You want a strong class? you need good racing. To get that you need the boats to be as equal as possible, having such wide freedoms in the rule prevents that from happening unless everyone buys/builds boats to the top level available within the rule.
I don't follow this. Here in the States what is probably the most widely participated form of racing is motocross. Bikes by different manufactures all fit in a seperate classes in what is basically a formula class, yet all the bikes of that class are very different. Even the same model year to year. I don't remember the rules, but they are not that tight, and are pretty basic. Some are better in certain sections, (call it conditions), than others. That difference in performance can be used to ones advantage, but its always at a cost of something else somewhere else on the track. It should never be strictly sailor vs. sailor. The boat side of things constantly improving forces competitiveness between manufacturers, both in price and quality.
BTW I raced MX for years, never once did I have to have my machine measured. To be fair I do know of guys who had to have bikes torn down because they were whoopin' butt, and displacement of the engine was checked to see if they were cheating. A protest of sorts, but if it was found to be legal, the protestor was liable for paying for the new gaskets.
Karl,
from the interweb:-
"FIM Motocross World Championship
FIM Motocross World Championship Main article: FIM Motocross World Championship The Grand Prix (or Motocross World Championship) is predominantly held in Europe with some "flyaway" rounds, recently in Chile, South Africa and Japan, but over its history it has visited numerous countries including; Indonesia, Australia and countries on both American continents. There are three classes: MX1, MX2 and MX3 (analogous to "450cc" and "250cc", and "open", respectively). Race day consists of two moto's with a duration of 35 minutes plus two laps, while the series is longer, generally incorporating over 16 rounds. [edit]AMA Motocross Championship Main article: AMA Motocross Championship The AMA Motocross Championship (the "outdoor series") season begins in early May and continues until mid-September, and consists of twelve rounds at twelve major tracks all over the continental United States. There are two classes:[9] the 250 Motocross Class for 0–125 cc 2-stroke or 150–250 cc 4-stroke machines; and the 450 Motocross Class for 150–250 cc 2-stroke or 251–450 cc 4-stroke machines. Each round has two motos of thirty minutes plus two laps."
Seems they have a set of rules designed to make the racing withing each class as equal as possible.
