Pisces Singlehander

Well you've answered your own question there Jim. Who wouldn't prefer to buy a new boat that was 20% cheaper?

Also, I said 'Laser beater'. I'd have thought it not impossible even in the 70's to come up with something that was not only 20% cheaper but sailed better too. Heck, if you just copied the Laser (with a few visual differences to avoid copyright probs), moved the bridle 20cm forward to reduce mainsheet snagging, put a decent kicker on, and bevelled the inboard edges of the cockpit, you'd already have been substantially ahead. They were all deficiencies evident on your first sail.

But while many of the contenders, e.g. the Lightning, addressed some of those issues, they were all so darned short and doomed to be slower.

And don't forget that at that time the Laser wasn't so omnipresent that it was unstoppable. I felt at the time that had the Minisail been given a decent rig with stiffer spars and a sail that borrowed on the Laser's example it could have been a match. I recall seeing a quite able Minisail helm try to take on the Lasers back then, but as soon as it blew up enough for him to get on the seat and challenge them, the sail was twisted off way out of control - more kicker would just have bent the boom more - terrible.