franck,

You really cannot hide this as anything other than a witch hunt. Many boats have been and are painted. Mattia and Windrush have had painted boats in the class for years with no issue. Now all of the sudden this issue of paint is being raised to exclude boats from the class. According to the version of the rules I printed, gel coat is not specifically listed and hence is not legal as a surfacing material, either. This would apply also to vinyl stick on graphics too, so every boat with graphics should be banned as well. Pretty ridiculous – no, but this is what often happens when “universal” rules tried to get written. At the very least if someone feels there has to be a rules clarification, it needs to state paint be allowed from a precedence standpoint alone. Retroactively excluding boats that have been accepted for years reeks of poor sportsmanship.

How does the class make these decisions? There are a couple of primary builders, who I am sure want no part in changing their processes. I have never heard any complaints from a member or in any forum about paint, but now it has become a public mess. This at least makes me question the process here.