I honestly feel LP is way too greedy. Beyond that I fully understand that rules are rules and why they exist. But, with small things like the little plate on the deck that holds the two blocks. That has to be LP, Really? You are going t oallow any blocks, but the plate has to be LP. Lets get real.
One of the posters here declared that he was against anyone using aftermarket parts because they might one day sell their boat to someone who might want to have it class legal. Well, first off, I will go back to the little plate. The aftermarket one is identical, and does not require any mods to use it, so if a future owner wants to be legal he can swap it.
Now I own a 9181 boat, and I want the newer stuff but I will never race at the level where I would really need to be class legal. With a boat of my vintage anyone who is serious enough to want to race at a level where they will "need "to be legal 100% can go through the boat and replace the one or two items that are not class legal, but don't expect me to shell out the big bucks to play around at home with a boat that I picked up for $1000. If I end up serious enough I would probably end up investing $3000 for a decent boat. Now if someone took a newish boat and started replacing stuff for the copies. It would still be their problem. I would much rather someone buy a 'training "boom and still enjoy sailing than quit sailing because they could not replace the boom when it broke. For alot of kids and adults alike the difference in cost of a sail or a spar might be enough to ground them. If they sell the boat latter, buyer beware. Most likley if the buyer is serious about racing they will know ahead of time the questions to ask and the rules and maybe pass up on a boat that has some parts that were replaced.
At my local club, they have 3 sunfish, none of which would ever pass for class legal, not even close, but over 100 kids a year learn to sail on them, my son included. Should they complain that someone sold the club a "nonlegal" class boat? He## no. The more kids that learn to sail the better.