view on topaz?

Originally posted by Phil eltringham Enough with the new boats, lets just fix the mistakes with the ones we have and start enjoying them!

Ah well, there we go with the downside of the Single Manufacturer one design bit. Everything ios a compromise, there's a downside to everything, right?

In the case of SMODs, unlike a 505s Enterprises, Scorpions, Cherubs or whatever, if a new bulder wants to get into building a SMOD class they have to found a new one. They can't get into building an existing SMOD because a) the current builder owns all the design and copyrights etc and b) having two builders would mean that people would assume one builders bat was faster then the other builders, and they'd lose the any boat is good enough thing.

And then its a considerable challenge to fix mistakes (especially what looks like a mistake now but wasn't when it was designed) with SMOds, because as soon as you fix something again you've lost the one design bit. Bethwaite's managed to do it with the 49er masts, but it can cause considerable organisational/political problems for other classes... Don't, for instance, go to a Tasar Championship and say what a good idea it would be to have a Tasar mk 2!!

This isn't to knock the SMOD thing, which has its place just as much as the Development Class or the multi supplier One Design concepts do, just to note what one of the downsides is.

If you think about it, its just like the car industry, every major manufacturer makes their small hatch backs, their family saloons etc etc, and every few years its replaced by a new model... You can't imagine Fiat not bringing out a new hatchback if Ford has grabbed the market with a smart new model.

No they should not!!  If topper start making 'cool' boats there will be even more new classes to sperad a not particularly huge sailing community between.  You are better off picking a better boat from someone else, that way there will be more poeple for you and everyone else to sail against.  Enough with the new boats, lets just fix the mistakes with the ones we have and start enjoying them!

Yea i think so too I ve got an ISO and its great fun dont get me wrong, but ive aslo sailed 29ers and they are certainly more skiffy!!

Edited by Andy949

Originally posted by hydrographer20 yeah a 29er is good and i have nmebver even heard of a spice is it any gd|?

Vaguely a Buzz with an ISO rig and an extra string! Not a major financial success for Topper. They do seem to be still marketing them, but then Topper are still listing the Boss on their website.

It would be hard to regard the boat as being design wise the equal of a 29er. Like all the early Topper boats it suffers from being based on pre Amalgamation I14 design a a time when the I14 was a little less than state of the art in world wide terms.

lots of different types of "topaz":

topaz taz: hull: like a topaz but small, rig: optional oppi style or pico style very slow

topaz sailing system:hull:original topaz rig:uon one pico like sail/uno plus that and a tiny jib, uno race one sail fully battened/race plus that with reasonabe jib/race x that (with or without the jib) with a spinni, duo stayed mast main and jib trap, trez: duo with spinni

magno: Hull: magno rig: club or sport: two or three sails

omega: magno but biggar!