rick

My personal view is that the gap in the market is definitely there.  At my club the shift to Assys (200s, L2000s, 400s) is almost complete with just a bunch of Fireball crews hanging on getting annoyed when they can't perform to handicap on assy-biased courses.  800s are too high performance for our waters - you barely get going before the board hits the sand- and the existing single-wire assy boats are seen as out-of-date compared to the modern hikers.  So I think there is certainly a gap in the market for an assy Fireball that works for teenagers but is also competitive with 2 big adults on board; the question is whether this is it.  A 14ft 'youth orientated' boat with a yardstick of 1000 feels like a missed opportunity.  I was hoping for a 400 / 800 crossbreed, not a cheaper 29er / 420 alternative.....oh well