Solo changes survey

Yes, not sure it would need to be heavy TBH and as Jim says the boat will float lower so will scoop up more water into the cockpit for the transom flaps to remove, a double floor will improve matters but will make the cockpit shallower and less knee-kindly. The Blaze and Spice both float quite high despite neither having side tanks and relying entirely on the double floor for buoyancy.

Still sure a flooding tank that drains outside the boat must be possible?

A crash helmet does make your head higher meaning more chance of banging it. I know, duck further.....having gone from a Finn to a phantom recently I really do appreciate the carbon boom.

As for flooding tanks, a few new phantoms have them. I think all should as the thing floats too damn high To get up easily if you're not on the centreboard.

What I do for an issue of flooding tanks for the solo is that it only means more water inside the boat. Unless you go for a raised self draining floor you are not going to get the total benefit you may hope for.

Where does the 5 knot minimum come from?  I have done plenty of Nationals, Nations Cups and Regional Championships in the past twelve years and I don’t recall a minimum wind speed in the NOR though ROs may have set their own minimum wind speed limits.

The flooding buoyancy tanks is good providing it can be incorporated into existing boats including wooden ones.
I was at an AGM where the voted in a change to carbon boom. It was said to have no competitive advantage. When asked why do it we where told, oh it makes the boat easier to Gybe and therefore less capsizes. If that is not a competitive advantage I don’t know what is.

In a similar way because of flooding tanks being able to self recover or recover quickly after a capsize is a competitive advantage.

The idea of flooding tanks is an old one but I don’t know of any class that uses them. Wonder why they are not more mainstream