Thank you Alan for the support.
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<br>If righting moment is such a major issue then why does randy smyth and bob curry always seem to be in the front at every point on the course? They are always sailing at or within a few lbs of minimum. Why you ask? because they have learned to tune, depower, bleed off, and control their "engines" which makes them always in control and sailing efficently. The use of downhaul as an active control was pioneered by these two guys. By the way for those of you who have never seen these gentlemen. They weigh in around 150-160 each.
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<br>You guys who scream righting moment should post your body weight when you talk about this issue. I have not made any attempt to hide that I weigh in at 205 lbs. The question I have to ask is how many 120 lbs people do you know that can handle a 380 sq foot spinnaker in 15 knots of wind? So when you guys look at the crew weight issue it is more than just weight it is also an issue of two 150-160 lbs people versus one at 200 and an other at 125. (If both boats sailed at minimum.) By combining the weight of boat and crew I believe that we will see a shift in crew philosophies. No longer will we be looking for the lightest crew but the most capable crew.
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<br>I know that I could bring in a ton of monohull sailors who are tired of dealing with finding 4-5 people who can sail competitivly so that they can race. A cheap boat (10,000 - 16,000) coupled with only two crew, no dockage costs, portability, and the ability to race a spinnaker. Becomes a real attractive package for these monodullers. Has any of us ever thought about recruiting "sailors" into our sport? I know up to about a year ago it was taboo to talk about catsailing at a yacht club. But there has been some great press about cats in general from the race to reviews in the "traditional" sailing press and on and on and on. If we adopt a few basic rules that everyone can play in then we will increase our "total" number of sailors not just rearrange our existing group of catsailors by bringing in a more diverse group of sailors from all catagories.
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<br>If you took a crew of a J24, sold the boat and bought "formula" cats, you would have 2 cat teams racing with a savings of about 10k. Lets really visit this basic box rule. If we can prove to the manufacturers that they have a monetary advantage in supporting this formula then it WILL grow. PWC (jetskis) are becoming illegal on more and more lakes. Where will these people go? Hopefully, to catsailing if we can make it attractive enough. Remember our side of sailing is where all the adrenaline junkies go!
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<br>I have approached US Sailing and have talked about how we can work together in expanding this class, our sport, and ideas within the existing parent body. US Sailing has an incentive for us to succeed. With them in our corner then the manufacturers have to listen to us.
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<br>Thanks for letting me state my two cents worth
<br>Steve<br><br>