R Speculation

Originally posted by hum3 Windsurfers are not dinghies folks... Comparing the two isn't productive.   Not defending RS here, just sayin'...

RS brought windsurfing into their marketing brochure- inviting the comparison. They could have just said they were working with a composites supplier for the spars.

Just don't expect citing it to fall on unknowing eyes.... some of us like both, some of us are even better at the other side than this one too, so we know what's a bit iffy and what is genuine innovation (and limitations)

Check out demon sails- look at the wind range on their raceboard (VG7) sail- massive 3 to 25+ knots.

Edited by yellowwelly - 03 Mar 14 at 6:08pm

Originally posted by JimC I'm sure the reason they went for a dacron sail with short battens, demonstrably the low performance option, is quite simple: they thought more people would buy it like that. And at a guess, assuming the folks round here are typical UK dinghy buyers, they're probably right. Remember the job of the designer of a new one design is not to deliver the fastest boat, or even the fastest boat for the money. Its to deliver the boat that will ship the most units profitably.

Re jibs, I think the reason many fast boats go for dacron is that you can "see" the wind much much better on them, than on laminate.

And re the Aero going for a dacron main... I think it is to pitch the boat straight at the whole of the Laser market, not just (the racing) part of it.

And good on them for doing so..... it's about time someone did.

Originally posted by ChrisI Pitching the boat at the whole of the Laser market.... And good on them for doing so..... it's about time someone did.

Edited by Chris 249 - 03 Mar 14 at 11:20pm

Originally posted by Chris 249 Originally posted by ChrisI Pitching the boat at the whole of the Laser market.... And good on them for doing so..... it's about time someone did. Can I respectfully but strongly disagree? Arguably, those who aim at the Laser (and Opti) are doing something very bad for the sport when they attack the only two really worldwide classes we have. How many strong worldwide sports have no gear or discipline that is popular pretty much everywhere? Very few if any, I'd wager, and yet that is the situation we will be in if those who want to attack the Laser (and Opti) succeed. We already have many classes (including one I love) that don't deserve to run worlds. We already have a ludicrous situation of having one sport with something like 1100 sets of equipment rules - why add more and potentially destroy the only universal set for adults? If people walked into a cricket club and started promoting Crykett 2.0 (with welded on bails and straight-arm bowling to make the game "better") or baseball they'd probably get short thrift. I don't imagine rugby league missionaries are treated politely in union clubs. Those who promote a class specifically to take sailors away from another class are doing pretty much the same thing in many ways IMHO and it's remarkable that they are treated as politely as they are. Sure, the Laser is an older design with issues - to a huge number of people the issues are either not serious enough to really worry about, or part of the game. No boat is perfect. To make the situation worse, when companies attack the Laser and Opti they are attacking two of the three comparatively strong areas of the sport and ignoring the fading areas. If they were serious about keeping the sport viable and strong then why don't they spend their time restoring the once-strong areas like the high performance crewed boats or the smaller "family" sector? The Laser is not the cause of the sport's ills. In many places it is the only real medicine that is keeping clubs alive, and yet parts of the sport are trying to destroy it while ignoring the areas that need surgery quickly.  Surely what you are doing with the X-1, which is an attempt to revitalise an important but moribund area of the sport, is one hell of a lot better than attacking one of the sport's pillars. I recognise that the situation is different at club level in the UK (perhaps) but surely sailors of the world and manufacturers have some responsibility to the sport as a whole and therefore their decisions can't be driven without considering the wider sport. I've always respected RS a lot but when it comes to taking aim at the Laser (if it this is what they are doing) then I think many of us will be dead against it.