by Standley Goodwin
The M Class is at a point where it needs to decide the path it wants to follow. Our present path has taken us to the point where a competitive boat is professionally built and quite expensive. The majority of the class is sailing existing boats that are a step off the pace. An alternate path would impose hull weight and draft limits. Doing this would keep the boat pleasant to sail, encourage the kit builder to reenter the class and minimize the cost of a new boat.
The article 'Time to Tack' in the M Class issue of Model Yachting presented a discussion of both paths. Three class members have responded. One, a well known manufacturer, presented the case for full International M Class membership. The other two explained local M Class restrictions in place at their clubs intended to preserve the competitive position of existing boats. As your Class Secretary I need to know what path class members want to follow.
AMYA has generously offered space on the Ballot in this issue for an M Class survey. I encourage every M Class member to fill it out and send it in. Its your chance to be heard.
The Survey contained two proposals. One proposes a minimum hull weight limit and the other a draft limit.
In proposing a hull weight limit, I came to the conclusion that there were three minimum hull weight candidate limits that should be considered. They are 32, 30 and 28 ounces. The 32 ounce limit is the lowest weight at which a skilled builder could assemble a fiberglass hull. The 30 ounce limit is the weight that an average builder could make a competitive composite hull. The 28 ounce limit is the lowest weight that a skilled builder could make a durable composite hull. Lower weights are possible at the risk of having the hull damaged in collisions while sailing. As your Class Secretary I am not interested in a class rule that produces a disposable boat.
The higher weight limits give the M Class the best long term future. Kit building will be easier for the average class member. Unfortunately high limits come with a short term price. Existing light-weight boats will have to add weight. The higher the limit chosen, the more weight these boats will have to add.
The designers are exploring deeper draft. Draft is the only major parameter in the M Class rule that does not have a limit. A limit needs to be added to the rule. Otherwise we are likely to end up with a boat that is too deep for many sailing sites. There are two candidate limits that make sense. At one time there was a discussion about a 23.6 inch (600mm) draft limit. Some designers built to it. This limit corresponds to a 19 inch fin.
Most M Class members are sailing with 18 inch fins. The 18 inch fin produces the deepest boat that can be launched with knee boots. Those of us in Northern climes have to use boots to launch and retrieve at many sites. Sailing in the hip-boots that are required to launch the deeper boats is a real negative for the class. The 18 inch fin produces a pleasant boat to sail and handle.
I strongly encouraged all class members to fill out the survey. This is your Class Secretaries only way to find out where the class should go.
Standley
2000 M Class Vote Results
The results of the M Class survey on the AMYA ballot are in. Only sixty-six M Class members out of a membership of over three hundred bothered to vote. Thirty-four were against a hull weight limit and thirty-three were against a draft limit. The hull weight limit failed and the draft limit was a tie. The result of the survey was not a mandate for change. Your Class Secretary intends to pursue the issue no further.
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