I suppose I'm a class purist. I don't quite see the point of doing these sorts of mods. There's no point in doing it for racing. You'll lose the option to go one design, and if you race PHRF, nobody is going to believe it wasn't a bad rating when you win, and who knows what to think about your rating when you lose. PHRF's a bit of a crapshoot in the best of times, when it comes to ratings, but at least with one designs, there's some hope of keeping skill out of the picture. Custom boats, tho, it is pretty hopeless.
In terms of doing it for cruising, well, sure, I suppose. But, structural mods aren't cheap, and you're putting them into a boat that's 20 years old. You're also going to eliminate a bunch of the resale value of the boat because you'll never sell it to anyone who wants to race.
Another reaction, for what it's worth, is that nothing's going to change the overall profile of the boat. It is a touch underpowered, especially in light air. You may squeeze a little speed out of the boat by tweaking the hull form, but that's not going to make a huge difference in that many conditions.
Your milage may vary, but it seems an odd thing to be looking at.
- David
