Technical protest

Originally posted by gbrspratt    It originates from Merlin's and putting a halyard bag in between the kicker/boom/mast.

I see. Well that's easy enough and common enough. Attempted rule bending by logic chopping is nothing new: "if I can dream up a way to call extra [sail area|hull length|corrector weights|something else] a [something different] it must be legal".

Of course that's nonsense. If it quacks like a duck it counts as a duck. Just because its a halyard bag doesn't mean it isn't also sail area. 49er/29er for examples. So if the class measures total sail area it counts towards sail area, and if it only permits n sails then its an extra sail.

In the past it has amazed me in the past how upset people have got when this obvious and fair interpretation of the way rules work is pointed out to them and their 'genius' concept is shot down. Perhaps the most high profile toy throwing exercise was the Krazy Kyote mast. Its on the net, and people involved still whinge about what was a completely fair and reasonable rule interpretation.

Edited by JimC - 18 Nov 19 at 10:09am

hard to win in a development class if you are just relying on your phsyical sailing skill, how do you think moths 'took off'  it wasn't through sailors relying on sailing skill, it was technical sailing theory and development, sailing is multi faceted, it is art and science, you need to be more than just a sailor pulling sheets and rudders, ..we'd all be in wooden boats with cotton sails, i'm sure dacron was deemed illegal.
the enjoyment of racing in a development class is trying new things that change the perspective of others, make the boat quicker, even in one designs, crews are looking for an advantage, some people are happy to get masts and hulls built to 'new' design theory, rudders etc, that is part of sailing for them, we can't all buy boats from RS and laser - or can we? tried that nice enough boats but a little bland....

Originally posted by fudheid Nothing cynical about it. There's no rule to bend. That's the point. It's an open development class. You can spend thousands developing a lighter stiffer rig, faster sails, lighter build hulls (24kg of correctors as minimum!) When you invest in going quicker then went not look at every possibility? Or just keep the status quo? No new build, same sail designs, no development... There's no rule about fences on rudders, so when does a fence become a wing (illegal)? How can you bend a rule when there is no rule?

Nothing cynical about it.
There's no rule to bend. That's the point. It's an open development class. You can spend thousands developing a lighter stiffer rig, faster sails, lighter build hulls (24kg of correctors as minimum!) When you invest in going quicker then went not look at every possibility? Or just keep the status quo? No new build, same sail designs, no development...
There's no rule about fences on rudders, so when does a fence become a wing (illegal)? How can you bend a rule when there is no rule?

Edited by fudheid - 17 Nov 19 at 9:23pm

Ok I get that it might be extra sail area but does it wrap around the mast/boom like the fairing does on the Musto/29er/49er might? That would definitely improve airflow that area though I'm not sure how much it would reduce overall drag, I suspect the difference would be considerably less than a missed shift or muffed tack.