Published Hull Weights

Do we know if the Supernova's being weighed the same way as before?  i.e. does that 50kg really directly replace 62.5 in the old rules?

I fully understand your points- and would agree, for certain classes e.g. The Laser.

However the risk we have by pigeon holing classes into categories of what can and can't be done, is that good boats can fall inbetween the cracks. Before Hartleys took over Supernova production and marketing it was just another moribund singlehander - the same as the streaker before rooster. Sure, it had some loyal sailors, but it had no real future.

Hartleys have changed that by making it a serious club racing proposition at a very attractive price point. Honestly, it's now a nice little boat - and is at least now seriously worth consideration in terms of 'bang for buck' over the laser alternative coub sailors may face - where yes, you'd be right, the time stamping of the build weight is sacrosanct.

Originally posted by Chris 249 Down here, if a SMOD builder sold someone a boat advertised in the normal way as a SMOD at a time when they were about to drop the weight significantly, I think you'd have a good chance of getting damages against them.

That is, if you'll forgive me saying so, a very Australian attitude:-) Its clear to me that significant rule changes are looked at far more negatively in Australian sailing culture than in UK sailing culture, and I've seen it cause bad feeling over the years... There's this image in the UK of Australian sailors as mad radicals in Eighteens, and it always comes as a shock to the Poms when they find out that in some ways the Australian scene is far more conservative. In Aus our grandparents and great grandparents framed rules for some much more radical and extreme classes than in Britain, but over the years the Brit classes have changed those rules much more...

But on the specific point, there's usually something of a hiatus whilst these things are discussed: everyone knows its coming. I can't think of examples where the production line has gone from 60kg boats with no lead on Friday to 50kg boats on Monday.

Originally posted by Chris 249 What I can't work out is why boats that are affected by a weight reduction cannot be "grandfathered" in other ways.

Its an interesting idea, but I fear its impractical. Consider: if there's a radical rule change you end up with, for a good while, two populations of boats. And if you have an old boat you can at least aspire to be first old rules boat, and in a reasonably managed class there will be glassware.
But if you say, OK, we'll allow 5% more rag for old rules boats, what happens - everyone with an old boat, who'd like to be saving the money up for a new one is faced with buying a new set of rags that will only ever be any use on old boats because they're illegal on new design boats.
So last year's National Champs winning boat, unchanged, is not only uncompetitive in the new boat fleet, but even uncompetitive in the old boat fleet...


Edited by JimC - 02 May 13 at 10:50am

Originally posted by pondmonkey   the problem with fixing everything in stone is that you soon lose incentive to buy a new boat.

Think we can live without the political BS transient.