Why doesn't Hobie upgrade its mylar laminate sail and move to a more modern and durable sails such as Pentex? It's time for me to update my sails and it kills me to spend all that money on mylar sails with their known problems. At what point does any manufacturer or class decide its time to upgrade?

I understand the need for conformity and to level the playing field. But if you're going to spend all that money on a new set of sails (and I assume competitive sailors routinely purchase new sails), why not do it with a more modern and durable material like Pentex?

Perhaps Hobie could offer both Mylar & Pentax (or some other material) sails.

I'd like to hear different perspectives or concerns with migrating to a newer material. Matt, what would Hobie's concerns be?

Bill Nieuwkerk

Hobie doesn't make that decision, although they are certainly involved in it.

The first step is to make a proposal to the IHCA Rules Committee, who would review it, solicit sailor input and make a recommendation to the IHCA Council.

The IHCA council would then vote on it.

The H-17 is also an ISAF International Class. ISAF must ultimately approve class rule changes.

Racers do not "regularly buy new sails". Most of the highly competitive H-17 sailors use their sails for 5 - 6 years.

Agree with Matt. Also most of the Hobie 17 sailors enjoy the low cost, even playing field one design aspect of the class. As to the Hobie sail life, many of the top racers do have and use old sails at least five years old.

I also enjoy the H17, its simplicity and low-cost.

It may already be obvious, but I'm somewhat new to racing. Last year I raced it for the first time and this year I plan on participating in many of the local races. However I'll need a new sail.

In researching this, I thought I read that the sail had delamination problems. Assuming the cost of a Mylar sail and Pentax are roughly the same, it seemed like a no-brainer to make the change. However, the delamination problem may have been overstated. Was I misinformed?

Nope. H17 sails should be called the "Delaminating Deluxe" sails.

Tad's comment notwithstanding, I have owned 4 H-17 sails since 1991. The only one that started to delaminate was the one I bought in 1992 - and it didn't start until 2002!

I consider 10 years of use out of a sail quite acceptable. The sail was still usable, BTW. Just not for racing.

I suggest you talk to the guys in HCA Division 11, which has the most active group of 17 racers in the country. They can give you the real scoop.