Nationals attendance.

Critical mass.Having had a class association for a long time, this gives depth to the fleet, makes it less vulnerable to changes in fashion.

Originally posted by iitick What can one do to increase numbers.

Build a new version that is distinctly faster than it's PY number so chisellers can win by unfair advantage for a period in mixed handicap events.

Isn't that how all the other classes that are 'successful' did it?

The Dart18 has managed to keep nationals numbers high over the years. Always over 50 for as long as I have been involved and often up in the 70's or 80's from what I can recall.

In my opinion, the key to their success is the people behind the class. Hardworking committee keen to keep the class moving forward, very open to new comers and the venues chosen always have great facilities and socials around the racing.

On the water, mid fleet and the tail end is as keenly contested as the front end. Handicap prizes run in parallel to the top prize spots, so everyone is in for a shout at something.

Every thing that has been mentioned so far has been done by the Lightning Class but still numbers are stable. That is what puzzles me. Next year I may attempt the Nationals myself and swell the numbers by one.  Who knows I might even be competition for........

Originally posted by iGRF Originally posted by maxibuddah That may be the case in some classes grf if you are being unkind but in the phantom it certainly wasn't. The changes were made to stop the class going into extinction, to make it easier to sail and so make it more accessible. As a result admittedly the boat has got faster than it used to be. More of a by product than an intention. And congratulations to them for being far sighted enough to do that, what a pity the Contender class didn't react in the same manner. Having said that, following what may or may not have been an 'accident' is it not true to say that is the only game in play right now and is being used rather than the production of new designs, by an element in the trade? Is the Solo benefitting and the Streaker?

Most of the changes have come from the membership rather than a big manufacturer. The main reason is that the builder of the polyester phantoms was a class enthusiast in the Jeff Vanderborght rather than a big company. He created the plastic ones to keep the boat going. The biggest foresight was from the designers who set the min weight at 61kgs. Changes to the hull materials and other things, while done by Jeff had to be approved by the members first and then finally approved by the designers. As far as I can see there has never been an intention at any point in the phantoms "development" for any commercial gain from a performance point of view. Obviously Jeff made money out of them but that was because he offered plastic rather than wood. In fact early plastic ones were substantially heavier than their wooden alternatives.