I think this is the longest thing I have ever posted:
Okay, thanks to Rolf, I have now been directed to what is supposedly causing all this controversy, and I STILL do not understand what the fuss is all about.

To me it is pretty simple. The F16 Class has rules. If somebody wants to build a boat for himself or if a manufacturer wants to build boats for the class, they have to build within the class rules.

Why are you guys discussing and arguing with macca? There is no basis for discussion or argument. THERE IS NO ISSUE.

You guys MADE it an issue by responding to him and arguing with him. That makes it seem as though the rules are somehow being debated. And that, in turn, makes the class look wishy-washy.

Why didn't somebody just say originally, "Sorry, these are the rules. Go find another boat to develop."

It is not macca who needs to be censored -- it is all of you who have responded to him who need to censor yourselves.

Now, if macca is indeed scouting the F16 for a major manufacturer and trying to get the minimum weight raised for mass production purposes, that is probably very flattering and might help build the class. And that, indeed, would require some serious, cloistered conversation among class members.

Personally, I think it is always better if later boats are heavier and lighter boats have to ADD weights, because the reverse is not possible.

One of the reasons I think this whole debate is ridiculous is because my sister and I sailed in the Hobie 18 Women's Worlds in New Jersey. They weighed all the boats. Ours weighed about 403. Others weighed up to 430+ pounds. And that is called a ONE-DESIGN class.

Betty and I were a little bit under crew weight for that particular regatta, so we, and others, were issued bags of sand to put in the hulls to bring us up to minimum crew weight. They didn't do anything about the variations in boat weight, as I recall, but they could have done the same thing with the sand bags to get all the boats and crews up to equal weights.

Sounds like you are saying that if a major manufacturer wants to start building F16's, you are adamant that the current minimum boat weight has to be accepted, even if it were possible to build a LOT more boats at a lower cost if the minimum weight is a little higher?

Is that what this is all about?

Even if that is the case, I don't see how that would hurt the existing F16's. And, if you guys are right about the motives, all it would do is grow the class. And what's wrong with that?

The only thing I can think of is that if a major manufacturer started building F16's, it would shut down the current manufacturers, because, theoretically, the major manfacturer would be able to build and sell the boats cheaper.

Am I right?

But then there would be more boats out there on the water, and the serious racing sailors would still want to buy the lighter, more high-tech boats from the original manufacturers -- even if they have to add sandbags.

More boats is always better for a class and better for everybody in the industry -- for ALL the manufacturers.

What in the world is wrong with a major manufacturer being interested in building F16's? And there is no reason for the class rules to be changed in order for them to do so, as long as they are building OVER the minimum weight. If it were UNDER the minimum weight, that would be an issue to be debated.