knuckles

The marine layer and fog rolled in here hard at Santa Monica Bay this afternoon. Could be a long, no feature, drag race. Don't look around, there's nothing to see.

That is a chubby, cute boat. I'm glad I'll never sail on it.

I was going to say a Kneebuster 28, but you beat me to it.

It's the Bassomatic 2018. It slice, it dices, it makes mince out of anything.

All that initial oomph still can't get much payload to a final orbit. Needs a real upper stage, someday.

Fill out your SF86 and get a sponsor, and you might get a chance to peek behind the curtain.

But keep your boat in Oxnard.

They would have built it for DC.

The Laser that I keep on my driveway is the last Laser that I will ever buy. LP can go fuck themselves again for this behavior. Fortunately there are enough used boats so that the LP fuckery doesn't affect youth sailing, but at some point in the future, a decision will need to be made whether to remain aligned with the class and builder, or move on.

So, I just saw in my bi-annual renewal, a requirement staring this January for a California Boating Card (beginning with under 20, and then every year after going up a half-decade in age). http://californiaboatercard.com Pay to take a test and get a lifetime card.....sheesh. I never heard about this new "boating license" that is required: If you operate any type of motorized vessel on California waterways (including powered sailboats/paddlecraft), you will be required to pass an approved boating safety examinaton and carry a lifetime California Boater Card. First violation for not carrying one when asked is $100 and goes up from there. Exceptions: A person operating a rental vessel. A person operating a vessel while under the direct supervision of a person 18 years of age or older who is in possession of a California Boater Card. A person who is a resident of a state other than California who is temporarily operating a vessel in California for less than 60 days and meets the boating requirements, if any, of his/her state. A person who is a resident of a country other than the United States who is temporarily operating a vessel in California for less than 90 days and meets the boating requirements, if any, of his/her country. A person operating a vessel in an organized regatta or vessel race, or water ski race. A person who is in possession of a current commercial fishing license. A person who is in possession of a valid marine operator license, for the waters upon which the licensee is operating, issued by the US Coast Guard, or who is in possession of a valid certificate issued pursuant to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended. A person who has successfully completed a boating course approved by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

Best part of the image is the high tech digital style numbers on the sails.

The easy answer is buy the J/70 built in Argentina.

I am trying to imagine Westerly pumping out all of these hulls in this time frame. Have they ever done a real production run like this? I know that they build great product, but this seems a bit out of their comfort zone. I am very happy to see the business come to SoCal, so I wish them the best of luck. And let's see how the sailmaker thing goes.......in theory, it should keep the cost down

I think the J/70 class is being put into a similar position that the J/24 class was put into decades ago. A fun boat that is accessible and liked by many, built with loose tolerances and sometimes running changes. A comprehensive measurement approach including defined measurements (with tolerances) and class controlled templates may be where this class ends up. And that is a good thing if no more reason to put the boats on a level playing field not only for the purpose of technical measurement, but also as a perception by outsiders that the boats are truly one design.

Link back to previous discussion of keel delrin optimization and Bennett Greenwald: