Seeker, merely because I dispute your claim that ODs are doomed does not make me a troll.

You are pretty close to anonymous yourself, I can't see why you make such a fuss about it. It wouldn't change the facts.

Further up the thread you have been given info about H16s in the US. The class may not be spectacular but it backs up all I was ever disputing, which was your claim that ODs always die and cannot grow.

We're not selling cars here, so the concept of updating models every year doesn't apply in the same way. In fact the facts indicate quite clearly that the classes that update are not sure of survival, and the classes that don't update are generally more popular - look at any listing of the most popular classes and it's almost all ODs at the top.

Look at the classes that CAN get updated every year and you'll see D Class (dead) C Class (moribund, about 2 races each 4 years), B Class (long dead), A Class (about 40 new members in the main countries, but no overall growth in terms of existing boats and 30 fewer new boats in '06 than in '02), 18 square (dead), Formula 16 (small) Formula 18 (growing; up 7 boats at the UK nationals '98-'05, similar in other areas, very popular in other places), F20 (?), F18HT (?). That's not exactly indicating that development classes are immortal.

The first OD cat classes in England (Shearwater) and Australia (Yvonne) are both still alive - proof that ODs do NOT die as you claimed.

Kieth, bummer about your tramp. We had a similar problem with ours, in a class that HAS got multiple suppliers. We haven't really worried about it.....compared to the cost of updating to the new sails that competing sailmakers have brought out it's a minor problem.

I'm NOT having attacking ODs, or loose ODs, or development classes, they're all fantastic and all offer vital things to our sport. All I was doing is replying to a claim that ODs always die when they clearly do not, as is proven by the fact that the very first ones are still around.

Am I saying we have to stick with H16s and Shearwaters and other old boats? Of course not. It would be great to get more user-friendly entry-level boats in. A cat version of the Opti and 420 would also be a great idea, as far as I can see.