Cirrus Icon Development

Originally posted by pondmonkey .... For example I know of several adult couples who would love to sail 29ers.  Quite frankly a really good little boat, but they are put off by the youth element which naturally dominate- even at club level.  The same can be said of the dear old Solo at the other end of the age demographic.  I made an enquiry only recently to be met with the classic banter, 'I didn't think you were old enough'.... 2 years ago that would have put me off the class for sure.  ......

+1

Buy a racing dinghy is also about buying into the class.
The people in the class you choose to race against are at least as important as the boat, if you are looking for good racing for sport, rather than just seeking to own a nice boat and sail it.
Nothing wrong with owning a boat and not seeking to class-race it.
I enjoy owning a very nice motorbike, but I don't seek to race it at all.

When you create a new class, it must be an interesting thought as to what sort of people will join it? It's probably easier with a boat that is targetted at a youth age group, or some other identifiable group?

Originally posted by Peaky I wonder what percentage of club members ever travel to a class event, or do class racing? Not more than 20%, I would have thought. Obviously I hope the Icon class grows and thrives, but the early adopters are likely to be those who appreciate the boat for what it is, rather than those who seek out big fleets. Some people chose a boat based on what they like. Others chose on what offers the most competition. I'm in the former camp, but there are plenty in the latter. They will just have to wait a while longer before getting their Icon!

+1

Originally posted by 2547 ....... Exchange rates will always fluctuate, that is no excuse ...   With the iCon it's a standard SMOD for the, hopfully, mass market to compete with RS & Laser products as well as some of the one-designs such as N12 or Merlin from P&B & Winder.   All the iCon competitors publish their prices, whats the big secret?

To be fair I have found it hard to get firm prices for quite a lot of industrial stuff from euro-land lately.
If the price is between a 200 and a 400, that puts it in the SMOD range rather than the bespoke/small builder range.
New Merlin from Boatyard at Beer £19k inc trailer apparently.
So an Icon is about half that or twice a rotobath.
That's all we need to know unless you're actually going to buy one.

Originally posted by 2547 Exchange rates will always fluctuate, that is no excuse ...

I think Mike's indicated between 200 & 400 if that helps???