
Originally Posted by
Chris249
Eh? Dave Gentry, who built and sailed one, described Eeek as slow and a flawed design. Others pointed out that it was designed by someone who did not sail the type.
The Zest, on the other hand, is designed by a guy who is an excellent and highly experienced sailor in this sort of boat and who has been a national champ in a similar design. It's very well accepted (and has been repeatedly proven) that when it comes to fast dinghies there are many design tricks of the trade that are only known to those with experience in sailing such types. Given Richard's track record in high speed boats, this is doubtless very different from a Bolger in terms of speed.
One thing the Zest does, though, is to dispel any idea that "box boats" are a Bolger development or disliked by all of the "sailing establishment". Classes that are pretty much "box boats" have been around in fast racing dinghies for decades, in the shape of classes like Aussie Skates, Signets, Vauriens, narrow skiff Moths, Vee Jays and now the Zest. The basic concept has been accepted and popular for eons.
Oh, and the rig is not really complex and it's there for a reason. Experience in fast boats really teaches one how the rig and its lift/drag and control characteristics have to match the hull's speed and handling. For all the claims that he was a versatile designer, Bolger appears to have zero experience in truly fast craft or their rigs, which arguably meant his criticism of them was based on ignorance.