Mike, I know for a bigger guy finding 5 that fit in the weight limit can be tough- but a weight limit is critical for fair racing on our light boats. Elimination of the weight limit would lead to the elimination of small people (Ladies!) from sailing the boats, increased wear and tear from sailing with much more weight, the need to buy new sail inventories to take advantage of more righting moment, and less comfortable (and expensive sailing!) because most boats would have to sail with 6 to be competitive. Trying to find that one person big or small to hit the weight right can be tricky- but do you want it to be all about finding the 6 biggest all the time? The Moore 24 class recently imposed a weight limit for just this reason! In the old days with the 1000# crew weight many more Expresses lost rigs, broke gear, and even seperated bulkheads trying to sail around in 18-20kts with their number 1 up. This does NOT sound like fun to me! The 880# weight limit is more comfortable to sail the boat with, cheaper in MANY ways, and is more inclusive of woman and juniors that are all important to fun sailing and the future of our class! As a solution it is possible to sail competitively with 4 big guys- Jeff Thorpe got third in his first Nationals in 98 like this. Also invite juniors from your yacht club to join your team. Young kids are eager, hard working, and soak up waves on the bow better than us older people. Cheers Mike- I hope to see you join the fleet for some one design racing soon!

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:: Please see Tiburon Yacht Club Event Bulletin Board to
:: chime in on re-exaimining the virtues (OR NOT) of the
:: 880# weight limit.
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:: Mike Bruzzone