J/30 Class,

The Board of Governors held a phone conference on 24 March 2009 and had a lengthy discussion on sail measurement and the class rules. We were fortunate to have Rod Johnstone participate in this discussion, because he provided great insight on the class rules and intentions.

Here are some facts that need to be understood.

1. The J/30 Class Rules include the following under section 4 Measurement: 4.5 ISAF Measurement Instructions and Racing Rules. Except where other methods of measurement are clearly indicated in the J/30 Class Rules, the ISAF measurement instructions and ISAF racing rules shall apply.. The ISAF Equipment Rules of Sailing link is provided here for people to look at.

2. When the J/30 Class Rules were developed, there was no intention to come up with alternate measurement techniques or interpretations. Rod indicated that this philosophy held true for all of the J/Boat designs.

3. Class rules include some dimensions listed as "maximum" or "minimum". A comment was made during the BOG discussion that maybe a tolerance should be included. Rod Johnstone soundly rejected the idea, indicating it is up to the sailmakers to live within the limits given. The BOG agreed with Rod on this.

This entire discussion was prompted by measurement discussions at the 2008 J/30 NAs when it was thought there were some ambiguities in the measurement criteria, specifically headboard but this thread provides more details on the areas addressed.

So here is the assignment for the J/30 Class...
Over the next year, we need to determine if there are any issues with the way that the J/30 Class Rules are written, that preclude using the ISAF Equipment Rules of Sailing as interpretations for measurement. If there is an issue that requires a class rule interpretation, let's get it identified, vetted here and propose any modifications (if any) to the J/30 Class Rules for the next time that rules are updated (2010 or later). The goal is to stay away from a unique measurement technique for J/30s, and instead make sure that the ISAF definitions and measurement approaches apply.

Please post comments and discussions in this thread.

ps - I'm sending a link with this thread to lofts in the Newport RI area. I suggest that other areas send this thread link to their local sail makers and get their comments.