Reservations
Scott posted about a discussion happening on the Moth forums which is about sail areas and gear restrictions.
I have been giving some thought to working out how I can become a part of the moth fleet (mostly finding the money), however unfortunately opinions of the majority of these people are causing me to have pretty major reservations about joining the class. My main reservation is about the lack of restrictions on gear. When I sail I like to be close to the front and in most boats with an equal footing I generally manage to be close to the front, the idea of going quick (foiling) in a lightweight boat without the need for a crew is what appeals to me. The idea that I will be handicapped because of budget really doesn’t do much for me, racing against a factory team on a close to even footing is fine by me, though how is an amateur supposed to compete when those with money realise that by having multiple foils they can do a lot better? Some people say don’t worry about things that might happen… isn’t it plain obvious that it will happen?
And to think that I thought the Bladerider was excessively overpriced at ~$18k imagine having to dish out and buy another 10 sets of foils and 10 sets of sails… that’s very roughly another $25k and this is all for a boat that is only 10ft long is less than half my weight when it’s fully rigged.
As far as the sail area discussion, I think those that use the grandfathered sails on new boats are cheats. I actually quite like the unlimited sail area suggestion, it may be a good way to bring some heavier people into the class.
Enough ranting from me, maybe it isn’t the right class for me.
Filed by Popeye at July 19th, 2007 under Sailing
Bah!
Excuses excuses. Just buy one. They are the most incredible amount of fun you can have on the water. Period.
In reality, you don’t need to have a new boat with all the kit initially, it’s not going to hold you back til you have the put the time in. Once you’ve put in the time, then you start playing around with new gear.
Not saying that people won’t eventually have multiple foil sets, but they’d have to be very brave to do it. Even at a place like Garda with almost certain conditions, nobody really optimised foil sizes. To get around the course (ie. upwind) well means the foil sizes aren’t really going to optimize for speed (ie. small foils).
Comment by scott — July 19th, 2007 @ 3:10 pm