efrank

Very nice. Congrats! Do you have a man-hour total?

Does plate = daggerboard?

No, you can say it. The metric system is heaps better. When I was in college (USA - but you knew that because I didn't say university), in the late eighties, we were taught in both imperial and metric units. Division by ten is much easier than 3 or 12 or 16, 8.35, or 32.2. We were going in the right direction and then poof "the much easier and more logical system is too hard - waaa!". Now I have fallen victim to it and have to multiply by 2.2, 3.28, and 25.4 to have a feel for what a measurement is.

I follow your argument, but I think you are leaving out a key word from the rules - other. It is " ... in the absence of other boats referred to in the rule." So, in the case of B and G, G is the other. In the case of Y and G, G is the other. In the given scenario, Y is never the other boat referred to in the rule, so B's proper course would not be considered in the absence of Y. Absurd it may be, but I would say the presence of Y changes B's proper course, but not her obligation.

Here is a clip from Dave Perry's Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing through 2016. I don't think anything changed in 2017 for this situation. Anyway, I'm done. Thanks for all the responses and discussion.

Hey Jim, what is it about the Weta that doesn't work for you? Is it just uncomfortable for your back to not have a backrest? Would the new self tacking sail maybe give you less to have to deal with and up your enjoyment level? I have just installed new shrouds with handles on them that are nice to hang on to when out on the tramp. I find my Weta quite comfortable, but that is in comparison to squeezing 6'4" of me into my Sunfish:-)

I agree, but B's obligation is to sail no higher than her proper course which can be affected by Y's position.

This is where our opinions differ. The way I see it there is nothing in the rules to support a "proper course defined with respect to G". There is just a proper course, and rule 17 says that the proper course for B is defined in the absence of G, not with respect to G. So if B's fastest way around the course is to luff Y, that is B's proper course in the absence of G. So what rule has B broken?

Forgive me, I am not following here. In our scenario where blue overtakes green to leeward and then yellow overlaps both boats from behind by going in the middle of them, blue would be ok to take yellow up, in which case yellow's proper course is to avoid contact and go up (forcing green up). As TJ pointed out, if getting out of yellow's shadow would get blue around the course faster then she is also sailing her proper course. If green protested blue, then green would have to convince the PC that blue was not sailing her proper course. I think TJ is right because blue's proper course changed when yellow showed up, same as if the wind shifted, or a puff could be seen higher on the water, or riding across a wave would get you to the finish faster. A proper course is dynamic.

That makes sense - thanks!

Referring to TJs diagram, I would say yellow did not break a rule, but if blue had overtaken green prior to yellow sticking her nose in there and was obligated to not sail above her proper course while still overlapped and within two boat lengths of green, it seems like green could protest blue. I realize the diagram doesn't show how green and blue got side by side, but is what I stated above correct? I.e. if blue had overtaken green to leeward prior to yellow getting between them, does the presence of yellow somehow change blue's restriction to not sail above her proper course?

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00SKLZR4A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WgW.EbFPFJ8BH +1 on the caramel wheel. I used this thing to take 20 year old decals off of the full length of my center console. Was quick and easy. The smell of the eraser reminded me of grade school.

RIP F-22? Anybody have any news on what is going on with Daedalus? Is anybody making the F-22 now? Multihulls Direct still making the F-7?

I had a Pelagic autopilot (no windvane). It was a great piece if kit. Sold it with my boat.

I have never tried it, but would love to give it a go. Is it hard to keep track of the true wind angle or do you get a feel for it pretty quickly?