So Whatever happened to..

Boats like the Enterprise, GP14 and Solo (and the OK which I sailed back then) etc were cheap to acquire and maintain in the '60s, offered good racing at all levels had, generally, vice free handling in a wide range of conditions. High performance was covered by the Merlin and 505 and inveterate tinkers could sail a Moth or N12. (Yes I know there were/are loads of other classes). The reason that, say, the Ent is still popular is that it still has those qualities and is still as good as any modern design in it's niche. You are unlikely to find a 'better' boat for racing on a small pond on Wednesday evenings.

X1 and X0, in my opinion, needed to have the funds to put say 5-10 boats into places like Ranelagh, Queen Mary or Wembley. Two locations where interested parties could go to sail them, race them and cave in to temptation and buy. Good boats for restricted waters, decent leg room and carrying capacity and I would have thought, capability to cruise as well as race, ala Wayfarers and GP's. Great for many lakes, rivers and estuaries of these British Isles where I'm sure there are folks struggling to sail perfectly decent but thoroughly unsuitable assy 'skiffs' from big brands. I have no idea about the folks behind it and I'm sure raising cash for such projects is a nightmare, but I think the tangent which opened up above regarding the D-Zero and Aero* shows the need for a well-funded, commercially adept concern to be fully behind any new entry.

In the future, the success of new entries for the double-hander would do well to think about how they can acheive some kind of localised critical mass. Funding to build 15 or 20 boats as demonstrators would be hard to raise, but its difficult to see how you can get racing and buzz going with just one or two demonstrators. You quickly fall foul (or are open to) the vagaries of the handicap system. IMO there's a need to establish 'fleets' in a strong demographic, say London/Kent/Essex/Hants and 'implant' two or three groups of boats in clubs within say 20-30 miles of each other** to quickly get traction.

Lastly, for me, the choice of open sail makers with supplied hull, foils and spars, really opens up a class for quick growth by encouraging sailors and vendors to get more involved in the set up and racing of their boats without the 'open-season' of a 'deepest-wallet-wins' full development class.

The 2000 class and continuing popularity of the 200, 400, FB and 800 show there is a good market for double-handers still. Plus the MR and N12 endure and provide those with the cash a great sailing reward.

*I really like these and its great to see it so popular so fast, the modern materials and rig choices are great plus points

**so you can organise open meetings in year 1 and have people mix from different clubs, creating more of a 'class' feel quicker

Edited by getafix - 29 Aug 18 at 10:35am

Not sure that I can spot the gap in the market for a new class ... whoever is to build or market it ... any ideas?

Originally posted by davidyacht Not sure that I can spot the gap in the market for a new class ... whoever is to build or market it ... any ideas?

Edited by H2 - 29 Aug 18 at 3:29pm