[Meat Helmet]

That tale will get worse before it gets better. Lawsuits, class associations breaking up, calling it the "cheater boat" or "class killer", people generally pissed off.......good times.

Rumors from last years regattas have that boat leading by a leg in light/med. conditions. Good sailors on board, but when you have the likes of Buddy and Harry Melges or the Porters to contend with.......

[ejj]

I'm a scow sailor and I've kept up on the arguments. I don't know who to trust anymore. Melges, however, is looking suspect here. People are trying to protect their older (only a few years) boats through this joke. The whole thing seems shaky.

[Grrr...]

This was Edited.

I didn't think that the scow was a developement class.

Evidently, a number of people agree, since they're fighting the whole idea of a new boat off a new mold, even if it measures into the rule set.

So which is it? You can't have it both ways - either it's one design, or it's not.

Do we have a scow sailor that could tell us which it is?

[xfire]

Shamoo, on Feb 5 2004, 04:59 PM, said:

Sorry...but the A-scow has been very much a "development" class for decades...if not forever....up until now.

Decades? I thought is was part if 3 centuries?

[Presuming Ed]

J24guy, on Feb 5 2004, 05:30 PM, said:

Having sailed on Lake Minnetonka (where Brad's A boat is from) my whole life, I take exception to the subtitle of this thread "ugly ugly boat".

Well, the sub heading is actually "Very very ugly". I took this to refer to the political situation in the class, rather than the boats.

[Lost in Translation]

how do they compare on speed with newer high performance dinghies like the 49er in winds over 10 knots?

[ejj]

The experience is different from the 49er because of mass. The 49er feels small and hyper. The A is stong and long, which feels smooth but almost out of control, if that makes any sense. The feeling of power cannot be equaled with small boats. The helm is a beautiful thing. On a broad reach I'm sure we've hit 25 knots.

E-scows are a great alternative for those who want to compete w/o spending huge money. (28 feet long)

[Pete M]

wow, looks like a well known boat mfgr is trying to hijack a class.

see Inland Lake Yachting Assoc.

Then see A scow SMOD Page

[EthanB]

A-Cat sailor, on Feb 5 2004, 11:59 AM, said:

Coming from a class that has a "box rule"... A-cats.... how can a boat be a "cheater" if it meets all of the measurment requirements? We see all kinds of variations, but the measurement rules are simple. I don't profess to know or understand the scow class rules. That being said, there seems to be a brewing storm over this "new" boat. What started the problem? With is the real bitch? Is there a lesson here for other classes with box rules?

my understanding is that although it's a box rule, for a long time Melges has been the only builder. As such, they have a mold for the hull, and make all the boats more or less the same, so it looks more like a one design. They have been gradually updating the class, eg, switching from symetric spin's to the asyms, while at the same time trying not to make existing boats obsolete too quickly. They've been pretty successful about not pissing too many people off, and having a reasonably big class (esp. considering the fact that it's a big, expensive, race-only daysailor). I think they've been the only builder for so long that they sort of forgot about the fact that it's not a strict OD. I'm not sure why no-one has built an A-scow on their own before now.. I guess no-one else looked at the class rules?.. (kind of odd).

[Lost in Translation]

From a little browsing, it looks like the A Scow class is now controlled by a group that decided that the melges mold is the only legal shape and make it a true one design. Apparently Robinson agreed to no longer race his boat.

Is this true? Can we get Robinson to talk to the forum?

[WillieCrear]

Lost in Translation, on Feb 5 2004, 06:40 PM, said:

From a little browsing, it looks like the A Scow class is now controlled by a group that decided that the melges mold is the only legal shape and make it a true one design. Apparently Robinson agreed to no longer race his boat.

Is this true? Can we get Robinson to talk to the forum?

Yes, you may speak directly to Brad Robinson, the builder of this new boat. The e-mail link on the victorybydesign.org website is a direct e-mail to Brad. Also, I would help you with your questions, you can e-mail me at williecrear@hotmail.com.

[Presuming Ed]

http://www.victoryby...ouhaha-long.htm

indicates some pretty shabby treatment. Is there a page giving the opposite view?

[Heriberto]

If that's true it would be a very sad thing.

I'm not an expert, but I do know that the scows never were OD before Melges became the only builder after Johnson went belly up. The battle lines were intense before that.

I'm sure some VERY knowledgeable local guys will chip in with their spin when they find out about this thread.

Then the blood will spill at Sunny's....

:o

[Essex]

think maybe Ed should take another look at this one....

[J22guy]

Very pretty racing machine, ugly political battle.

The A-scow held the speed record for sailboats for a long time, not until CrossBow (a one tack speed machine built to break the record) broke the record in the late 60's

Here we are going the fastest I've ever gone on a sailboat. A motorboat "clocked" us at over 35mph. Their speedo was pegged. .

[J22guy]

OK I'll try the picture again

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