Yes--as he said, they are plastic. They are white as I remember. I've seen 3 Northwinds... we have 2 that have sailed in our club.... one of them got sold in favor of a Seawind, and the other's owner isn't too interested in racing, so we don't see him much. Those modifications in the picture I think are a kit you can buy from Vision Sails ([link=http://www.visionsails.com]www.visionsails.com[/link]) I think, and they are carbon and the sails are mylar I believe.

Remember, the Seawind for example is a $400+ kit (with electronics), whereas the Northwind is almost half that. So, you're paying for better quality parts. This is a lot of the reason the SW class is a strict one-design with very little modifications allowed to the kit, because it's expensive enough that expecting those who just paid $400 to have to invest even more $$ right off the bat just to be competitive would be a definate drawback, and from my experience unnecessary. In over a year of racing Seawinds in a variety of conditions, I can say the SW sails fine out of the box.

However, the SW isn't a class for those who like to tinker, or the engineering-minded, because those sorts of mods aren't allowed. The Victoria, Fairwind and proposed Northwind classes might be great for those with the itch to build.

Andy
[link=http://www.acmsc.org]Air Capitol Model Sailing Club[/link]

Andy
Air Capitol Model Sailing Club