I am with Macca. I do not see what the "intent" of the rule matters when it would have been perfectly easy to write them otherwise. If painting a boat after manufacture was not allowed there are various wordings that could have made this clear.
As far as I am concerned, ambiguity is laziness and when rules are written with ambiguity it can only be interpreted as intentional.
Cheers,
Karl
It's, of course not, a question of person. For me, to be with or against anybody isn't the path.
On the paint question the very last TC (long and hard) work report show that there is not consensus between manufacturers.
In the same time ISAF has confirmed the World Council (WC) decisions of november, that everybody can check by crossing the minutes of the WC and the last ISAF publication.
ISAF is a big machine so they process step by step and in a very logical way: written interpretation (cleaning that what WC ask), amendments and then updating class rules.
http://www.sailing.org/2129.phpIt is always possible to ask for interpretation of the interpretation done by ISAF, but I can't see why ISAF people would change their mind in a few days. There is no more ambiguity. By the way ISAF changed the chapter of the maintenance item in order to stress that "routine maintenance" is under sailor responsability and add polyester gel coat in the list of materials.
ISAF is the third institution,in the process of decision: it is a team work.
First step is the Technical comittee (TC), composed by boats and sails makers and collecting point of view from industry people: Goodall, Boulogne, Soldano, Lauriot-Prevost, Contreas, Rogers, Melvin, Jary...
They give advices but it is the WC which decide and vote.
WC, the second step, is composed mostly by F18 sailors and elected by F18 sailors.
For the WC, nations aren't the key for the weight of vote.
One French/Italian/Ned F18 member is not more important but not less than one US, Australian or Argentinian F18 members.
That is important, because on one hand you have (respectable) commercial interest, on the other hand: class of F18 owner/members interest.
Indeed, guys who paid their boat, do vote the rules.
Please read the Don Finlay (TC Chairman) text which explain that better than I can do with my poor english:
http://tinyurl.com/7vpfmz6 The main reason of the F18 success is that we're sailing F18 for fun.
And only Champions win, not the boat.
Franck Tiffon
WC french representative -www.f18.fr-
F18 sailor since october 1994 (White Hawk with gel coat ;-)
Capricorn F18 FRA 327
