Walt wrote:
My *opinion* is that M is not entitled to room under 18.5, but a
contrary opinion is that M is entitled to room because there's enough
space for her to fit between the hulls. Is it the the distance
between the hulls that count, or is it the hull and boom? Looking
for supporting arguments one way or the other...


Personally, I would not want to go in front of a protest
committee and argue the claim that "room" meant the physical
constraint of space between hulls. Is beam plus 1 inch "room?"

It's also possible that once the boat in middle puts her
nose in, the windward boat could not trim in her boom
without clipping th eboat in the middle's forestay since it
swings aft as it swings in. Oops!


Gene Fuller wrote:
There are few rules or appeals that specifically mention the hull as
opposed to the complete equipment on a boat. For example, there is no
question that touching a sail constitutes contact, even if the sail is
an out of control spinnaker. Touching a line dragging in the water is
also contact. The only two cases I can think of where an unusual
position of equipment would be questioned are the classic cartoon
showing extreme spinnaker position at the finish line and a deliberate
sudden repositioning of the boom or a sail to block or hit an
overtaking boat.


Such as leaving the sprit out on a sportboat while sailing
to windward? Or the case of Il Moro during one of the San
Diego America's Cup, who gybed just before crossing the line
so as to let their spinnaker blow out further in front...
the judges called it by the relative positions of the
stemhead, anyway (a call I disagreed with).



I think the classic example would be towing a 100' floating line while
on starboard, and pulling it in when on port.

In the situation you described it would appear that the W boat had a
perfectly valid reason to have the boom extended over the side of the
boat. The boom is part of the overall envelope of the W boat. I agree
with your position.


Walt wrote:
While I agree that W had a valid reason to have her boom out, I don't
think W is *required* to have a valid reason. The fact is that the
hulls were X cm wide and there was less than X cm between W's boom and
L's hull when the overlap obtained. To me that says "no room".


I also agree but there is no telling what a protest committe
will decide.


Unless someone can come up with a valid reason why W should be compelled
to set her sail a certain way.

BTW, I've searched through the rules and the casebook for examples of
the notion of "equipment in normal position" and I don't see anything
that applies here. Maybe I'm missing something...


Is there a defined "normal position" for gear when
maneuvering to start? There is no definite course or point
of sail.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

In article ,
DSK wrote:

BTW, I've searched through the rules and the casebook for examples of
the notion of "equipment in normal position" and I don't see anything
that applies here. Maybe I'm missing something...


Is there a defined "normal position" for gear when
maneuvering to start? There is no definite course or point
of sail.

There's certainly nothing unseamanlike about letting your main luff so you
can slow down. I do that whenever I'm picking up a mooring or sailing up
to a dock.

The whole "normal position" thing is really about the reason something is
where it is. If it's there because there's some boat-handling reason for
it to be there, then it's "normal". If it's only there because it gives
you some tactical advantage to have it sticking out, then it's not "normal".

"My boom was way out because I was luffing my main to slow down so I
wouldn't be over early", that's normal position. "My boom was way out
because I wanted to keep leeward boats away", that's not normal position.

Roy Smith wrote:
DSK wrote:

BTW, I've searched through the rules and the casebook for examples of
the notion of "equipment in normal position" and I don't see anything
that applies here. Maybe I'm missing something...

Is there a defined "normal position" for gear when
maneuvering to start? There is no definite course or point
of sail.

Not that I can find anywhere.

There's certainly nothing unseamanlike about letting your main luff so you
can slow down. I do that whenever I'm picking up a mooring or sailing up
to a dock.

The whole "normal position" thing is really about the reason something is
where it is. If it's there because there's some boat-handling reason for
it to be there, then it's "normal". If it's only there because it gives
you some tactical advantage to have it sticking out, then it's not "normal".

Or if it's there by mistake, like letting a line drag behind you.


"My boom was way out because I was luffing my main to slow down so I
wouldn't be over early", that's normal position. "My boom was way out
because I wanted to keep leeward boats away", that's not normal position.

I agree with you on the meaning of "normal position", however there is
nothing in the rules stating that you have to keep your equipment in
normal position. In that regard it's sort of like the concept of
"proper course" - we can agree on what it means, but there are actually
only a few situations where the rules explicitly state that you must
sail a proper course. Likewise, the only place I can find a notion of
"equipment in normal position" is in the definitions of Overlap and
Finish, and those cites don't proscribe having gear out of normal
position.

So, on the one hand, there is nothing in the rules compelling a boat to
keep her gear in normal position. On the other hand, there are a few
examples of boats being DQed or penalized for deliberately placing their
equipment out of normal position for a tactical advantage. Is this one
of them?

Maybe Doug has it right with "there is no telling what a protest
committe will decide."

//Walt