What would you change about your current boat...

Looking at the thread so far changes are all to do with well established classes, Laser, Phantom, Lightning, Merlin, Streaker does that mean that the new designs are spot on?

There is a smooth skin Merlin, it is called the MRX and it didn't take off.

Of the limited number of clubs I go to, I would guesstimate that the laser fleets started to decline a few years ago. Phantoms, streakers, solos' supernovas have all been 'evolved' together with Mikes work on the blaze, boats like the K1 etc. There was a time when you went to a club and you sailed a topper or a laser, that was pretty much it for single handers. I think that all of the boats above have sold in bigger numbers over the last few years. I also think the change is coming through the middle i.e the regular club sailors who are prepared to buy a new boat. Unless something radical happens with the Laser, which seems unlikely, I would anticipate this to accelerate. The Laser is and will remain at least for many years as the international boat and there will be a fleet of top laser guys who will continue to sail them. There will also be the most massive tail of people who have an old laser, don't tend to buy new boats and will continue to sail them. I do however think that the regular club sailor who tend to buy a new or nearly new boat every 3-4 years, is moving away from the laser and hence why both Devotti and RS will be trying hard to grab fleets at clubs.

Edited by SimonW99 - 16 May 14 at 9:55am

Of course if one recommends changes to a class that are too extensive....it becomes another class. How about an open transom Byte? There could be a 'British Byte' (I am sure I saw a flicker in Mark Hartleys face when I suggested this). It could never happen of course with an International class of course but the Supernova is a very different beast to the one that Mark Giles built years ago. John Claridge made sensible modifications to Lightning which addressed owners problems with the original design. The new Lightnings seem faster but any boat 30 years younger probably would be. Graduate is another example of sensible modification. We had two of them racing in a DYS event last weekend. What great little boats they are now, no longer rotting hulks in the nettles but sparky little racers.

Originally posted by kneewrecker Originally posted by SimonW99   If you had say a Laser, aero and Dzero all on the water and at similar prices and you gave them a good test sail, which would be chosen?  The one your mates sail.... having been in the minority of Phantoms against an emerging core of 300s, I can assure you moving to the 300 proved all the more rewarding in every aspect of sailing.  I'm fairly confident had the boats been the other way around, and I'd moved from a 300 into a core of Phantom sailing, the positive experience would have been replicated. The summer series of racing 300s at Draycote against 10 others (so we'd get 5 or 6 minimum each week), was without question, the best racing I've done since my uni team racing days.