...by "right" this means a boat that will not leave us in the same position as we are now, where a fantastic boat was voted out of the Olympics because not enough countries were willing, for whatever reason, to campaign at the Olympics.
In actual fact, I don't believe the T was removed because not enough countries canpaigned it..we all know the gory details on how the voting went down...it was accepted once (twice?) before a backroom "deal" was made and 3rd vote took place to drop it. Yes, we can state the boat needs better acceptance globally...but let's not cloud the issue, that is not why it was dropped.
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We need to look at two things: 1. What were the characteristics of the 2008 Tornado that meant that it wasn't embraced around the world, and we need to be brutally honest in this assessment
You're starting with a relatively small slice of sailors (multihullers), then further slicing that to spin boat teams willing to devote time/money to campaigning 200+ days per year x4-8 years. Costs of this were staggering...many non-Euro teams typically kept a second boat kept in Europe for the several key events there while still having one at home for training to avoid shipping and the inherent down time during transit. The reality is you cannot do this on shoestrings...being independantly wealthy or having generous sponsorship is essential.The same should also be true to other Olympic classes...but they start with much larger monhull numbers.
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2. What are the characteristics of the Laser and the 470 that means that they are embraced around the world We also need to keep in mind the ISAF Youth Worlds and make sure there is a clear stepping stone from the Youth to Olympic boat.
Both boats are essentially entry level, low purchase. Juniors can get into them at local clubs. Parents would consider buying for kids. Any multihull is at a disadvantage in comparison since build costs/storage/portability is higher/more difficult.
