Is the Cadet finished?

Does nobody buy the Feva S these days?  Smaller Dacron main version ......

At our Junior group we use the dacron sails for teaching, and then when they start racing they can start to use the bigger sail if they want to. Works pretty well.

For good reasons this forum tends to focus on the hardware, it's simple to talk about, we have used it and abused it and sold it, put our kids in it.

We think about a replacemrnt for the Mirror or Cadet or other boat

A boat is much more than a piece of nicely shaped plastic or wood,  it carries with it a whole universe of experience, hopes and dreams.

So it would be better if instead of thinking about replacement boats we all thought about the "experience" that sailors will have:

Where it will be used, who will use it, what the ethos of the boat would be, what the class management structure should be, what the financing options would be, how should it be built (not material but small batch, large batch, imported, UK built etc) and lots lots more.

Boats like the Mirror and Cadet make me smile when I think of them. I remember good times. Good races and sunshine, kids camping with Mirrors and cartopping. Over the years they have developed their ethos, their style and management structures.

If we decide that a new boat is needed it will just fall by the wayside unless all the social, economic and environmental issues are discussed first and used to inform the design.

I'm not interested in replacing either, I've sailed Fevas as well and understand why people like them. There is room for all of them.

However,  if we are going to discuss any of the above maybe staring with the finance issue would be interesting.

How should a new boat be introduced?

Large manufacturer, subsidies, low interest loans, buy backs?

Small manufacturer, subsidied by by the RYA, they have 9.3million from Sport England !!

Home built?

How amy other finance and building options can we think of?

Any one have any experince of interesting finance options in other areas?

I was unfortunate that I didn't get into sailing until I was 18 and dinghies until my mid twenties so missed a child hood of Mirrors and Cadets and Lasers (obviously sailed a Laser since and a Mirror once). It's great seeing the kids out on the Marine Lake in mainly Cadets on a Friday evening at West Kirby. Using (and learning to bag, rather than chute) a symmetric kite. Tactically jostling for position.

Mirrors cost about £5K new and fetch the same when 1-2 years old