Cirrus Icon Development

What handicap are they giving you at burghfield ?

Most other clubs are allocating Icon 1020 - At Burghfield they have been playing around about 1000 - the standard punitive BSC figure given to most 'new' classes they think might be fastish.  However light at end of tunnel .. the club is developing a protocol for new classes without 'official' handicaps and based on recorded results we expect the next step will be to nudge it to around 1010 or higher soon - still not  there but better than heading off in the opposite direction and confirming say 990 ! 

Singlehanded ... well what about 960 ?  Its not what the boat is designed to do but it is what I was allocated until recently (when Andy was fighting in the wet fields of Summer 12). But better than sitting on the shore !

We also loaned the boat out to many of the 'good' of the club to see what they could do in it themselves.   Some proved really capable ... but some others, to our great surprise, chose not take up the obvious challenge to see if they could sail it to the PN they thought appropriate for us !   

Well we saw the funny side ...

Mike L.




Edited by blaze720 - 23 Oct 12 at 10:33pm

Originally posted by pondmonkey I really, really hope you sell them by the bucket load... Far too nice a boat to be bogging around the Internet on another handicap discussion. Looking forward to seeing the first open meeting photos!   That'll put this into context!!!!

Quite agree. But will the 1st Open be in the UK, or on an Italian lake?

Originally posted by Thunder Road Indeed lets get away from handicaps and residual values, they always seem to polarise discussions and move away from the purpose of the thread, I wonder why? So, back to the ICON, fixed length forestay or adjustable? The former is adopted by some very respectable skiffs, the latter gives you more adjustment of rake and set up, my thoughts are for fixed length but what do I know............

It would bother me that the class rules are not set in concrete by now.
Having owned a SMOD and a few other boats, I would definitely look fairly deeply at the class rules before buying into another class.

With an established class, I'd also be looking at when and where the events are, who's sailing them etc, but the rules are a key part of the class. For one thing, there is the issue of a manufacturer changing the spec of future boats, for another the balance between me being able to optimise my boat and other people being able to spend tons on better fittings, foils, systems etc.

Hi 400

I think we have established you are not really in the market for one previously.... you have so many doubts.  You must need/feel much more comfortable with a set of tight 'laser' type rules in you mitts.  Nothing wrong with that, lots of folks want everything defined right down to how to tie their laces.

At the other extreme there are full blown development classes - sometimes with just a simple rig size maximum and even a miminalist 'box rule' for the hull. 

In between there are classes like the Blaze (and now Icon) where all the expensive bits - hull,foils, rig etc are totally defined and single source but some marginal personalisation is permitted.  Areas like toestraps, sheeting, tiller and extension, and some simple control alternatives do not intrinsically change the boats character or speed but do allow me or you or Fred or Jo  to set the boat up to suit 'us'.   It is called personalisation.  It has worked for many years in the Blaze class which we also administer and Icon rules simply mirror that approach

.... I think you might be seeing reasonable (but controled) flexibility as a problem.  Many see this as an advantage.   I like many of us have owned plenty of 'strict' SMOD class boats from Laser, Topper and RS over the years and could point to quite a number of evolved changes and simple crew choices permitted in the vast majority ...   I do not quite understand what you believe is that different here or am I missing your intention  ?  

Mike L.

Originally posted by RS400atC   It would bother me that the class rules are not set in concrete by now. Having owned a SMOD and a few other boats, I would definitely look fairly deeply at the class rules before buying into another class.