Begin rant.
Once was enough, but it looks like it has started something.
Can we please either get rid of rules for ISAF plaques, measurement certificates, registration and sticking correct boat numbers on sails?
Otherwise, can we start to actually enforce them ?
We could change to the Formula 1 numbering system based on average nationals performance.
Maybe we should all just choose our own numbers … hmmm what should I choose … 69, maybe 666. Nope I can get all geeky and choose 6d 6f 74 68 or 01101101011011110111010001101000 or -1
Nope, I’ve decided, I like 3.14. I think I’ll use that at the states.
End of rant.
Posted in: Opinion | 13 Comments →March 31, 2009
March 31st, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Of all the things involved in building a boat, sail numbers and isaf plaque are pretty easy. Whats the problem?!
March 31st, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Have a look at some photos of the winners of the Australian nationals and the Victorian state titles to see what I am talking about.
March 31st, 2009 at 6:19 pm
It’s not a problem until someone stuffs up at ISAF and double issues a number, or in the case of some recent boats, skips 100 or so numbers (2 new prowlers at geelong had 356x numbers…) when they’re supposedly issued consecutively in batches to countries/builders.
Why stop at 3.14 Bruce? How about 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117067982148086513282306647093844609550582231725359408128481117450284102701938521105559644622948954930381964428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923460348610454326648213393607260249141273724587006606315588174881520920962829254091715364367892590360011330530548820466521384146951941511609?
March 31st, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Bruce,
Isaf sell the plaques to national associations and to builders, sometimes in batches, so numbers on boats will never be sequential. As IMCAAust sec. I have 4 plaques in hand and the next buyer will get 3576. After 3579 I wil get some more which I am sure will be a lot higher numbers.
As for measurement and rego I think you have been our club measurer for a couple of years. Have you measured any boats? Are you sure you have submitted your measurement form to Y Aust yet and got back your blue Measurement Certificate with ISAF stamp?
Yes we have been slack. The last nationals was won by a boat with a hybrid sail number, the one before that was won by a boat which had never been measured or registered. Last time it was in NSW I made sure all boats had been measured and had measured sails. There were a couple of people with dodgy numbers who were asked to fix them.
I have never checked plaques or certficates but we will need to get these in order before the Belmont WC comse around on 20 months.
March 31st, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Maybe we could just use symbols instead, finishing order could read;
1st -
2nd !
3rd o
4th ∆
5th □
6th ۞
At Garda they went to the trouble of checking measurement certificates and ISAF Plaques, and on top of that all sails were checked at the beginning of the regatta that they had been measured and were stamped as being accepted for use at the regatta.
What we need is for someone to be a bastard at one of these regatta’s and protest the winner out. Technically even if the numbers are the wrong size (let alone not right) then the sail does not measure, if the sail does not measure then that is grounds for a protest.
It seems everyone is too kind or can’t be bothered to actually enforce the rule, it should be up to everyone to ensure the rules are upheld, not just the measurers.
March 31st, 2009 at 8:49 pm
@Phil Some have been slacker than others.
@Alan Bring back the VJ glory days !!!
April 1st, 2009 at 12:12 am
Righty, I see now… Someone does need to protest. There was loads of sail number resticking at the worlds and so there should have been – We have pretty simple rules and putting sail numbers in the right place is hardly difficult.
I also see some weirdness going on with the batch issuing of numbers. My brand new boat that is yet to be sailed is GBR 3382 and apparently there are already some 200 boats newer than mine… I realise the batch issuing probably makes life easier for the person handing out plaques but 100 at a time? Come on…
April 1st, 2009 at 1:31 am
It is simple we have a set of rules that are as simple as we can make them. You stick the right number on your sail or run the risk of a protest. The fact that we are nice guys means you can get away with being slack, maybe.
Surely it is not too much to ask to get the right number on the sail so that the boats can be identified. If your boat is worth identifying and having a history then it need to have the right number on the sail so it can be recognized years later from old pictures. I would say that this needs to be controlled at the Worlds, Euros and maybe even Nationals.
April 1st, 2009 at 7:25 am
In Aust we have normally been pretty strong on having boats and sails measured for the nationals, but not other regattas.
We have some alloy jigs for length and width with which we can check the whole fleet in an hour, easy done. When I have had the nationals measurer responsibility I check all the new boats since the previous event. I also check that all sails have been measured and signed by a measurer. This does not detect if any sail has been altered since it was measured, thats imposible and relies on the owner’s honesty.
I know some sails were altered during the recent Geelong nationals and I doubt they were remeasured, which is contrary to our written rules. I suspect that the alterations made them smaller but we should be assured of that by a measurer’s check.
I was not at weymouth but I would have thought that the number fiasco was a triviality compared with other measurement issues. If sail numbers are not legible at the finish, the finisher can not identify the boat so it gets a DNF, I think thats a good enough incentive to get the numbers right.
April 1st, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I know how you feel. You can’t pick which rules you choose to comply with.
I hope everyone has the correct number size and spacing come the next big event?
50mm spacing. Stb side uppermost. National code above numbers. Same colour. 35mm thickness etc etc.
Are the procedure nazis going to go after all those who dont?
Like these?
http://tinyurl.com/cl7976 or http://tinyurl.com/c5n5uj or http://tinyurl.com/cg3fqm
April 1st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Is Pi a reference to your favourite food?
April 1st, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Actually before I stopped being a measurer I queried Adam May as to why we have different rules for numbers to every other class. Why? There are perfectly good simpler rules in the ISAF rule book which sailmakers seem to have no trouble with. He agreed that we have an anomaly and will look at correcting it.
So we can all argue over some other triviality next time.
April 6th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Geez you guys are all winge an whine, Ever turned up to an event and had you boat weighed – No. Ever been told that “your boat is too light at 179kg’s you need to carry 4.3″ Nooo not us! We sail fancy smancy carbon things ..
Stop your gripin and start getting crowds back to sailing and by the way Bruce you are 34 not 3.14, 31 places to go.