New ladies skiff

Originally posted by SoggyBadger Originally posted by olly_love the mirror isnt a true one design, Yes it is and always has been since I started sailing in the 1960s. Originally posted by olly_love because you can have different cut sails differnt hulls different foils differnt layouts, Makes no difference. It's a one design class.

the word TRUE is the important one in that sentance,
i have a b14 which is a one design- but can have different parts
a sonata which is a one design but can have differnt parts

and a TRUE restricted one design where everything has to come from the builder and be identical to another boat the LASER. i also used to sail and race fevas.

perfect Forum case of TWO eyes ONE Mouth use them in that order

Originally posted by 29er397 Originally posted by ham4sand although it probably is the angle that makes it look bad, got any pictures from 45 degrees ish?? Yup, these photo's don't really do great things for it, unfortunately i have no more. I actually quite like the look of it personally, I guess the only time to really judge is in the flesh, or actually having a sail - I'm still vying to get a go to make a real judgement. I sailed the XX and despised it though, and this looks by far and a way nicer to sail.

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Originally posted by SoggyBadger Originally posted by fudheid you don't think that having british sailors doing well in the games brings the sport to the attention of the masses? I think Ainslie was on just about the front page of every rag in the country when they gave the team, with media all over Ainslie certainly gets the headlines and that's got to be positive for the sport. But we should also note that his Finn is somewhat different from the 49er, 29erXX, Aura etc. Is that part of the reason for his media profile? Does this show that we don't need these extreme designs?  I think his Finn in particular is as elitist as it gets, personal/custom mast developed by BAe, same with his sails north. as far from club sails as you get. The olympics show that sailing is a diverse sport with a boat for everyone/everyshape.....Who's to say that the devoti won't be the singlehander in the future? Originally posted by fudheid you only have to see how many watched AC45 via youtube to realise that accessibility is key, It didn't make much of a ripple in the national media though. You need to be a bit cautious with those YouTube numbers as they could be watching from anywhere in the world. Thought  it was on itv? certainly saw pictures in the broadsheets........as long as it encourages sailing (even in Namibia - think it would lokk good if the pirates sailed galleons Originally posted by fudheid but having a class that brings revenue to the RYA/ISAF must be a good thing? It's certainly a good thing for those whose salaries are derived from the income (often the same people who make the decisions about which class to favour).  agree with you on this, long since given up my RYA dues after unfortunate trials process favoured their youth fleets sailors against us average joes.....

Originally posted by rogue it's not, you'd have to have a clear definition of what 'one design' means, and as there are multiple designers of sails, foils, build paramenters for a mirror, you'd struggle to push that through.

The meaning of the term one-design has been well known for generations

Originally posted by rogue a more unassuming and genuinely honest example of a sailing boat would be hard to find imo.

You'll get no argument from me there

Originally posted by rogue But is it a 'true' one design like a controlled mould, highly processed boat like a Feva, Laser, Blaze etc... erm, no.

Of course it's a true one design (as are the Finn, 470 and 49er). If it weren't  true then it would have to be false i.e., NOT a one-design. The most appropriate description for Fevas, Lasers and so on would anally one-design. They're done that way for commercial reasons not to ensure level racing (that claim is just marketing botty water).

To my mind it looks very nice - it is evident that it was designed by someone who can "think outside the box and challenge the ideals of a succession of box rule boats." I am
Confused by those who question the freeboard - you don't expect to sail a fast boat and stay dry do you? You're soaked to the chest just launching it - what are you, American? And if you're worried about reserve bouyancy - if you're that far in then you'll already have tripped over the pole.
I reckon it's a good progressive design.
Hopefully they can build it nice and light and at a good price.
Anyhow I agree with whoever said that large scale ladies skiff sailing will not take off. The aura will only succeed as a ladies skiff if it is selected for the 5 ring circus, or it is marketed as a skiff for lighter teams.
My reasons are as follows:
Plenty of young girls do 29er squad sailing - there are nearly as many girls as boys, and they seem to be on a pretty similar footing. All good. This is because the 29er is quick and exciting but accessible to a good sailor coming out of oppies/fevas etc. It is relatively cheap, physically accessible and also, DADDY IS PAYING. However, 29er sailing as a percentage of all U18 sailing activity will remain small. 
Fast forward to university age ( for the purposes of my demographic model, most girls who sail 29ers go to university)
Girls are now young ladies so no longer youth so the whole rya youth gravy train stops. Luckily, sailing is still provided for free (team racing) with awesome socials, so this usually is the main sailing avenue for young ladies of ages 18-22.
Get to graduating, and the attrition is pretty big for sailors, but particularly for girls. 
This is due to a number of factors:

Of the percentage of girls who sail, those who sail skiffs (well 29ers) up to 18 remains small in comparison to those sailing more conventional craft at club or even national level. 
Looking at dinghy sailing on the whole, how many rs200s are bought outright by all girl crews? Not many, I would venture, and whilst the competition is hot, a trained monkey could sail a 200 round a course, socials are good, boats plentiful etc. I. e it should be attractive on every level save a perception that it is not fast or exciting enough.
Now the problem with skiffs is that they aren't easy to sail until you know how. It's not a matter of physicality - you don't need strength or anything to sail one, but just like windsurfing, it requires a  load of esoteric skills, and until you learn them, you'll be doing more swimming than sailing. It is a fact of life that Girls are generally more risk averse than boys, and as with learning windsurfing, the fear of failure overcomes the need for achievement sooner. Girls have advantages over boys (generally) in other areas such as intuition and perception. Girls are motivated in very different ways and need very different coaching techniques than boys. 
Going forward to graduate level, those girls not at an elite level who will not have pursued "proper" sailing through uni rather than team racing are faced with a tricky choice. They are burdened with debt and not earning heaps. As such their disposable income is seeing a lot of competition. Do they: buy a skiff new, circa £11k split between two? That is equivalent to a 4 year old mini cooper, or 5 skiing holidays, or 10 pairs of Christian loboutin heels, or 50 Sienna miller esque haircuts or le creuset cookware or any combination thereof. How many girls would sacrifice all of that to swim around 10m radius of a swiftly depreciating rs800 for several months in the freezing cold with a similarly disillusioned pal in the hope that it eventually came together? Not many, especially if barely a handful would consider buying a boat and doing the 200 circuit with the superb attainable one design fleet racing and boozing/debauchery on a near team racing scale. 
Another difference between men and women as consumers is that the boys are more likely to be sold on a larger, unitary big ticket luxury item such as a sailboat (or motorbike / car etc) than a girl who (again generally speaking) would prefer her consumption spread out over smaller items giving a higher standard of living. 
The other undeniable truth is that by the time girls (and boys) are starting to earn well and are not so consumed by existential angst over which ikea coffee table best defines them as a person to contemplate buying a boat, then they are at a stage of  having to think about getting on the property ladder, and procreating. If we take the economics of rearing young out of this, would you make a large capital outlay on a luxury item that you would be unable to use for the next few year because you are too big/ knackered/ covered in stitches/ hormonal /unable to find a babysitter to use it?  I have seen a mate's wife windsurfing within 3 weeks of giving birth but I think she is in a big minority.
My tuppence worth.