Stored Energy In Sailing Races

The only class of boats still running and racing under the original rules are Vintage Hydroplanes. From the Crosley to the Allison & Rolls Royce classes. Those people have the back bone. Do sailboats have a original set of classes unchanged?

 

sailboat classes

There are a lot of sailboat classes that have been around a long time like the Lightning , Star, Comet ,Thistle, International 14, Moth(and many more) as well as larger "Meter" classes like the 12 meter and 5.5 meter. But you can't say they are essentially unchanged because most are run as democracies to one extent or another and have modernized rigs and other areas over time.
If CT 249 cares to he could give a huge amount of info on the history of Classes since I believe he is writing a book on the subject and has done extensive research. Anything he says after 1850 is suspect, though. (just kidding)

 

Ohhh for god's sake, Doug. Why must you see malice in everything?

Wild Goats is a common nickname for the various Wild Oats, it's just a silly pun. The Oats I sailed aboard was called Goats, too. One of Bob Oatley's son is known as "Ralph" and has been since the '70s....dunno why, it's not his name. We've just always called him that, still do. IIRC it was something to do with a cartoon dog, just like one of my nicknames. That's just the way things happen down here.

Many, many Aussie offshore boats have a nickname. Wild Goats is in the same line as "Hellship" (Helsal), "Case 'o ******* (50' Casablanca), "Scrapyard Express" (my own boat), "Beachballs" (Ben 40.7), there's a famous owner known as Syd Vicious, and there's the old line that the IOR 50 was called Cyclone because it was a "slow moving depression".

Other Aussie nicknames of offshore racers;

abouttimewewent = about time we f**ked off
liberator = vibrator
rush = thrush
sportscar = suacepan
sagicious 5 old ior 1 tonner = saggie ***
go mez = go under
Ichiban- Itchy Buns

It's all in fun. It's as vicious as calling for the "three daughters" when you want to 3/4 ounce spinnaker set and calling out "bum cleat" when someone's sitting on a rope.

Bob Oatley is one of the nicest and most popular owners around and everyone knows that. Many of his long-time crew use the "Goats" term.

Why do you see conspiracies everywhere? Maybe it's because they ARE out to get you.

 

Yes, definitely. The North Haven Dinghy (Maine) and the Water Wag (Dublin) are the earliest one designs, both around 1884. The North Haven has "updated" to fibreglass but it still basically the same boat and rig and foils. The Water Wag was "updated" in 1900 but has stayed pretty much the same since then.

The oldest extant dinghy class of all is the Bermuda Fitted Dinghy which still sails largely to the same rules but has changed enormously. It carries a mast over 42' high on a 14' hull! There are only about 5 left racing because of the expense and hassle but they are fascinating boats. The class started sometime in the 1840s IIRC.

The earliest International Dinghy class, the Int 12, still conforms to the same rules and Dutch boats still have to made from timber IIRC. You could probably renovate a 1915 12 and be competitive today.

The skiff classes started from about the 1890s to early 1900s but they have changed radically. The 16's basic rules are still the same, though.

The Moth rules have changed very little since 1929 or so, but as Doug says the boats are completely different. The I-14s started about the same time but again you wouldn't recognise the old and new as the same.

Whether money wins depends on the class. In a small one design dinghy, the rich often can't even get around the course and the winning is 99.9% skill. In a Laser, the boat cost $7k and boats are supplied for the Olympics and world titles, so only the campaign costs money.