Classes
The class is the main focus of IMOCA. As the names imply, this class is "open", meaning that it does not represent fixed boat designs; instead, they are defined by a "box rule" which permits any design, as long as it meets certain restrictions. The restrictions limit the lengths of the boats and place certain safety requirements on the boats, such as minimum stability requirements. This class is recognised by the International Sailing Federation.
Boats are typically light and high-powered, with large sail-plans. Typically consisting of large carbon-fibre shells, there are few concessions to comfort.
Read more about this topic: International Monohull Open Classes Association
Famous quotes containing the word classes:
“There are three classes into which all the women past seventy that ever I knew were to be divided: 1. That dear old soul; 2. That old woman; 3. That old witch.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)
“By his very success in inventing labor-saving devices, modern man has manufactured an abyss of boredom that only the privileged classes in earlier civilizations have ever fathomed.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)
“There are four classes of idols which beset men’s minds. To these for distinction’s sake I have assigned names—calling the first class Idols of the Tribe; the second, Idols of the Cave; the third, Idols of the Market-Place; the fourth, Idols of the Theatre.”
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626)