The cynical answer is that it's not a god class unless everybody are reasonably _un_happy about the rules. If everybody is happy, it will fizzle and die. (I'll not use any "smileys", as you dont trust them anyway)

Splitting a class from the outset is a poor idea in my opinion. No kid would want to sail the "un(der)powered" version once they figured out that it gave more status to sail the "(over)powered" version. At least that is my experience.


Bob, the "Formula 12" class is not dead. It just lies dormant until some designs are buildt. The idea (and the demand) is there, so just give it some time. If the class is not up and going in six years (when our youngest become 8), I'll build three boats myself and donate to the club if I can entice her to start sailing. But I would definatly build sails from dacron and put a mast float on so the kids could play with the things. I would also homebuild rudders/rudderstocks/sails and use cheap materials so it would not cost much..
The "Formula 12" class just need some boats to hit the water, but most of the usual suspects for homebuilding/prototyping are busy with other projects.