I believe if you are going to bother with a weight limit, then have a weight limit. The old rules had 1,000 lbs. Why can't we go back to that? Then no one has to do a dance with which "heavy" person is on the helm, but then potentially switches out to a lighter person. Also, I agree. It is a safety and security issue not to be able to switch out the driver; not a good idea.

-Marcia

:: :: I beleive that the helmsman does not contribute to the
:: :: righting moment of the boat in any significant way. We
:: :: sit facing inboard and may not hike past the sheerline
:: :: of the boat.
:: ::
:: :: If you calculate the torque generated by an object at
:: :: the center of mass of the helsman facing inboard at the
:: :: narrowest part of the boat and compare it to the torque
:: :: generated by an object located at the center of mass of
:: :: a crew member facing ourward at the widest part of the
:: :: boat, the helmsman is half as efficient at righting the
:: :: boat (counteracting the heal) than the crew. Therefore
:: :: he/she should only count as half in computing the total
:: :: weight limit for the boat.
:: ::
:: :: crew+crew+crew+crew+skipper/2 ::
:: Seems reasonable, but the logic would lead to not
:: allowing ANY helm changes during a race. Not
:: unreasonable for buoys, but potentially problematic for
:: longer stuff.
::
:: The second you can take that skipper off the helm at
:: all, you have a potential significant advantage, with no
:: way for monitoring.
::
:: Just thinking out loud ....
::
:: Bob Harvey