Martin 242 Class Rule Changes

The IMCA Technical Committee has performed a follow-up review of the Class Rules over the past 9 months with regard to sail cloth and construction techniques, with a view to keeping sail costs affordable for Class members, and as a result the following major Class Rule changes will be in effect on April 15 as follows:

REVISED RULE - 3.6.10: Effective April 15, 2026, the Technical Committee adopted new sail cloth rules in Appendix A. Should there be any doubt with regard to whether proposed sail cloths or construction techniques fit within these new rules, the Technical Committee shall be consulted in all cases for approval of such sails or construction techniques via your local Measurers.

REVISED RULE - Appendix A, Mainsail Specifications #6: The mainsail may be fitted with vision windows whose combined area shall be no larger than 850 square inches (0.548 square meters) in total. If fitted, no vision window edge shall be further away than 1.5 meters (4.91 feet) from the foot. Additionally, spreader windows shall be no larger than 160 square inches (0.1 square meters) in total. 

REVISED RULE - Appendix A, Mainsail Specifications #10: The body of the sail shall consist of a woven single-ply made of PET. Sails constructed, sold to owners, and listed on Sail Registers prior to January 1, 2026 are grandfathered. 

(Note: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is marketed under the trade name Dacron.)

REVISED RULE - Appendix A, Jib Specifications #10: The body of the sail shall consist of single-ply (woven or laminated) with fibers made of PET. Technologies utilizing bespoke load bearing fibers (e.g. Tape Drive, Stratis, 3Di, FiberPath, D4) are not permitted. Sails constructed, sold to owners, and listed on Sail Registers prior to January 1, 2026 are grandfathered.

(Note: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is marketed under the trade names Mylar and Dacron.)

The new 2026 Class Rules effective April 1, 2026 can be found here on the Fleet 1 / 2 website in the M242 Class Docs section.