420 winged rudder

Originally posted by robin34024 if the class association had given a dispensation ... legal

Debatable, because the dispensation is very limited. In any case the race office should be notified, because its very easy to imagine them wishing to make a handicap change. A more extreme example was when the Enterprise association issued a dispensation allowing pole kites for handicap events only. It is (or was) thus quite legal to have a pole kite on your Enterprise for the BM, but you sure as **** wouldn't expect or be given the same handicap.

The class association can give dispensation in their own events, not other peoples. Otherwise I'm asking the topper class for dispensation to sail a foiling moth off their handicap next year...
The event organisers can give dispensation. The point is, as with just about everything else, you should ask first, then you avoid embarrasement.

Yep there are mods and there are mods, an rs400 kite on a bosun is quite a mod!
Anyhow, these are fun events and sure winning has some kudos, but worrying about what somebody is doing to their boat further down the pack is missing the point a bit.
I suspect that if you threw the book at a lot of boats at these events they'd fall over on some technicality.
Who checks the rack settings on the 800s?

Originally posted by Lukepiewalker The class association can give dispensation in their own events, not other peoples. Otherwise I'm asking the topper class for dispensation to sail a foiling moth off their handicap next year... The event organisers can give dispensation. The point is, as with just about everything else, you should ask first, then you avoid embarrasement.

Spot on.

Originally posted by Andymac Originally posted by Lukepiewalker The point is, as with just about everything else, you should ask first, then you avoid embarrasement.   Agreed, that is indeed the crux of the matter. In all probability, the 'trial' 800 sails, the 420 wing rudders? and indeed the '2011' Merlin sails would have been given the same PY as their class counterparts, but it is the organisers of the event's perogative to decide and for no one else to presume. A declaration beforehand is the only way of avoiding any controversy. Bear in mind, some years ago a very well sailed Bosun was DSQ'd from a high placing in the BM, because it was using an assymetric kite (which I believe at the time had tacit agreement by the class to trial), which had not been declared to the race organisation.