What would you do? No minimum weight? No beam restriction? I would like to know. Its called an open class but perhaps we are too narrow minded in our approach?
cc
A beam restriction provides for some control on moment and something I would feel is required for a class. Whether it is 8-6 or more probably depends on what you are trying to build the class to do. If you are trying to revitalize the 20 foot buoy scene then 8-6 make the most sense as it is trailerable. The Open distance racing scene are not so much concerned with set-up and tend to be a lot more accepting of a difficult set-up to have added righting moment. The CFR could be revisited and would fall here except for weight. Marstom is a bad example of a formula anything as there are essentially no 2 alike and they have been the toy of the distance speed freaks to date.
My point here was that I though it silly to place some relatively heavy weight restriction on something that is otherwise TOTALLY open. If you want the class to be I20, then get the fence sitters off their butt and make a sailor’s class. If you want an open development class then make it so. The politically motivated and seemingly arbitrary high weight issue is going to cause problems. The I20 guys are already unhappy as they are heavy and will not join. The tinkerers will not join as they do not want a heavy boat. Weight does not make a boat less expensive. It does a lot of things but most of all it is point of contention. If you totally open every rule but set a large weight requirement then you might get a lot more interest by calling it the 320 lb class and just seeing who can build the fastest boat of any size or type that weighs that much.
Sorry for the soap box, but I watched this same thing keep killing the F20 plans Carl and others worked on long ago. I still have some 20 hulls in the shop and masts/parts collecting dust as a viable 20 concept never took off.
