R Speculation

Originally posted by yellowwelly Originally posted by Jon711 and that if it does take off, and the only class it kills is that bloody awful, godforsaken Laser/Torch, 2014 Y&Y forum's Laser Killer is.... the RS 50.  (I think that's what's being mooted anyway) The UK has a very complex and mature (shrinking) market for racing dinghies. I would not particularly bother promoting that boat in the UK too heavily despite the local allegiance and brand loyalties.  It'd only end in boom/bust with class politics kicking in, not to mention the handicapping issue... possibly spreading a negative vibe to other more lucrative markets. I'd package it up with a fusion of of beachside Aloha and Brit Hip - then close the deal with Sheikh funded institutions in the middle east, the rapidly expanding middle classes in China, Singapore, S Korea and sell a bit of design Kool Aid to the American college network- at 5 grand a pop those puppies would roll out if marketed as something new and different.  Their new Antipodean dealer network ramping up demos for organic growth would also be a key goal- win the Aussies and Kiwis- they are the sailing elite of the moment.  None of those markets have the same intensity of issues faced launching here. Launch a new dinghy targeted at Brits... no way, we're not worth it.

Originally posted by SimonW99 The 300 and 100 use Mylar, but both have a Dacron panel running the length of the luff for that very reaon.

You're making the assumption that performance is the prime reason for such choices in a SMOD class. I don't think that's valid. The job of a sail designer in such a class is to produce the rig that will help sell most boats, not the one that is fastest round the track - arguably a more difficult task.

I think to make judgements on performance you should look only at classes where there are no rules that influence material choice and where the distribution is wide enough that local sailing culture biases don't come into play. There aren't too many...

But then, if what we are considering is a rig for a new SMOD class then sentence 2 comes into play and performance isn't all that relevant anyway.

Edited by JimC - 19 Jan 14 at 12:37pm

In the Lightnings, Mylar has been racing Dacron for 5 years, now. Once you take into account that most of the regulars at the front of the fleet bought new Mylar sails, so often win stuff, there appears to be little difference in speed. Oft time champ, Louis Saunders (iiiiiitick's "Boy") still uses a Dacron sail, and 3rd place at the 2013 Nats was taken by a boat with an old Dacron sail - the old made a difference, not the Dacron. I'm saving my pennies (and £'s, or it would take too long...) for a new sail, and I will be buying a Radial Dacron sail. If there is a difference, it is that the Dacron is easier to read in a drift, and the Mylar has greater stability once dogs are being blown off chains. Between, it all seems pertty even.

Certainly no 15% speed difference.

The Mylar sail probably has a longer life in "perfect" condition, but once it starts to go, deteriorates far more quickly. I was using my son's 25 year Dacron sail today, and came 2nd. It has probably had 23 years of use past "as new" condition, but is still going. My 4 year old Mylar sail is showing signs that it is going to turn into shredded plastic soon.

So what did we decide? Does the world need a new una rigged 13-14ft single hander to replace the Laser/Torch/Phantom/Solution/Blaze/ 300/eps/Moth/OK and if it does will people throw their old boats away and spend 8K on a new one so that class racing continues to take place at their clubs? And is this it? Or are we still waiting for Europe to notice the Sunfish?