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The Class could decide AT ANY TIME to approve any sails or equipment it chooses to consider legal for racing.
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It sounds like you have a sail from our first batch. Our thread tension was off on the foot. This has been corrected in all other sails. Our quality control has kept our consistency for t past 3 years after the first batches corrections. We build sails now in 100 piece batches and are able to increase production as needed. Our firmer cloth is the cause of the difference in cunningham tensions. It provides longevity so we go with it. In my personal sailing I have always found our sails to sail level with the class legal sails. I have always sailed to my level with no advantage or disadvantage coming from the sail.
BTW please contact me so we can swap out the sail with the bad foot.
... and opening up the rules to allow any brand of sail would compromise the "one design parameters" of the Laser in their narrow minds.
I had never realised this was what was being discussed. I thought the new sail idea was for a limited number of manufacturers to provide a better lasting sail, ideally giving no performance advantage (or penalty). Certainly opening-up the supply of sails to any manufacturer would be something I would be against as it would definitely take the boat a long way from its "strict one design". It would very quickly result in endless discussions about this that or the other sail designer having a faster sail. Some people would attribute their (poor) results to a duff sail and winge about company x being "slow". There are loads of classes with that available and for me one of the attractions of the Laser is that this happens less.
Of course I would like a cheaper sail and/or a sail that lasts longer, etc. but that is very different from wanting to allow "any brand of sails".
Ian
Let me do a 180 and explain why it IS in our best interest to let the monoply builders control their own businesses..
The builders have bills to pay, employees to feed and families of their own to feed. They want the Laser game to continue so they can continue to feast of of it.
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Let me do a 180 and explain why it IS in our best interest to let the monoply builders control their own businesses..
The builders have bills to pay, employees to feed and families of their own to feed. They want the Laser game to continue so they can continue to feast of of it. They MUST keep their product good enough to maintain the customer base or their financial world will crumble.
Messing with the boat must always be done carefully.
1. The boat has to continue to be marketable
2. The builder must continue to make a profit
Buy our really great boat that is built with a very short serviceable racing life...
Has fed lots of families for over 30 years.
and the game played by the customers has been teh best one design single handed sailing game for a very long time.
It is reasonable to believe in continuing with that which works.
Note: I think they are screwing us royaly by failing to build the very best product they can possibly produce, but by gum they are PROFESSIONALS!!!!
There are lots of businesses where a similar investment could make more profit for the builders.
They must in some way be in the small boat business out of a love for small sailboats.
But the fact they might make a bit less money if they supplied fabulous sails does not deter me the customer and end user from wanting a high quality product.