which OD if leaving IRC

[apward]

Much talk about IRC suitability or not & many suggestions that OD is way to go.
So which design. If you had to gather support from your typical club members so that they all 'buy' into the OD, which ones would you go for.

Flying Tiger
Melges 24
J80
Sunfast 3200
First something .7
Sigma

 

[roblpm]

Much talk about IRC suitability or not & many suggestions that OD is way to go.
So which design. If you had to gather support from your typical club members so that they all 'buy' into the OD, which ones would you go for.

Flying Tiger
Melges 24
J80
Sunfast 3200
First something .7
Sigma

Maybe depends on how rich you all are! The only one design round here on the Forth is the Hunter 707. Less than 10k second hand. Flaming wouldn't be seen dead on one!!

There's 5 or 6 js racing but they obviously didn't confer as they are all different apart from 2 109s!

 

[lpdsn]

Much talk about IRC suitability or not & many suggestions that OD is way to go.
So which design. If you had to gather support from your typical club members so that they all 'buy' into the OD, which ones would you go for.

It's very difficult for a OD fleet to get momentum. Ask yourselves how many boats you'd need for competitive racing? Now how many members do you need to sound very enthusiastic in the bar in order to get that many boats on the water?

You can race just about anything, but you need the numbers so you'll have to accommodate anything from the other members that will get you that. It depend upon what else the owners want out of the boats other than club OD racing (e.g. OD classes in regattas/competitive under IRC in regattas outside class/cruising), how much they're willing to spend and numerous other factors. The worst thing is splashing out on a OD boat, ending up with 2 or 3 boats and having to do IRC racing anyway.

The other danger is that fleets seem to die very quickly too. If the numbers start to drop that can quickly snowball. So you want to think about what use or value the boats will have afterwards.

 

[flaming]

Maybe depends on how rich you all are! The only one design round here on the Forth is the Hunter 707. Less than 10k second hand. Flaming wouldn't be seen dead on one!!

There's 5 or 6 js racing but they obviously didn't confer as they are all different apart from 2 109s!

I'd love to sail a 707, great boat. But in the Solent I'd have to race IRC, as there isn't a fleet.

If you want to get a fleet going it needs to be suitable for the sailors you have. No point in having a fleet of Melges24s if the sailors are better suited to slower more sedate boats. And vice versa..

And then price, are you looking to assemble a second hand fleet or a new fleet? If your members are happy to renovate older boats then a formerly popular OD could be a very good bet if you started buying them up. If new, go talk to the dealer about fleet building discounts etc.

Good luck!

 

[roblpm]

I'd love to sail a 707, great boat. But in the Solent I'd have to race IRC, as there isn't a fleet.

If you want to get a fleet going it needs to be suitable for the sailors you have. No point in having a fleet of Melges24s if the sailors are better suited to slower more sedate boats. And vice versa..

And then price, are you looking to assemble a second hand fleet or a new fleet? If your members are happy to renovate older boats then a formerly popular OD could be a very good bet if you started buying them up. If new, go talk to the dealer about fleet building discounts etc.

Good luck!

I was only joking btw!!

Anyway the thing that is impressive here is that on the Forth there are upwards of 20 707s so at the annual races whatever they are called there are 15-20 boats out. It is also reasonably cheap to access apart from the expensive marina fees which seem like a rip off for a sports boat that you are never going to cruise.

When I finally get rid of my Cruiser that races here I could be tempted if others would split the cost.

Trouble is they are getting old and are obviously not flash enough for down south!!

 

[Judders]

The growing OD fleet in the Solent is the Impala with eight or nine now racing out of the Hamble. The resurrection of the class has benefited from being a decent IRC boat too so those of us who got in early have been able to race in bigger fleets as the class has grown.

 

[lw395]

The growing OD fleet in the Solent is the Impala with eight or nine now racing out of the Hamble. The resurrection of the class has benefited from being a decent IRC boat too so those of us who got in early have been able to race in bigger fleets as the class has grown.

Not that OD though are they?
Does Burhou still have the different keel and IIRC a bigger kite?
Is Celerity still around?
I think that had a flash keel too?
Great boats, I sometimes regret selling mine, but for racing it does seem to require having heavy friends.
A capable cruising boat though, even if the interior is less cosy than your AWB.

 

[Judders]

Not that OD though are they?
Does Burhou still have the different keel and IIRC a bigger kite?
Is Celerity still around?
I think that had a flash keel too?
Great boats, I sometimes regret selling mine, but for racing it does seem to require having heavy friends.
A capable cruising boat though, even if the interior is less cosy than your AWB.

Burhou and Alonsy are totally out of class with their bulb keels and small headsails but everyone else is within a few points.

We've dual scored at a number of events in recent years and it's very rare that the results don't match up. Celerity is now called Nyala and has the OD keel.

I think 2016 is a make or break year really where we need to have more specific OD events but that is now possible with the numbers as they are; it's just up to the CA to make it happen.

 

[lw395]

Burhou and Alonsy are totally out of class with their bulb keels and small headsails but everyone else is within a few points.

We've dual scored at a number of events in recent years and it's very rare that the results don't match up. Celerity is now called Nyala and has the OD keel.

I think 2016 is a make or break year really where we need to have more specific OD events but that is now possible with the numbers as they are; it's just up to the CA to make it happen.

Did Celerity's keel go to Alonsy?

Local boats around Portsmouth used to be Tantrum, Lamptramp, Hound-Dog, Maybee II, Celerity, there were others I don't recall the names.
A lot went to the West Country and Ireland about 15 years ago.

 

[lw395]

Looking at the Cowes Week results, the answer could be read as XOD, SB20, Squib.....

 

[flaming]

Looking at the Cowes Week results, the answer could be read as XOD, SB20, Squib.....

Yep. Be nice if there was something slightly larger though.

 

[lw395]

Dragon/Etchells etc.

I don't think any of the yachts with bogs and cookers have sustained quality racing over the 20 years I've taken an interest in Cowes, and look like they will for the next ten years or more.
Not the way the dayboats do.
Obviously dayboats don't take you offshore, but most big boat sailors seem to prefer 2 hour dinghy races anyway?

There's been a long, expensive list of big OD's come and gone, or never quite arrived in the first place.
A couple of years as the darling of the journo's, but only a few early adopters racing, 3 or 4 years in fashion, inevitable decline.

There is a shortage of people willing and able to buy a new 40ft boat every 3 years.

 

[flaming]

There is a shortage of people willing and able to buy a new 40ft boat every 3 years.

Well no, there are plenty of new boats being launched every year. Just no-one has managed to co-ordinate the owners so we all play the IRC game. And anyone with a boat that doesn't rate under IRC is left ruing trusting the latest salesman to confidently predict that there will be "8 of these on the Solent next year". (Said most recently about the MC38, they even released a regatta schedule.. There's one, and it's still owned by the dealer as far as I'm aware.)

Only J buck the trend, but even they haven't managed it since the 109 really.

Ho hum.

 

[Judders]

There have been a few attempts to fill that gap in the market of late. Leaving the Ker 40 and MC38 to one side, there's the J88, Far East 28 and Farr 280, none of which have caught on just yet. I don't know if the C&C 30 has a UK dealer.

Non of that's relevant to me though because if I had any of those budgets I'd still want something cruiser racerish that could go offshore.

 

[flaming]

Leaving the Ker 40 and MC38 to one side, there's the J88, Far East 28 and Farr 280, none of which have caught on just yet. I don't know if the C&C 30 has a UK dealer.

No, and the biggest problem is the Far east 28, Farr 280 and C&C all appeal to the same people. The fact that there are 3 options probably means that not one of them will actually catch on.

That said, 5 280s racing at Cowes is a pretty decent effort, and if they are genuine sales the identity of the owners may well convince a few others.

 

[NealB]

I was only joking btw!!

Anyway the thing that is impressive here is that on the Forth there are upwards of 20 707s so at the annual races whatever they are called there are 15-20 boats out. It is also reasonably cheap to access apart from the expensive marina fees which seem like a rip off for a sports boat that you are never going to cruise.

When I finally get rid of my Cruiser that races here I could be tempted if others would split the cost.

Trouble is they are getting old and are obviously not flash enough for down south!!

They're very much alive and kickin' darn 'ere:

http://royalcorinthian.co.uk/newsfor/707/

 

[Swagman]

A shame the 707 Solent fleet has dwindled, but why not get the best of both IRC and OD with a J109?
Very competitive racing both offshore and in. Lots of boat for your £s, hold their value well, and you can even take the missus cruising if you want.
I'm biased, of course.

 

[Judders]

It's a fair shout though. If I had the money, I think I'd look very seriously at a 109 right now.

The unpleasant bunch who made their events a bit tedious a few years ago seem to have sold to a nice group of people. The boat itself ticks an awful lot of boxes.

There were enough built that the OD element should be around for a few years to come.

I think I would try a proper pole though. It's not a skittish enough boat to really need to max out the angles, I reckon it could cope nicely.

 

[rwoofer]

I used to own and race a 707 from the Royal Southern about 15 years ago and it was the best racing I ever had or am likely to have. There was regularly 50+ boats on the startline and a really good spirit in the fleet. In the end I tired of having to manage crew and many others moved over to the SB3, now SB20, which given they require 2 less crew might indicate others felt similarly to myself. Others upgraded to things like the Mumm 30. I don't think anyone realised quite what a good thing they were giving up at the time, and nothing seems to have got close since.

I partly suspect that it was derided by some at the time for being too low tech and unsophisticated, which eventually seduces people into something else. The Laser suffers similar derision, but somehow got to sufficient critical mass that any criticism of the boat simply didn't matter any more. ODs are always going to age like that...

 

[howard easton]

Much talk about IRC suitability or not & many suggestions that OD is way to go.
So which design. If you had to gather support from your typical club members so that they all 'buy' into the OD, which ones would you go for.

Flying Tiger
Melges 24
J80
Sunfast 3200
First something .7
Sigma

Do you really think you could talk sufficient of your fellow club members into buying one design to get a viable fleet?