can you change your boat or rigging set up according to wind conditions.

[SEVENSEAS]

Could anyone enlighten me on whether it is normal practice for a sailor to be able to choose which of his boats ( eg, hobie or taipan ) he wants to sail or which way he wants to rig it ( cat, sloop or spinnaker ) according to the wind conditions for the best possible result during a racing season. Or are you supposed to nominate your rig and or boat and use that for the whole season.

[Pointed Reply]

Cat, sloop, spinnaker --- three different configurations, three different handicaps, three different boats, three different entries.

But if you entered the series with the lowest handicap then all three configurations may still comply.

[SEVENSEAS]

Thank you, thats clears it up. so you can't change boats or it's a different entry all together and if you change the rigging from a point of view were you are decreasing your yard stick ( eg from 76.5 to 73.5 ) that is a new entry all together. But if your changes are increasing your yard stick ( eg 73.5 to 76.5 ) then that is the same entry and exceptable.

[Pointed Reply]

No the other way around. Enter the boat and sail off 73.5 (ie: sloop with kite) but keep the kite stowed and the jib furled and you have a Cat, which SHOULD be off 76.5 but has to sail under 73.5.

Example: if you enter a Maricat Supersloop with a yardstick of 88 and half way through the regatta you decide it is too windy and furl or take off the jib you cannot sail the second half of the regatta off 94.

Some classes, like the skiffs, allow multiple rigs, so you can change from race to race.

In most regattas you can not change your sail unless you demonstrate to the race committee that your previous sail was damaged.

But it also depends on what the sailing instructions say.