I think some of you are missing the point.

The N20 is the preferred platform for some sailors and some of those sailors are tired of the discrepancy between the sails on other platforms (F18 for example) and the N20.

Since the catsailing world is more open than it used to be (think hobie or nacra only events), OD racing is shrinking outside of formula classes (big surprise...). It's hard to live with sails that an owner feels are subpar and overpriced.

I'm not disagreeing with "It's not the tools, it's the carpenter", however between boats that might need their ratings adjusted and being hamstringed (to a point) by sails, I see exactly where they are coming from. If the F18's are running a flatter Spi that allows them to reach higher and the N20's are getting hammered on open fleet racing b/c of it, I'd be frustrated too.

I also see the SMOD argument, however when there isn't an OD class, now you're just left playing alone with a fleet of boats with potentially better sail design at their disposal. It doesn't make business sense for Performance to open up sails to the class, nor does it make sense for them to invest money into a rig where they might not recoup it. Not to mention, it cuts support for their dealer network by removing them from the sail buying loop.

If I were to set the rules, I'd lean towards Bob's suggestion. Set a class rule and measurement standard, talk to some lofts and get them to certify that every sail for the class meets X rule. If it comes out of A,B,C lofts and has the stamp that it meets X rule, you're done.

You could meet a couple of goals that make the boat more attractive. Have your sails cut to meet your crew size, a more competitive suit of sails for fleet racing while potentially driving costs down.