I watched the New England 6.0 spinnaker issue with much interest as it showed a strong regional attachment to the boat and a desire to let it evolve somewhat. I was impressed with the NE skippers getting those specs put together. My guess is that Rick Bliss was probably one of the driving forces in getting that done. The existence of the N20 (I20) made by Nacra, however, means that the factory probably won't fully embrace the boat—they have a new boat to sell as their hot 20 footer. My thinking is that with the Fox out of the picture the only 20 foot racing boat Hobie has is the Miracle 20. Since this is Hobie’s representation in this prestigious class it would make some sense to let upgrades happen. Certainly, I recognize that one has to do this very carefully so as to not alienate (by making obsolete) the current H20 owners.

As Keith Chapman and Dave Mosley said it might work to establish some evolutionary and cost effective changes; then apply an adjusted Portsmouth rating to them and allow them to run alongside the current design to allow time for skippers to adopt. If the changes get accepted, they could then become the new specs for the class. Sails get replaced, a spinnaker could be added, and maybe dagger board inserts are not too expensive to consider. Is this practical?

The comp tip may be a problem when considering a square top main; I never thought of that issue. If a new mast were required to enable the sail to perform, I doubt this would work as skippers wouldn't easily be convinced to buy new masts.

SteveT, I know you approved of Matt’s statement that there will be no H20 changes, but, since you are in an area with H20 strength, do you see any scenario where the skippers would support modernization changes to the H20 in order to make Hobie’s 20 footer more competitive?

I’m a business man, so ultimately I know that the factory has to believe changes to the boat will stimulate new boat sales (or significant sales of upgrades) or there is no reason for them to pursue any changes.