New Development Classes

Surely it IS relevant, because at many Laser nationals the reason you have to worry more about weight is due to the fact that you have to sail against guys like this;

1st - Basically full-time Olympic aspirant (2nd in trials, about 6th in the world's biggest adult's class, full coaching support etc)

2nd - Full-time Olympic aspirant (multiple winner on the Euro Olympic circuit, full coaching support etc)

3rd - Overseas basically full-time Olympic aspirant.

4th - Ditto.

5th - Overseas Olympic aspirant (don't know whether he has a job as well or is a full-time sailor).

6th - Ditto

7th - Ditto

8th - Masters world' champ, got a degree in a sports science, was 88kg and regularly beat Olympic medallists in light winds, said that weight was not a problem.

9th - Overseas Olympic aspirant who doesn't seem to need to work.

10th - Overseas sailor, two-time Olympic representative.

It seems a bit hard to say that a national title fleet which has 26 overseas sailors (including top Brit Mark Howard down in the 'teens) is not more demanding, in this respect, than a fleet like the Solos which has lots of very good amateur sailors.

I sail one class that was very big but got dumped from the Games while I've been in it, and one class that is enormously popular and was put into the Games while I've been in it. The demands in all respects are so much higher in the class with Olympic status that you just can't compare the demands of the Olympic classes to the demands of the non-Olympic classes IMHO.

A classic case is the weight range for the class that got dumped from the Games. If you looked at the top 3 guys at the nats 2 years ago when it was an Olympic class, you'd say the weight range was about 68-71kg - very tight!

If you tooked at the top 3 guys at the nats 2 weeks ago, you'd say the competitive weight range was now about 59 to 74.5 kg - pretty wide. Yet nothing at all has changed with the gear - just the level of competition.







Edited by Chris 249

I dont think trading length for sail area has the intended effect in planing dinghies tbh, although its a nice idea.
In displacement mode a longer hull is worthwhile but once you start planing length starts to matter less (except for controlability) and rag starts to matter more.

How much cloth am I allowed on a 6ft hull?

Originally posted by Chew my RS Downwind all the boats would have the same sized kite, which is the totally dominant sail.

That's not true. You spend loads more time going upwind than you going down with the kite up. Therefore upwind speed makes a loads bigger difference.

Originally posted by Isis How much cloth am I allowed on a 6ft hull?

Originally posted by Chew my RS A 6 foot boat with all up weight (inc crew) of 200kg could have 30m2 of sail. Now that I'd like to see!

Sounds like a challenge! (Bit heavy tho)

Edited by Strawberry

Originally posted by Chew my RS Downdwind the formula doesn't really hold - as the boat would potentially be planing

May I suggest that if your design doesn't plane upwind (in conditons when your planing down) then your gonna be sloooooooooow.

Originally posted by Chew my RS Originally posted by Strawberry Originally posted by Chew my RS Downdwind the formula doesn't really hold - as the boat would potentially be planing May I suggest that if your design doesn't plane upwind (in conditons when your planing down) then your gonna be sloooooooooow. No, you can't.

Another well thought out and intellectual repsonse from another SMOD sailor.

Edited by Strawberry