Originally Posted by _flatlander_
I think it was cw (last Winter) that brought up the idea of a proposal to "allow" glass rudders on the Wave.

Here's my take on this proposal. We talk to a newbie sailor, invite him to a regatta, he shows up with his spanking new boat and EZ Lock rudders. He rolls around the course for the weekend and finishes last. To be expected say you? Just needs more experience, a few more races under the belt? Here's the rub (and I'd almost GUARANTEE it will happen), somebody's going to walk up to him and say
"You know...If you want to be competitive on that boat...you're going to need 18 rudder castings and some EPO's"
"Yeah? How much that gonna cost?"
"New? 'bout $800"

True or not, this guy may never come back.

Same frickin' thing that will happen to the newbie with his '85 H16 he just picked up for $900. After he rolls around finishing last some joker's going to make a point of walking up and saying
"You know, the rules require you to have a comp-tip on your mast"
"Yeah? How much that gonna cost?" frown

While all this may or may not be true, no matter what class you are in you are going to need good equipment to be at the top. If everyone is using a comp tip you might need one also. But the fact of the matter is even if it is a stock sail you will probably need a new one and not the blown out one you received with the boat. I am willing to guess by the number of slightly used sails out there that most of the successful sailors are using crisp sails for there attempt to win big regattas, stock or custom.
The nice thing about the Wave is I can see no other part besides the sail and the rudders that will help this simple boat go faster. Weight seems to be no factor as races are won with 100 pound differences with the drivers.
When all is said and done I have around 2200 dollars into my boat which is as competitive as any out there and I am sure I could sell it for more tomorrow. You could spend more than that on a pair of skis per season. Its all relative. Sports cost money and the Wave class is pretty inexspensive.

Patrick Green