The RS400 Rumours thread.

Originally posted by Mikey 14778 So the real question is, why are LDC sails more expensive than a good imitation when they are costing LDC less to produce ?

Because that's the value of not being flamed by TT. :-)

Like I said it's a balance. There's one thing worse than giving lots of money to a very successful SMOD builder, and that's giving lots of money to one which doesn't make a go of your class. Or one that undermines the class by radical change, like a carbon rig. I don't believe RS will do this.

Originally posted by turnturtle Originally posted by Mikey 14778 So the real question is, why are LDC sails more expensive than a good imitation when they are costing LDC less to produce ? Because the counterfeiters aren't having to financially support the class in other ways perhaps?

Like what other ways? The CA costs more to join than any other that I've ever seen, they can't
be making a loss there. The boats aren't exactly cheap, and LDC have made a lot of them so can
enjoy good economy of scale. So what part of the RS400 is making a loss that must be propped up
by excessive mainsail prices ? And why not just hike the price of whatever it is ?

Or could it just be a bit of profiteering going on ?

BTW, nobody pays list price for Speed, P&B, North sails etc. Last suit of Furball sails cost me
just over a grand for main, jib and kite.

TT, as a 400 sailor, I'm happy with the status quo on sails, it's not something that troubles us as a class.

I don't think it's in our top five things to whine or worry about, so best left as it is. The price of sails is mostly an issue if you are thinking of buying a used boat toward the lower end, when getting something where you don't need to buy a main or kite for a while is a good move. Budgeting for a new jib for open meetings is a good move though. I personally have all hyde sails on my 400 although most of the ones I use at the club have the old 'little red boat logo', so I don't think we can complain about longevity. Jib and kite prices are more to the point than mains, but at least we know we can buy the same gear as Nick Craig, even if we can't attract the same crew.

Possibly the biggest issues are the lack of cohesion between the grass roots and the circuit, and the lowish numbers of new boats sold. I think we are still paying the price of offshore manufacturing and QA fiascos. Plus the market has been diluted by the RS200, which is another very good boat, unless you are on the big side. But these are not huge problems to most of us, we're happy with our boats.

I hope the RS100 delivers as much fun as I've had out of the 400.

TT so is your Rs100 a counterfit devoti D1 as that was around before your boat

Originally posted by turnturtle Originally posted by RS400atC TT, as a 400 sailor, I'm happy with the status quo on sails, it's not something that troubles us as a class. fair enough that's your view, although I'm not convinced the class chairman would share that replica/knock off/rip off/counterfeit sails aren't something to be concerned about...

Well we could ask him?, or we could look at the minutes of association meetings and see that it's not exactly a recurrent agenda item. It doesn't come up on the Yahoo group either. I'm sure Mr Vincent will support RS in this issue if asked, that's always going to be the right policy. But it's off the bottom of the list of concerns like attendance figures at events, event management, association membership levels and all the other stuff that has to be thought about to keep the RS classes at the forefront. It's obviously your pet issue, not a priority shared by many people.