IMCA Forum

I couldn't log into the Mach 2 site so figured I'd cross post over here.

Amac doesn't think wings are good for the class. His arguments are:
1. Wings would increase cost
2. They are more difficult to rescue
3. They are unlikely to increase the popularity of the class as hydrofoils did
4. They may push the class into obscurity a la C-class cats

I say we watch people build a few and see how they deal with reality before getting too excited. My reasoning is as follows:

1. The current cost of the boat is already high, and it doesn't seem to be inhibiting the growth of the class much. Anybody with $18k USD to spend on a new boat can certainly afford $25k, and the middle of the fleet are already getting blown away by the top guys by margins so huge that a wing won't change the interval significantly. Non-wing dudes will remain the majority and will continue to race.
2. The practical issues may go away as people figure out ways to rescue and disassemble wings
3. A wing may never prove conclusively superior to a soft sail
4. Even if wings prove faster, the only way to prove that is to let people build and compete with them. We can always ban them later if it proves too cumbersome/dangerous/expensive.
5. We could create a whole new cottage wingbuilding industry.

I totally agree Karl.

This debate is getting a bit diluted in all the forums and blogs.... which is a same.

Early days of course but I think it will all just cost too much. Not the cost of a wing sail but the freight cost.

If your wing happens to dismantle into its own box the size of a moth hull then the freight on buying a proffesional built wing will cost about AUD$3000 for any any sailor on the wrong side of the globe. So your $5000 wing rig will actually cost $8000.

Then when you travel to a worlds your return freight cost for a hull box and wing rig box could add up to $6000 each way to travel to a distant event.

So you have your $20 000 moth
It could cost sailors around $12000 in return freight to do a worlds event. Plus flights, accomodation, etc. Min + $3000.

How many are up for spending near $15000 to do a worlds??

We are very lucky that the class is on a good upward trend, just keep it going like that.