Ah, original intentions again. When will this chorus be over?
I am not a beginner at r/c sailing, I was competing in model boats before anyone put a servo in a sailboat. I don’t agree that the class was ever a “beginners” class, and I was originally awarded Footy sail #2 in the AMYA Open Class prior to the formation of the official FCA or class recognition by AMYA. The Footy rules are simple in comparison to other popular r/c sailboat classes, but the building techniques are advancing so that constructing a competitive boat is becoming less simple.
The ancient pre-curser of the class, the Choppa from Roger Stollery, was a 12 inch free sailer intended as a shop project for school kids. This is where the “beginner’s” and “boy scout” nonsense started. The Cobra, from the board of Bill Hagerup, that placed first in the recent US NCR bears little resemblance to the Choppa. This is called progress and refinement.
Alas, there will always be folks that want to turn back the clock and contend that the growth and development of the Footy does not reflect the original intentions of people they have not met. They are entitled to their opinions and passions.
So far as I see the new rules have changed some aspects of what can be entered into a regatta but have not prohibited the less-inclined-toward-change to make any adjustments in what they already had prior to the rule change. On the other hand these same voices want to hold back the progression of ingenuity that this class has inspired in so many participants with a range of skill sets, levels of experience, and creative ambitions, with narrow minded pleas for staying in one place.
Bill, I think your reference number would be better as #3518 as that seems to be the first mention from Brett of the non-ratification by NZL.
This is the first time I have seen that post.
There had been no discussion amongst the NZL owners of any protest action so Brett was never given the authority by the NZL owners to refuse ratification on their behalf.
It may have been, just a personal thought, proffered in response to your question of “how do we make it go away.”
What ever the history of those posts, we (the owners) accepted the results as published by the powers and will sail by them.
I hope that clears the sheet for all readers here.
Just be careful that things don’t get to changing so fast that you lose those people that are interested but still on the borderline of deciding, because things were simpler and understandable before but now different and more complicated.
No need to worry about the USA support of the FCA rules…just be patient a few more days…any AMYA Footy skipper who has not yet given me their vote has until the fifteenth to do so. I’m pleased with the number of votes so far, and would like to see even more!
That said, I haven’t had a chance to go through this entire thread so I hope I’m not misunderstanding the intent…but discussion at the NCR this weekend indicated strong support for changing the rig rules.
I am happy to put my personal support behind a proposal that permits more options regarding rigs used in regattas. I’m not speaking as part of the Tech Committee or as AMYA Class Secretary, just as Bill Hagerup. It was very frustrating to have the right rig sitting in my kit and not be able to put it on the boat this weekend. Sure I made the wrong decision overall…but when the wind was right my boat did very well, indeed. Given how far we’ve come with hulls and rigs, it seems a shame to have a rig rule that prevents us from getting all we can out of the boat. I would very much like to have been able to go head-to-head with Scott with the same sail size.
Isn’t this a entry level class ?
It used to look kind of interesting to me, but now, well…
it just looks like all the other r.c. sports that I have
bene involved with, were the bickering just took all the
fun out of it.
What I allways used to say to the hot R/C pylon racers
was, IF YOUR SO GOOD STEP UP TO THE NEXT CLASS.
Tom, your comment seems odd to me. At least a few of the NCR competitors were less than happy to have to sail under the current restricted rule, and at the skippers meeting the rig requirements raised some questions. Incidentally in the marginal conditions those who changed to the B rig regretted it though clearly the boats racing with smallish ‘A’ rigs did very well. When it comes to a rule change to - Rig : unrestricted. Ian, you have my support,
Paul :zbeer:
I think you have gotten the wrong idea about what people are saying here. In this topic, we are discussing a proposal to change a rule, and everyone is giving their opinions.
M16, there are some who have interpreted this class, probably incorrectly, as an entry-level class because the boats are small and cute looking…and Footys can be, and are, enjoyed by some at that level.
But the fact is, Footys are (is?) an open (developmental) class where a great deal of learning and innovation is going on in the development of hulls, rigs, and foils…more than in any other class that I see these days. The rules discussions get frustrating and nit-picky sometimes, but I believe that is a result of the rapid pace of growth of the class, the enthusiasm of designers, and the excitement of builders who want to be free to get all they can out of these little boats. We’ve gone far beyond where traditional views said we could go already…and we’re not done yet.
So there is no next class to step up to…others can step up to Footys, if they’re up to the challenge.
Like I said it used to look interesting.
But it seems that people are getting so far away from the original intent of this
class, that it now looks rediculas to me.
I have read allot of the footie threads online, and it just seems to me that it is
mostly people trying to re-interpret the rules, or bend them.
How do you you expect anyone new to get involved in a game where you have
to be an attorney. LOL
M16, I’m really tired of people expounding on the original intent of this class.
How is it that you claim to know?
Maybe the class is not what you want it to be. I have no problem with that, as everyone is entitled to their opinion. That’s what we express here.
But here’s fact, rather than opinion: The original set of rules adopted by the FCA was developed as a coalition of three people from three different countries. I was one of the three.
Good advise, Tom…that I expect you intended as much for me as for M16
So I apologize, M16, for my little outburst. Perhaps if you can imagine how many times I’ve heard people say the original intent thing over the last few years, you’ll forgive my sensitivity.
It’s anything you care to make it. Like Bill i am suck to the back teeth of various ‘well I’m not really very interested, but I might be if you’re nice to me’ sidewalk superintendents telling us how to run our affairs. Attempts to be nice to them contribute verry greatly to this classes’ reputationn for being argumentative.
Come in, join the club and take a positive view and you are very ewelcome. We will support you in any way we can.
If that’s not on your agenda then, as I said, bugger off - please (notice ny fine breeding!)
Angus, Angus, Angus…
I get where you are coming from, so can we come to a truce?
I am half Brit .
I just have been involved in so many R/C sports where the experts
beat up on the newbs, well… just becouse they could.
I do think the technology being put into these little bobbers is cool
and I am sure very rewarding to all.
Who knows, I might have to really build one now you wanker
Right - fine. Join the club. Since the death of Bill Korsgard, the nearest ‘leading light’ is Graham McAllister in Sheboygan WI.
I think and hope that so long as newbies are not too overbearing in telling us what we should do in their first day we are very inclusive.
This is a pretty new class. Even the greyest bearded gurus (i.e. Bill Hagerup aka Mudhenk 27) have only been around for 5-6 years. It is also apparent o us (I think I speak for the class as a whole) that we have attracted a lot of people from other sports, especially flying. They put a completeky new slanton thungs, which I hope stops us being TOO pompous.
Come in and build yourself a Footy. They are genuinely great fun and - as may not always be entirely apparent from the forums - thec people who sail them are as nice a bunch of guys as you could hope to meet…
Cheers
I think M16 has a point, though it has little to do with the original intent of the class. It is more about the appearance of the attitude some of the competitors have towards the rules. Rather than building and racing a boat that conforms to the existing rules, they want to interpret the rules (or better yet, rewrite them) to allow them to build a boat that gives them a self-perceived advantage. The rules should not be so easily changed. We have just had an NCR that was sailed under two versions of the rule, because the recent changes were technically not yet official, and while that very regatta was being sailed, we have (at the start of this thread) a motion to change those new rules already. It really does make it look like the Footy class is sailing under the “rule of the month”, which does not present a picture of stability to someone who has recently discovered the class.
Regards,
Bill Nielsen
Oakland Park (Ft. Lauderdale), FL USA
AMYA #0835
Footy #835
:zbeer:
