Dinghy Development anything new going on?

When it was first introduced it was clearly pitched at the older crowd who wanted a boat they could still hike but that had a very controllable rig for when it got too windy and was easy to right and get back into. Interestingly more than half the sales have gone to a second niche which is middle aged people returning to competitive sailing post kids who are not 75- 80kg and hence will not fit into the traditional classes such as Laser or Solo. I agree that for this niche the Phantom, Blaze and possibly Supernova and OK are also options.

In its first year over 20 boats have been sold with one or two new boatseach month the run rate. Clearly its no RS or Hartley marketing machine but I have to admit it is more than I anticipated and I suspect that at the traveller events and nationals next year it will be 100% turn out based on the friendly and regularly used Facebook page - owners actually helping each other on-line and creating a community is interesting to see and refreshing from my previous experience with older classes!

The RS Aero basically is just more ergonomic than a laser.  Other than that its very similar in principle with small performance gains from the same leverage (central toe strap) and sail area. It would be nice if they could undercut the cost of a laser, but maybe with a more durable design they believe it will hold it's value better, so work out lower in the long run?

Without wanting to get into an argument over this I found the Aero very uncomfortable to sail. Floor was too high for my long legs meaning non hiking meant my knees felt like they were up under my chin and made it a strange experience to tack.

The performance gains (Aero 7 vs Laser) are down to a better rig and much lighter weight (and probably a better hull shape).

That is a whole other debate though. Take the D-Zero and compare it to the Aero 9. The Aero is lighter (some 10kgs hull weight) and has an extra 1sqm of sail but (currently) is only around 5py points faster (so close enough to race off scratch without too much complaining). Compare that to a Laser Std vs the Rooster 8.1 rig where there is the same sail area difference you have 50 points (or so) or PY difference. Admittedly the 8.1 results are skewed because they are only ever really sailed in lighter winds. once a Std is planing offwind most of the time the 8.1 is no quicker round the course.

So there is much more to development and progress than purely making stuff lighter (indeed look at the Supernova, this has shed around 15-20kgs in real terms but has somehow managed to get slower according to PY). 

This is why the D-Zero is the best of the new breed of the latest breed (IMO and yes I am biased). The ergonomics are very well thought out. The boom clearance is good, the controls work and have an element of freedom that allows those who are not gorillas to add in purchase, the hull is light enough and very responsive but not so light that you would worry about it blowing off the trolley.

As has been said I think a period of stability is a good thing, having the latest and greatest thing launch and branded 'sailing 2.0 (or 3.0 or 4.0) every year get boring. Traditional classes have also shown that evolution rather than revolution works very nicely too (look at the strength of the Solo).

As a note I saw a new Laser carbon top section a couple of weeks ago. Definitely a development for the class along with the Mk2 sail (which has made a big difference certainly at my local puddle in marginal conditions).