Too many people seem to be getting wrapped up on this weight issue - weight of the crew, weight of the boat. Yes it makes a difference, but is way down on the list of things that make you go faster than the next guy or make sailing fun. Back in the hey day of cat sailing when 100 plus boats would show up for a local race no one seemed to care much and I know there was upwards of 30 lb differences in weights between some of the H16's in our club. Now peoepl are getting all bent over whether a boat that is over weight by 5 lbs can still be called by its class name, and we struggle to get 10 boats to the line. Is there a connection here......Hmmmmm???
Perhaps you overlook the skill level within the pecking order in a fleet.
In any fleet, a pecking order based on skill level is established. Your point that boat and crew weight factors are small compared to the skill level is true for the entire fleet.
The reason "too many people worry about weight" is that they are NOT racing the whole fleet.... they actually are racing the sailors within their region of the pecking order... In this micro race... boat weight and crew weight are very important to success in the micro race. The sailing skill differences within this region of the pecking order is really small.. Boat Weight and crew weight are much more significant to finish position. (This is why you bet the farm that Asby, Guck and Melvin are sailing boats that are absolutely at Min weight and as stiff as possible.)
IMO, that is why you have the "too many people worry about weight" situation. They see the weight effect every light air down wind leg!
Your example from back in the day... actually proves my point. with 100 boats on the line... the number of sailors in your skill level of the pecking order is much larger.... the effect of boat weight on finish position within this much larger micro race is now much less signficiant. Sail well and you finish 20 points higher in the pecking order! You forget about the 30 lb difference then...It did not SEEM to matter... even though it is significant.
I can't see how building a new 200 lb A Class for entry level racers will grow participation. Having a good market for quality used boats on the other hand does solve a good deal of the problem. (the new racer now only has the skill set and their body weight to worry about in moving up the pecking order.
It is much easier to grow the class by saying... Ah... what you want is a 2002 or later Boyer to be competitive... OR to a new A cat racer... You know... that Boyer mark 4 does not have the current hull shape but unless you plan on the nationals... It's a great starter boat and it's on weight and they hold up well and retain their value. Much better for the class IMO.
