Aero 9

Blimey Sam - what is your rudder made of !?  The other 'removed' bits are fairly standard so the only one with a lot of variance is likely to be the rudder.  The modern centreboard is only about 3.0-3.3kg  after all to give some context.... btw the M7's weight varied a lot as well - this was all to do with the age of the extrusion tooling at the point of production.    We also noticed that carbon (and historically alloy) boom sections varied a considerable amount in terms of weight over time.  Superspares had two different 'weights' of tube that were used, plus back in the Topper days (Mk1+2) you could end up with a  really quite heavy 'generic' bit of carbon (nobody knew who made them either) and when Seldon tubes were used later  they were somewhere in the middle.   The carbon masts on the other hand were very stable and uniform ....   I do suspect your rudder blade/stock though - there were some really 'horrible' lumpy ones way back. (but that has not been true for many years now )

I think GRF's real problem is he needs to put a few KG's on himself if he is to ever do more than dabble with a Blaze and get continually frustrated....  and/or find a better boat more suited to him.   The Aero 7 is possibly as near as he will ever get in this world imo ...  he just has to get on with it.  (And his Blaze will sell within days ...)   

Sail what you can carry; 

Windsurf, Moth, RS Aero, Cherub, 18' Skiff...

The Blaze minimum weight includes everything except the rig - ie as it would arrive at a championship event before being put together (when this may be checked !!) . So hull, wings, centreboard in hull, ropes and corrector weights etc etc - all that is excluded is mast, boom, sail and rudder..  Mid to- High 70's kg wise  with a fully carbon rig and a bit higher with an M7 alloy one.  Any boat built in epoxy  (last 13-14+ years) is most likely be under the minimum weight limit without its added correctors.   Better polyester boats also get close to the class minimum weight.

Interestingly without the wing system and before fittings etc are added new hulls are generally around 51-53kg without the builder having to worry too much about long term durability issues. 

The Aero does have a damn good handicap considering how light it is. The Blaze is difficult to sail to its full potential unless its flat water and 12 knots but in the right hands does stand a good chance. Perphaps you dont have the right hands or rig set up in your Blaze? They seem to go pretty well at our club against the Aero's. All up, 75Kg for a 4.2meter boat with racks seems pretty reasonable to me... 

Nice to hear of your interest!

 At lakes, especially smaller lakes like yours, the RS Aero 9 is that much more of a popular option. The flat water makes it easier (rewarding for effort as the breeze increases) and you will be accelerating nicely when the puffs and zephyrs hit (even at 92kg, you are still lighter all up than heavier boats).

At Bowmoor nearby there is a really keen following for the RS Aero 9 and they are all very good!

There are plenty of RS Aero sailors holding their own at around 90kg+, we have front of the fleet sailors over 100kg.

As you are interested, RS currently have a BOATS2020 deal until Sunday. 40% off most accessories and 20% of additional rigs with new boats.

 'Gravitating' is an apt word. With the RS Aero 7 being the largest fleet there is inevitably occasion where some sailors opt for the largest fleet for the biggest race. Conversely, some like to avoid that too. For home club PY racing and mixed fleet PY events that is not such an issue.

 We opened entry on Friday to the re-scheduled RS Aero 9 UK National Championships 2020 at Draycote on 10/11th Oct,  part of the RS Aero UK Inland Champs. By the end of the weekend there were 60+ entries and 15 RS Aero 9s are signed up, which is great.

There could be socially distanced big boys beers for RS Aero 9s in Dunchurch that Sat night, bought by anyone who welches down from the RS Aero 9 entry list to the RS Aero 7 at the last minute!