Are the rest of us missing something here? There seems to be animosity over quite an innocuous issue....

This is an issue that has been around for as long as I've been involved with sailing and that's almost 40years!!!
I can remember many regattas/open meetings where crew changes have been necessary/requested - sometimes permission is gained, sometimes it's not. Sometimes people didn't ask and suffered the consequences, sometimes they got away with it. There's no real hard and fast rule, nor do I think there can be.

If you've asked and one person out of a whole bunch has refused, it's then up to you to sail or not as you see fit and risk a protest - sometimes the naysayer will just leave it alone.

I think this situation has pretty well been covered, changing rig config AFTER a regatta commences is a straight No No. Changing config during something like a club series is a grey area, personally I don't see it as a big deal - I guess it depends on the club, where you finish and what your competitors are like (there may even be an established local practice).

I have no problem at all with Dingram or anyone discussing this issue here but it is not a uniquely F16 problem. And I don't see why you're getting so heated over this Tim - noone's accused you of cheating (or as I said at the top, have I missed something?)

Happy sailing, guys!