Posted by Barry on December 13, 19102 at 13:22:08:
I have some comments on the ruling on the spinnaker issue. I know that you are protecting the one design class and that is a good thing. There are more options that I want the 6.0 owners to think about. The possibility of the first active F20 class in North America would be a step in the right direction. It seems that most of the racing in the future will be formula except for the Hobie 16. Not to say that all of the 6.0’s would convert to F20 but possibility at selected Regattas. This would add another dimension to the boat. You could race the boat as a one-design (no spinnaker), One design with spinnaker or in an F20 class. The class could include N-20, N6.0, Fox and Hobie 20’s.
The goal is to have the boats be as equal as possible. There has not been enough data as of yet to see if they are equal. The actual results from last year haven’t been a good test. None of the 6.0’s that have raced with a spinnaker last year have a lot of experience racing buoys under spinnaker. As the knowledge grows, I think you will see the gap between the N20 and 6.0 narrow and hopefully disappear. With different designs you will see different boats do better in different conditions. This is true in the F18 class but there is a feeling that any boat can win on a different day. This would be a goal of the F20 class. We have added 2 to 3 boats to our fleet this winter. This brings us up to 6-7 active sailors with a few more I am working on.
Do you think a 20 plus boat, F20 (spinnakers) fleet would make an impression? I think it would.
We need to get data as well as having spinnaker-handling seminars to get people up to speed. If one boat dominates, we would have to make a change to the rules that we sail by. That could mean one boat adding weight, reducing sail area, increasing sail area or decreasing a boat weight.
The current NE N20 sailors are open to sailing F20. It may not work in the long run but I feel we must give it a shot as it may ensure the existence of all classes involved.
I am interested to hear any comments on this. Please sign you name, as I will delete any posts attacking any person in a negative light.
Thanks
Barry