Who in the world could you be talking about, hummm?
If by chance I am part of that "disagreeable" crowd, I hope you realize that
it's not that I disagree with the concept of an adjustable backstay, but
rather the inference that a Potter must have one to sail well or safely. I
feel that the tech stuff is neat, but can put off a potential Potterer if
they feel that they will need to make $3,000 in upgrades to their boat just
to make it safe or perform 'like it should'.
I was once told that... "If you take any sailboat and add all of the fancy
gizmos to it you can find (but don't change the basic boat or sail plan) you
could, at the most, expect only about 10% improvement in speed. On the
other hand, if you take that very expensively improved boat and put the
average sail boat owner at the helm, you can expect at least a 25% loss in
speed." That is why I keep popping up with notes that might seem in
conflict with what you post. I don't disagree with you, I just don't want
anyone on this list to forget why we picked these boats in the first
place... they are good (and cheap) fun!
Larry
>I also believe, and I must say that there are folks who would *disagree*
with
>me, that it's a good idea to have an adjustable rather than fixed-length
>backstay so you can bend the mast a little to flatten the sail in heavy air
.
>If you get Jerry's kit, you can configure it to include an adjustable
backstay