Is the Cadet finished?

Originally posted by Jack Sparrow Originally posted by Simon Lovesey <span style="color: rgb34, 34, 34; font-family: arial; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Interestingly when you look at the data for this sector (slow double handed boats with spinnakers) and using National Championship attendance as the Key Performance Indicator,  the trend is fairly static,  so you could conclude the introduction of the Feva has not seen real growth just a displacement and dilution of the existing classes.  </span><div style="color: rgb34, 34, 34; font-family: arial; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><div style="color: rgb34, 34, 34; font-family: arial; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">As several people have said in recent posts,  we need to be moving away from a class centric view (and my boat is better than your boat arguments) to looking at categories of boats and how we can get more people sailing.   that statement is effective for the whole industry. With two notable exceptions, The Topper & Laser that provided new market segments for different reasons. In effect all SMOD builders do (RS, Laser, Topper) is cannibalise a market. Where there marketing focus should be for manufactures, in my opinion, is in market growth. And that doesn't mean making a a new boat that is a new version of the Oppy etc... it means creating greater access to, subsidising and building awareness through the provision of facilities, that encourage the sports growth, aimed at the youth. It would be interesting to see a collective approach between the big three in that space wouldn't it! Getting inner city kids sailing? Subsidised boat programmes at clubs? State school sailing scheme?... etc... etc... Grow the market, and grow your sales far beyond market cannibalisation will ever do.

MM,  Whizz Bang 3000 is simply the term that has been used on the forum since the year dot to talk about the new breed of smods (often with numbers in the title) that started in the 90's -  4000, 5000, ISO, 800, 49er and yes, to a lesser extent, the 3000, but no, that wasn't the boat I was referring to - I have sailed them, taught people in them, and would agree that they are an excellent way to get on the water and learn to race, provided your sailing ability enables you to stay in it (and I'd put that as not really much harder than the Firefly).

There wasn't anyone in mind, either, just what I've seen over the years - certainly not a grumpy forum user, though the Musto would certainly be at the top end of the boats not to try and start racing in, for me!

Originally posted by Rupert certainly not a grumpy forum user, [/QUOTE Oh, I hadn't thought of him. I've clearl

Oh, I hadn't thought of him. I've clearly expunged the thought that we ever shared the same class.

Originally posted by iGRF Mirrors, Cadets, Fevas, it's bloody child abuse.. The simple solution would be can the lot of them and re rig an Aero for kids, so they can lift the bloody thing without putting their backs out, it's modern, they won't get laughed at by their mates and do it just to please their parents. Put all the kids in it, the volume goes up, the price comes down and you(we) could benefit by cheaper single handed hulls, it's a nosey boat, could carry a small jib if that's required. No brainer really.

Originally posted by JimC But can you point to a trials developed boat that's been much of a success and developed a new market? You could even suggest that sometimes the best loser has done better than the winner.I think it could be argued that the most trials have ever done is to provide a focus on a new market that was already evolving.

Contender? Yes, the market was already evolving, but then the markets are so intermingled, I think it is hard to say what is "new", anyway. It certainly produced the 1st worldwind singlehanded trapeze boat.

None of the Cat trials produced anything actually new, though the Unicorn certainly did better than the Australis, as you suggest, but did the Tornado have a big influence on cat design thereafter? Dart, Spark, Hurricane I'd suggest all can be traced back to there (I'm sure a cat expert will put me right if I am wrong on any of those), unless you simply go back another step and trace them all back to the early C class developments.

Topper and Laser certainly didn't start a new market, they just did an old one in a much better way and so attraced new customers. In the UK, you could more accurately say that the Minisail started the market, but as that was based on what Proctor saw of the Sunfish, and I'll bet the Sunfish was based on beach boats already out there, I'm not sure what chance RS have of creating anything truly new. Now, will the Aero attract new people into the sport or simply poach existing sailors from other classes? I hope the former (maybe more holiday company sailors staying?), but time will tell.

To be a new market, do we have to create something that isn't actually a dinghy? Cats in the 50's, windsurfers after that.