I just read "Stuffing the Status Quo" in the May 2010 edition of Sailing World. Most of you will have read it. Three authors make suggestions on modifications to the class rules for three of the most established boats in racing: Laser, Farr 30 and J/24. Some of them are pretty radical, most would be unpopular, but all designed to take a view on the success of the respective fleets over the long term. I think it's a great article and should be thought provoking for the J/30 Class. Boat materials, design and pattern use has changed quite a bit since our much loved boats were built. The continued dialogue we read on this site on genoa size, mainsail material, spin cloth weight are all evolutionary changes, and the class has evolved slightly over the years.
I think that it may be useful to take a revolutionary look at the class in the spirit of the article and see where that ends up. Although we are the most motivated, I suspect that most owners are too close to it to perform the exercise. Let's bring in an expert. Anyone know Tim Healy? He wrote the article on the J/24. How about someone from J/Boats?

Michael Lusty
Belle Faster #537