Cirrus Icon Development

Originally posted by Lukepiewalker Have you considered a comically oversized Genoa?

It worked for the FD ( to get olympic selection in the trials )

Rick

Fully appreciate the hurdles / obstacles involved - which is exactly why we are looking to keep the hull pretty true to the NS and quite possibly fully NS rule compliant.  Boat development can be over-hyped as an activity - it is hard work and occasionally frustrating/diasppointing so it is only something you do when there is need - it is far from a hobby.  Our simple business model is NOT to play around with hulls unless essential or (from scratch) develop new classes - it is to take undervalued or 'legacy' ones (like the Blaze), work with CA's,  sort and develop the potential of the boat, consider derivatives and sell in reasonable volume.  This works for owners and commercially it works for us.  There may be very similar developments in the future.

Icon is a modest departure from this approach.  We have agreements in place to import NS hulls, as we need, but if the project is quickly successful we will of course look to sub-contract ourselves maybe nearer to home.  As with Blaze/Halo our focus is mainly on rig and foils as the target market group here in the UK and the sort of locations they sail at are different. 

.... and dare I say it the 'big three' do not always get it right !   They bet on plenty of new classes, and do not make a bean on quite a number of them after the first sales push.  Unfortunately they can then lose interest / focus as they launch the next new class.  This leaves owners and CA's out in the cold .  The more responsible ones will sell/pass tooling and rights onto somebody else in time and/or the CA to carry the class forward after the initial flourish but we know of  too many instances where the original SMOD manufacturer sit on their hands and hope the owners will simply fade away .... and buy their latest class.  They have done a lot to promote innovation and new classes in the past few decades but they are only part of a vibrant market.  At one end you have the DIY enthusiasts who will design and build their own development class boat and maybe build a couple with mates at the other the 'big three'  - We and plenty of other niche builders sit in the middle.  

Toyota, GM and Ford are not the only car makers either ! 

Mike L.

Rick,

The NS14 is a great boat, and I'm very happy with mine, but I'm not sure it would be an easy sell here.  Yes, its an sexisting class, but the fleet is 12,000 miles away so get togethers would be rare (but very welcome!).  It also sits fairly close to the N12 in terms of crew weight (it can take a bit more but is still essentially for smallish teams), so has an established competitor here.

The Icon will, I think/hope, end up very similar to the Flight 4.3 and my NSX rigged NS14.  Therefore it is leveraging NS14 development technology, but applying it uncontrained from rules and in a SMOD manner.  I believe it will be more than an incremental improvement on a Tasar, perhaps more a lightweight, kiteless, Merlin? 

If it comes with a carbon wing mast (please Mike!), square head main, cruciform rudder(?) and weighed in at, say, 70kg all up I think it would be a real step change in boat design, handling and performance.  There are far too many boats launched as another 'me too' opportunity for someone to make a quick buck, but I really don't see that this is one of them.  It could be the first mainstream boat to really say "welcome to the 21st centuary". 

Originally posted by blaze720 .... and dare I say it the 'big three' do not always get it right !   They bet on plenty of new classes, and do not make a bean on quite a number of them after the first sales push.

You are quite right; usually they get it wrong and the class is dead 10 years later.

But of course they have the resources and customer base to make some cash on the project and then move on to the next one. I am sure someone could create a list of boom & bust designs that have fallen from favour (anoth thread perhaps)

A good design will hopfully endure and over time create a suitable critical mass to have good class racing.

I have sailied a number of boats with my wife RS200, 29er, RS800, N12 & Tasar and if your new project works out well it may suit us so I wish you all the best. Right now we have a Tasar based on experiences of the other boats.

BTW If you are asking me I'd go dagger board (seems OK for the worlds best selling dinghy) and a carbon mast & boom.

Originally posted by Peaky If it comes with a carbon wing mast (please Mike!), square head main, cruciform rudder(?) and weighed in at, say, 70kg all up I think it would be a real step change in boat design, handling and performance.  There are far too many boats launched as another 'me too' opportunity for someone to make a quick buck, but I really don't see that this is one of them.  It could be the first mainstream boat to really say "welcome to the 21st centuary".

Couldn't agree more. Come on Mike, people will pay more for a great product. Don't get suckered into the route of compromising for the sake of a few hundred quid. I might even buy one if it's the mutz nutz!