Ok hows this for proof.

From the Contender sailcloth catalougue. APEN 06 3 mil is the only laminate in their whole range to have such a high film to fibre ratio. in fact the only cloth to have a 3 mil film at all. This includes all of their high performance fabrics including kevlar and carbon.

1.5 mil is pretty much the standard film thickness across their range, and is good enough for massive yachts why does the f18 class believe that it needs to be special and require the cloth strength to come from the plastic film. It makes no sense. Some of the information i have seen come out is from people that:

(a) Dont have a full grasp on what they are talking about
(b) Just plain telling untruths because it suits their own personal adgenda.

Im a fan of Contender products but sometimes their products are hard to get. If the new list goes through, being from Australia if my local contender supplier runs out of 3mil apen, I'm screwed. I have no other options.

Sorry for the bit of a thread highjack.

No doubt the f18 is a development class. The rule cherry picking has to stop.

Obviously the major manufacturers have been caught with their pants down by Sail Innovation. Maybe they should lift their game a bit instead of trying to move the goal posts.