Zim 15

yes- that's three boat team racing- it sharpens you up no end.

usually... 

Originally posted by Medway Maniac Originally posted by jeffers and GRF would want a kite on it....... My thought exactly.  Bet he's scouring the web even now looking to import a Zim with an asymmetric, trapeze and bandit PY.

Originally posted by jeffers and GRF would want a kite on it.......

Yes - We spoke with Steve Perry of Zim many months ago and I was shown the spec and some images then.  We did discuss the possibility of them taking Icon as an 'off the shelf' design at the time but the Zim 15 was obviously fairly well advanced by then.  There are concept parallels of course hence Steves interest when he visited during the Dinghy Show.   Their spec at that time was an 'all encompassing one' including the potential to carry a spinnaker etc as well. 

Anyway Rondar are also very active in the US already building the 'Club 420' and Firefly  for that market with growing success (they also have production facilities there as well as in the UK now).  Their involvement with Icon now is to produce a derivative suited to this common generic market - so 'ruggedised', higher boom, 2-piece mast .. and the potential to carry asymetric (and trapeze - so echoes of the NS/MG14 family).  It can be offered in 2 and 3 sail forms and at lower cost  than our current 2 sail version here.  The spin-off for us is that we will also get our hulls from January built strictly to our (lower) weight and durability specifications and with our regular rig.   The Rondar Icon new version will be offered here by both Cirrus and Rondar (plus others/agents) but built for the UK to our standard weight and 2-sail specification, and all at a very commercially attractive price  - (and I guess still with our rather 'plain' sails - except for match racing  !)  
 
The Vanguard 15 is now out of production for the US I believe, hence Zim and Rondars current focus.  Guess there really is a market for this sort of boat  ....  

Mike L.