I just read the class rules and it says the length limit is 5 meters (16.4 feet). So now you are saying that I can build a boat that is 17 feet 4 inches long and get it accepted as an F16 as long as it doesn't go too fast?
Feels like a slippery slope.
It's not quite that bad, but I agree there is a risk. 6.1 states that this is "at the discretion of the head of a local F16 organisation". So, it's not guaranteed that you get to race. Further, the races are to be described as "Open F16", rather than just "F16". We would do well to keep this distinction clear.
I think it is very useful to have this rule in order to help get numbers whilst establishing the class, but we don't want to be in the situation where any boat with a rating of 1.01 or slower can just turn up.
We might consider requesting that Cirrus update their description to say "Open F16 races" rather than "F16 class", in order to make it clear that this is not fully F16 compliant.
For information, the successful F16 vs FX-1 meet at Datchet last year didn't need the grandfathering clause. We had a single start, combined results, but separate prizes. So, all the fun of racing comparable boats on the water, but no need to confuse the definition of what is F16 and what isn't.
Paul
