National 12?

so what would you change Rick?

Ian

These boats are predominantly sailed in land in lighter conditions. Full battened sails are a pain to read and rotating masts just a needless complexity when the fun is in quick tacking, boat on boat racing… but Im not a 12 sailor so maybe I’m missing something!

The class appeals to me precisely because it is simple.

Ian

 

 

I remember quite a long time ago Y&Y featured a 12 in Pitstop (shows how long ago it was!) that had been fitted with an assymetric, it was trialled at Burton Week but apparantly there was not a lot of interest in it.

Originally posted by Jamie600   I remember quite a long time ago Y&Y featured a 12 in Pitstop (shows how long ago it was!) that had been fitted with an assymetric, it was trialled at Burton Week but apparantly there was not a lot of interest in it.

Yep: but then that was in ~1996 and N12's were getting 100 boat champs so I guess they didn't see the need for change or the threat from the RS200 as that was a new class then.

The N12 used to be THE couples boat with huge events and club fleets; that is now the RS200.

I am sure if the N12 fleet had a time machine then they'd perhaps choose a different path but that's easy to say now.

So far any issues I can find with the national 12 are the sheer range of
hull designs and the complete lack of top end 2nd hand boats.

Rick, this maybe my naivety but i can't see how having a rotating mast
would help the 12's numbers boost. In fact I don't think the rig is out of
date at all. I can't see anyone calling the aardavk high modulous mast
"out of date". With carbon rigs (masts and booms) and the sail makers all
pushing the rules and using laminate cloths, I personally think they look
pretty good. I have wondered if having a spinnaker would help (the
merlin certainly doesn't seem to be suffering) but I actually think that
there are tons of people out there who the 12 would be perfect for but
they just don't know anything about it.

The lack of second hand market is a big issue! Correct me if Im wrong
but I've heard in the musto, a lot of the top sailors get a new boat each
year for the main reason that when they sell their previous boat it helps
more people have an opening into the class. (Having the check for the
boat they're selling made out straight to victor boats). I'm not sure how
accurate that is but it sounds like a fantastic idea and it seems to be
working. I can only see it working with wonders.

The amount of different hull designs is admittedly a put off for me. I'm a
firm believer in practice over equipment, but I can't help having that
nagging feeling that If I pick the wrong one, I'll never be able to pull out
that top spot. If it were an int 14, I'd still feel confident If I had an M12
that If I put in the time and practice on the water that I could compete
with a Beiker 5. But with the N12 their just doesn't seem to be that
definition. I can't see a simple yes or no for which hull shape. Though
maybe it's a good thing that i'm just putting a negative spin on it. It
could be that for all the different hull shapes, they're actually all as
competitive.

Either way, they look fantastic and I want one. Just need to re-arrange
some funds and save a little.

Doug H

Edited by Doug.H