Icon

The 59er remains what it's always been, an over canvassed straight rockered one trick pony. The Alto is doing just fine, there are more Alto's racing round here than 59ers and last I heard it was 59er crews giving up on it to buy Alto's. Alto's are a tad big for the lake is another problem.

We, for those joining late in the day, are too light now for our Alto and it is just too damn heavy to manhandle round the beach between us, I'm on record about bloody dinghies being just too damned heavy, I lifted the Icon hull myself, a whole lot easier than i can lift the Alto I currently own. It, also suffers from undersized self bailers, has done ever since I've had it and it's becoming annoying keep sinking all the time if we go even slightly over, I'm also on record as saying it would be a whole lot better as a wash through.

This project other than knocking the bottom bit of a discarded Icon hull will be a different boat. It'll have the mast right down to the bottom for a start, it'll have a hole for a kite and maybe another at the back for a 2nd kite, not sure yet.

Devoti own the Icon, it's their responsibility to market it, I get the impression, that they ain't doing enough here for the early adopters, but either way, I don't want an Icon, I want a three sail boat, a three sail wash through boat the only other thing on the market is the RS500 and I've been there, done that and chucked that particular T shirt in the bin, this will be a better RS500, or a better RS400, or it could be either, I haven't made my mind up yet, just consider yourselves lucky I'm letting you watch me cock something else up, only this time I know a ton more than I did before and I reckon the end result of this will be a jolly fine racing tool for the sort of water and type of course we all use more often than not, plus if you have symmetric skills they won't be lost whilst you try Assym tricks and vice versa.

Edited by iGRF - 03 Nov 13 at 11:51pm

'racing tool'? With no opposition?

Originally posted by blaze720 You are no real fan of the standard Icon

I guess your club would give you some sort of local PY but you'd never be able to enter any multi class events ...

But we do and have done with the regular Icon from day 1 and why should it be that different for GRF's project ?  Many many clubs will offer you an ad hoc handicap if you call them in advance.  Usually they will say if you walk away with the event they reserve the right to give you a 'position' but then exclude you from overall results.  Most people and handicappers are reasonable if you are reasonable as well.

For the record since Icon was in the same position originally.  We and others have still raced at some of the Sailjuice events for the last couple of years, and boats have entered Falmouth Week, Poole Week,  Frensham Frenzy, Exmoor Beastie, several HISC open handicap events, ditto at half a dozen other clubs... 

Mike L.

PS - 2547 - I stand corrected - I'm convinced you really like Icon now you tell me ...     And as you do like it, you should now try it   If the GRF goodies would make it even more desirable you can maybe 'cadge' a sail with him as well.
 

Then it wouldn't be the Portsmouth Yardstick system anymore.  And you are right, it's totally unsuited to a one off- even Dan's Punk, as the system is inherently based on data from multiple sources and multiple sailors creating comparable averages across wind range, water range and sailing ability- loosely built around the class structure, and we all know the quality of 'constant' that little asset plays in the math formula.

Edited by yellowwelly - 04 Nov 13 at 10:20am