tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795139595326363530.post5728481083635667437..comments2024-03-08T00:14:59.959-08:00Comments on By the Rules: Changes to the RRS for 2013-2016Rob Overtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15930035790398220437noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795139595326363530.post-26906878329166500402013-01-02T00:47:46.445-08:002013-01-02T00:47:46.445-08:00Rob, there's a typo in your note about the def...Rob, there's a typo in your note about the definition of mark room. You refer to "...new rule 18.3(c)(2)", where I think you must mean 18.2(c)(2). (Please note: previous comment removed to correct typo!) :)katydidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03803493025738377584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795139595326363530.post-81944519860606195522013-01-02T00:45:15.350-08:002013-01-02T00:45:15.350-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.katydidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03803493025738377584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795139595326363530.post-72480755381887459332012-11-27T21:07:51.128-08:002012-11-27T21:07:51.128-08:00Well, your local Merit 25 class wasn't exactly...Well, your local Merit 25 class wasn't exactly in violation, as long as the class rules changed rule 50.4 appropriately. Rule 86.2, which specifies which rules can be changed by National Authorities, sailing instructions and classes, says in part, "(c) Class rules may change ... racing rules 42, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 and 54. Such changes shall refer specifically to the rule and state the change."<br /><br />But I agree with you, the change was long overdue. Actually, I feel even more strongly than that. I think rules 49-54 are really class rules -- they define "sailboats" in ways that are restrictive and silly. Why not create a boat with a jib tack that slides from side to side, rather than attaching it at the boat's centerline, as required by rule 54? Why shouldn't a boat with twin headsails use twin whisker poles? Many cruising boats do exactly that, and it's not dangerous to do so. If classes or handicaps want to restrict or penalize such features, let them do so. Meanwhile, let designers, builders and sailors design, build and sailboats any way they see fit.Rob Overtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15930035790398220437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795139595326363530.post-16459057623658788152012-11-08T10:17:06.426-08:002012-11-08T10:17:06.426-08:00The change to 50.4 is long overdue. Our local Meri...The change to 50.4 is long overdue. Our local Merit 25 class has been in willful violation for decades, allowing jibs with battens and clewboards. In fact, any jib with a non-vanishing girth at the head, even if it's just a couple of centimeters, had been in violation of the "proportional girth" provision. <br /><br />Have arguments been put forward to delete RRS 50.4 entirely, leaving this up to class or measurement rules? It's out of place in a rule titled "setting and sheeting sails" unless the scope is narrowed to apply only to when sails of certain characteristics can be flown, and not to how the sails are designed and built. Paul Kamenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14466316548120337575noreply@blogger.com