Sam, your ingorance on the introduction / marketing of the Comptip is appalling.

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We will never know the details of the lawsuit because it is locked up in a non-disclosure agreement


Oh, really? And your source of this information is . . . ?
Another case of "I read it on the Internet, so it must be true." Why don't you ask Doug Campbell, the president of Hobie Cat at the time (1984-85), who is still very much involved with the class? (He was on the jury at the Tiger Worlds just a few weeks ago)

Better yet, I'll talk to Doug face-to-face when I see him at the 16 NA's next month. He'd probably think you're some sort of tin-foil hat wacko.

Or why don't you track down Walt Millar, who was Hobie Cat's corporate attorney at the time, specializing in product liability defense, particularly electrocution cases?

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That Hobie has never advertised the comptip as a safety feature. On the contrary they advertise it as a "performance" feature.


"Never" is a very absolute term. A quick Google search for "Comptip" blows that "fact" away. Right now, I'm looking at the article in the Hobie Hotline (Jan/Feb '86) that introduces the Comptip and the retrofit program. The title? "This Tip Could Save Your Life" In the article, Doug Campbell admits that there is a slight performance loss in moderate air.

I will agree that they currently market it for both "safety and high-wind performance," which strangely enough, is true. (Nobody ever said marketing = truth)

You know what? Comptips have been around for twenty years. They're not going away. Get over it already.

And stop slagging Matt Miller, who's done more to improve the quality of the boats coming out of Oceanside than anybody before or since. You don't know him or his bosses. I do - and what you imply is tin-foil hat rediculous.

Flame on, Sam the Troll.
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