Well the Taipan 4.9 mainsail change has been voted on and the result is as follows.

79% For the Proposed Change.
15% Against.
5% Of votes deemed invalid.

There 83 voting forms sent out, 53 recieved back from memory.

Hopefully exciting times ahead for a fantastic class.

Regards

Matt

[This message has been edited by mattaipan (edited 03 March 2007).]

That is good news as the change should bring new interest and revitalise the class. It will also bring the taipan closer to the F16 design umbrella.

While I agree that its not ideal, the conditions surrounding the vote were very clear. Only current financial members could vote upon the change, and votes must be in by the 1st March 2007, I've read that there only one vote recieved after the deadline.

I, at one stage, earlier on in the piece, considered not voting, which I put down to not being a member of the class for even a year, and still in the process of building my boat. I guess I came to realise that this is the future of the class that I plan to be involved with for a very long time. So, after gathering all the information I could, and speaking to people both part of the association and some from the outside, I decided on my vote.

Of the 30 votes not recieved, and without actually knowing why, I guess there would people that chose to sit on the fence, some that have moved on to other classes already such as the F18, and some that just plain forgot to get their vote in.

But you are right, the decision that has been made may have a negative impact of the class, and while I certainly hope this isn't the case, the decision will either cause the loss of a few members or be of benefit to the class as a whole.

The new sail can't be used in championship events until the 2009 Nationals, giving members time to get the most out of their current sails.

Regards

Yeah thats the way I read it to. This will allow time for development as well, let a few get out there and the sailmakers can optimize their sails for new plan, pretty good idea I think.

I've still got a pretty good Ashby main and I'd say this will see me out until the new sail is a common sight, so it probably suits me that way.