Isn't it great when someone proves your point while disagreeing? J30falcon never uses the #2, but the #3 is too small!? Our #2 is up in exactly those 14-18 true conditions when everybody else is lugging their main and wrecking their #1 or underpowered with a #3. We used it at the NA's in Cedar Point and Annapolis, and this past spring at the NOOD. It sees nearly as much action as our Kevlar #3 and as a result our genoa holds up longer than most.
Meanwhile, I have a sneaky suspicion some of you bought Kevlar #3's soon after they were approved in 1997 and they're due for replacement. Well, we had a perfectly good Dacron #3 in 1997 and continued to use it. Now I have a $2,200 #3 with six races on it, and a remaining life span of five years. If I had any idea that a change was even under consideration, I would have certainly waited. One-design classes do not survive if they intentionally obsolete their sails or equipment without any advance planning or notice.
The #1 is only a slightly different story, since they last about 2 years. Didn't some of you buy a genoa for this years NA's? The target should be at least another year or alternatively Oct 15, 2005 just prior to the New Orleans NA's for the benefit of that fleet. I'd be surprised if there is anyone who has a #2 that's less than our ten-year-old Dacron. So I'd change that first. Here's my proposal:
#2 optional and unrestricted material Jan 1, 2005
#1 unrestricted material Jan 1, 2006 (or Oct 15, 2005)
#3 size change Jan 1, 2007 or later. (Although I favor never!)
[This message has been edited by Bob Rutsch (edited 08-24-2004).]
