i14 vs 49er etc...

Originally posted by skiffyskiferson Originally posted by BBSCFaithfull Both of them seem pretty exspensive but look extremely quick  He's not paying so i don't think he particularly bothered about that one. (he is my crew at the mo - not for long, 600 for me!!!! )

I hear the new rules I14's with foile rudders are getting very close to 49er speeds. I also hear that the foil rudder is making the I14's much easier to get around the course. Either way you get an insane ride and lots of spills. If he is buying, there are probably more I14's running around used and 49ers. If he is looking for a new ride, he may not be your crew for long.

Originally posted by micmac37 The development class comes with need to spend money to compete/know you can compete.

That really is largely a myth. There are classes where you spend a lot of money and classes where you don't, but it really isn't that much to do with rules. I bet, for instance, that the annual sailing expenditure of both Laser and 49er world champions considerably exceeds that of the 14 World champions just because you really need to be doing every major international event to be at World standard in the Olympic boats. The 800 of couese doesn't have international competition unlike the 14 and the 49er, so that immediatey makes it cheaper to do all the big events.

The development class or one design decision should come down to two questions and two only...

"Am I interested in the subtleties of what makes one boat go faster than another, and to I belioeve that to be a true champion Ineed to be incolved in design and planning decisions for the whole project rather than just jump in a boat and sail it."

If you just want to jump in a boat and aren't interested in the subtleties then jump in a SMOD. If you are intrested in the whole process sail a box rule boat. If you have some interest in the technical stuff but feel life is too short to get involved in the whole thing sail a one design where things likle rigs can be changed.

That decision isn't going to be the same for everyone all the time. My own boat is always a box rule boat, but when I jump in a boat to crew I prefer it to be a one design because then I don't get mentally slowed down by what are for me deficiencies in the boat set up.

On that, at the moment I own a Canoe which has a one design hull, and I do find mysef cursing at what I believe to be an excessive bow wave ('cos of the shape) instead of sailing the boat, and that is slow. Not as slow as my boat handling is, but it still affects my concentration at times because I'm thinking about a distraction.

Originally posted by micmac37 eventually decided to get an RS800 !!

Its me signed in as myself this time. He did sail and 800 with the guy who he is going back with, but they fancy something a bit more challenging than that this time round.

The 800 is a very different boat to both the 14 and 49er.

The 29er is boring to helm because as soon as yiou get the boat handling sorted, which doesn't take long, there isn't much of a challenge to make it fun.. As a helm you don't have anything but a 'stick' and not even a trapeze or mainsheet to make things a bit more interesting, and being so close to the water you tend not to feel the speed until it gets preety breezy. I should imagine that sailing at a club where there are other 29ers might be more fun, but for me it isn't. - Plus a 600 is probably the best 'feeder class' for a musto as that is the class i see myself in in the future.