Hi Folks -

Another issue that I haven't seen discussed (which surprises me) is the new weight classification that came out of the World Council meeting in Erquy.



This rule is in effect for the Championship regatta in Racine.

The minutes haven't been finalized so only those that were there know about it.

Ah. Well, now it is out there. Those of you making plans for Racine, make note. Much more headache for the folks at weigh-in than for any competitor. Guess we need to update the weight chart inside the scales case. ;-)

Why more head ache at the weigh in?
Competitors register, get weighed and the the weights are posted on the notice board. What's different?
Its up to the sailors to decide what size rig they are using and carry the right amount of lead.
The new ruling just means that less crews have to use the small sails

So a 130kg crew has to carry 12,5 KGs of lead when using the large jib+spin? (135-130+7,5).

Yes.

Hi Paul -

Maybe just more headache for me, then. I had the "old" way sorted out in my mind, and my neurological pathways are becoming calcified. From another angle, someone who shows up with 12kgs will have to be creative to meet the rule on placement...

I raced for a couple of seasons at 130kg on the small sails very competitively. I disagreed with the reasons presented for the change, but thems the breaks - the vote is now history, and barring any aberrant race results in the next year or so, this will probably become permanent.

Do I have this Correct?

Weight(Kg)/Sail/Corrector Weights
115-130/small/half the difference between weight and 130 Kg
130-140/small/none
130-135/large/half the difference between weight and 135 + 7.5
135-115/large/half the difference between weight and 150
150+/large/none

hi guys--

I'm still wrapping my head around this and hoping someone can clarify.I've reread this about a dozen times and for the life of me can't figure out what the point is in introducing the 135 kg threshold. My math sucks, but can't you just collapse both of these bullet points into one:

Crew between 130 kg and 150 kg may use the large jib and large spinnaker and then shall carry extra weight equal to half the difference between their actual weight and 150 kg.

Why bother with the 130-135 interval? Doesn't it all amount to the same thing? What am I missing?

I'd like to get confirmation on summary like rhodysail. Here's what I'm reading though:

Weight — Jib/Spinnaker Size — Corrector Weight

< 115 — You don't sail.
115-130 — small sails — half of distance to 130
130-140 OPTION 1 — small sails — no weight
130-140 OPTION 2 — large sails — half of distance to 150
140-150 — large sails — half of distance to 150
> 150 — large sails — no weight

C.3.2 (b) (2) has not been stricken from the rules. The revised C.3.2 (b) (3)—the meeting minutes mistakenly identify the changed rule as C.3.2 (a) (3), but it's obvious what they mean—just opens up an alternative for the 130-140 interval (with a bunch of unnecessary gobbledegook about 135...).

Non?

Never mind. I guess my English sucks too. I'm thinking about what it might cost me to get a secondhand Tiger. So I'm not up-to-date on the class rules. And being on the light end of the scale I'm trying to understand whether I need to factor in the cost of a brand new small jib and kite.

This thread suggests that small jib & kite are no longer options unless crew weight comes in under 130 (i.e., the new proposed rule really replaces C.3.2 (b) (2 and 3), even though that's not exactly what the minutes say. The breakdown is then:

< 115 — You don't sail.
115-130 — small sails + up to 7.5 kg of lead
130-135 — large sails + 7.5-12.5 kg of lead
135-150 — large sails + up to 7.5 kg of lead
> 150 — large sails — no weight

That is a headache.

Rhodysail has part of it wrong. Crew 130 -135 has to carry the actual weight between 130 and 135 (not half) and then 7.5 kg. If you weigh 130kg you need to add 5kg+7.5kg=12.5 to use the large sails or use the small sails and no weight.

• Crew between 130 kg and 135 kg may use the large jib and large spinnaker and then shall carry extra weight equal to the difference between their actual weight and 135 kg + 7,5 kg.

Hi Pinax -

The rule was passed partly on the idea that lighter crews buying used boats (with big sails) did not have the budget to buy new small sails. You always have the option to use small sails at ANY weight category.

One of the reasons the US Class opposed this rule in July was because it adds confusion... obviously so...

Thanks, John. Hence the repeated "may use" instead of "shall use"... Hah! It's all crystal now!

Bump...

Is this still in effect for the 2012 F18 Worlds in Long Beach, California?

After last weeks racing at the worlds I'm wondering if the crew weights are of any benefit at all to the class.

How so, Bob?

The weight advantage of crews is repeatedly reflected in the results during drifters. Its driving combined crew weights to minimum weights. Most I have spoken with think the changes suck.

In fact, is there any way to get the crew weights from the world's? The sample size may be large enough to correlate with wind speed to see just how bad the big teams are getting hit in the light stuff

... just out of curiousity: when you are at the border between small and large sails, are you allowed to change the sails with the appropriate weights during a regatta? Like small sails on a windy day, large sails at low winds?