Les,
It has been said for a long time that a competitive boat is 80% skipper and 20% boat and luck. There are several traveling competitors that have older boats sailing in the top of the fleet. One from New England is sailing a refitted 30-year old Treasure Tooling hull and is consistently finishing high in the fleet at major events.
Most top competitors build their own boat and Mike Zellanack is a top competitor in the class. He also provides crafted parts for the EC12 and will build a commissioned boat for anyone and there are many in the fleet.
This being said, the boat its self is the base for competitive action. Whether you build or buy to refit you want a clean deck, a total boat weight around 24 pounds with at least 18 and a half pounds of lead ballast, at least three inches of jib trim travel, a frictionless sheet line delivery, a simple solid electrical system and a RMG winch. This is a basic seen time and again in the fleet.
To power this you want an aerodynamically clean rig with all manual controls easily adjusted at the water’s edge. The sails mounted can be from anyone with full knowledge of the cut to fit the rig and the tuning for the wind conditions and balance of the sail plan when under power. Added to this is what to change when performance is not to par.
Throughout there is a must for good line and knots and good wire, fasteners and connectors. Failure of the rig or the electrical system on the water in all winds cannot be tolerated. The most common is the battery. A good competitor brings fully charged and tested batteries and replaces them with there is still plenty of power left.
Now having obtained this you challenge your discipline to sail smooth and connect your eyes to the boat with the six inches between your ears and to a race plan with vision for at least one tack ahead of your boat.
As to legal boats, all that have been registered with this class are accepted and the boat is rigged and fitted to class specifications by the class rules. These are simple and easy to read. It is suggested that any boat considered that has a Yacht Registration Number (sail number) label in the hull can be queried through me, as to its history and ownership. There also may be a hull manufacturer’s label in the hull with a serial number, which can be related together in the Class Registry.
While this was a long read today, it is all really simple…we all just want to have fun and smile on your way home.
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