Brian what's the point (history lesson) that you are trying to make using Clark Mills as an example? I would have thought that Clark Mills would have made the point that I stated even more so?
His Optimist and Windmill designs were both free of charge, and are some of the most successful sailboat designs ever.
Look Brian, I admire your enthusiasm, and the last thing that I would want to do, would be to discourage some one from "getting out there" and testing their own ideas. If you feel that you can make an impact with your own cat/s, go for it at 100 miles an hour, and don't let any one tell you otherwise.
Darryl J Barrett
Thanks Darryl, I really enjoyed your posts concerning homebuilt plywood construction. That is sort of where I was going with my post about having available free plans for a cat that would be competitive with what's currently racing. I think there are a lot of kids out there with a lot more time than money who would be willing and able to spend a summer stitching together a boat, and retrofitting the rig from something else onto it.
The part that gets me, are the sails. There should be a cheaper method to go about getting a decent set of sails. Some sort of pattern that could be posted so people could cut and sew their own Dacron and have some sails that perform
well enough.
