The Sub-45's and owning an FF.....

One of the comments to arrive on the blog last week was from someone I would guess is below our 45 year old fleet average. He (or she), an FF owner one day I hope, made three very good points....
(1) Is the average age of 45 connected to the fact that the new boats cost £20,000 (2) Why would BIFFA even contemplate rule changes which make the boat more expensive rather than less expensive (3) can younger aspirants be incented into the Loan Boat program. All good things for us to think about. I was just coming round to the notion that the "next generation" of FF racers would think Mylar sails a brilliant idea - stupid of me not to see the cost issue in that context.
On the cost of the boats and being 45+, I think we would have different position to our correspondent. In FFs, new boats is not where the smart money goes. Part of having keelboat weight, is that the boats are built incredibly strongly and stay competitive and looking good for AGES. The speed differences by boat age are tiny. This keeps their residuals up, and remember that you don't find out the cost of running any boat until you sell it. I met a Club member in the bar recently very proud of his new Laser 4000 and said "it is great value for money". Must remember to ask him again when he gets to sell it, if he can sell it. No - the smart money in FFs goes into boats 5-15 years old - Ovington Mk IX smoothies especially. Look at the Humes' boat, 3559. About 15 years old. Competitive? A winner? Ha! Goes like a rocket... The cost of a boat like that on today's market ... £5k-6k. Fancy a ten year old (like Tom Hall's boat - top class results) - about £8k. My correspondent says what about RS400? Good question - 2 years old and £6200. I would say pretty comparable. Plus the FF Mk 9 has relatively tiny depreciation after you buy it. In researching these figures, I discovered that RS no longer quote the RS K6 on their product list. Who remembers what a Laser 5000 or Boss look like? Besides, do you want just circuit racing or do you want Club Fleet Racing as well. Remember - Handicap racing is NOT racing,... just somewhere to sail to...
We'd better think through what the next generation of FF racers are looking for. Maybe we should ask some.