I agree - no sailmaker or boatbuilder is going to give away free anything unless they can see a return on their investment, even if it is only goodwill and support from the class in question. On the other hand, if he shows support for a young class and helps it grow, he might just be the beneficiary when it grows up.
Glenn Ashby supported us in the beginning and sponsored the New South Wales F16 challenge trophy
I think he sold over 20 F16 sail sets by now.
I seem to remember Irwin sails sponsored the Victoria F16 challenge prize. A discount voucher on his sails. And a few sailors seem to go his way.
Goodall sold even a lot more spinnakers than that as he is still the best spi maker for the F16 class. Even Glenn refers to him if somebody asks him for a spi. Greg handed out a few spi sails in the beginning just to have people get a feel for spi sailing and to get some feedback on his initial design.
If you want to earn money then you have to develop new markets. I mean 2 years ago F18 class in the US was small as well. Any sail maker that put in the effort in back then is now on full speed. Any sailmaker that still must get up to speed now is behind. Also in these classes you better make sure you have a testing system giving you feedback as your sails must be good or you won't survive the competition. Often the sailmakers actively involved in the class come out on top simply because they put the effort in in the beginning and thus don't start out with a tail end position.
Wouter
