[color:"blue"] [/color] "Woot" “Don't let anybody convince you that the choice is limited to only two alternatives !
Question: Whats up with 400 pound boats and $ 26,000 A Cats ?
How about a 240 lbs / $ 14.000 screamer ? Lightweight like an A,…..”

What a BS ! I can get a fully rigged F16 for what ? 15.000 USD tops. The A-cat will be 20.000 that means I can replace my 1500 USD main twice and also have two 800 USD replacement spinnaker and still have 400 USD left in my pocket for a replacement jib before I reach the A-cat retail price with only 1 mainsail. Making almost 3 suits of sails again only 1 mainsail on the A. How much time will this cover, 10 years ?

After 4 years of sailing I'm still on my first mainsail and spinnaker. And every class will "do a long time with a main if you are only using your old main for practice". That argument is not in anyway unique to the A-cat class.”

[color:"blue"] [/color]
[color:"black"] [/color] First of all, comparing a 165 lb 18 ft long boat to a 16 ft 240 lb boat is somewhat absurd. That would be like saying you could get a 14 ft boat that only weighed 350 lbs and is light weight like a F16. Now if the F16’s weighed in at around 150 lbs, I might buy your light weight argument. Ditto the cost argument. If A cats were 50% heavier, they would be a lot cheaper also. Compare apples to oranges or it is meaningless.

There is a huge difference in the feel and sailing characteristics of a 165 lb boat and a 240 lb boat. Same thing when you go from 240 lbs to 330lb Hobie 16+spinnaker,H17, (F17), Hobie FX-1, nacra 5.5 Uni. If you don’t appreciate the difference then don’t buy one. Think about this:

A class 165 lbs (lightest) 19,000$ (110% more) 2006 DPN 64.6 Fastest
F-16 240 lbs (45% heavier) 15,000$ (66% more) 2006 DPN 67.1 (3.8% slower)
H 16+spi320 lbs (94% heavier) 9,000$ (baseline) 2006 DPN 72.9 (13% slower)

H Wave+spi 250 lbs (51% heavier) 4,400$ (105% less) 2006 DPN 88 (36% slower)

It all kind of makes sense doesn’t it?


As far as sail costs go, maybe you have some incredible unobtanium sailcloth, but my personal experience with sails is as follows:
Competitive lifespan of a Mainsail 60-75days, Jib 30 days, spinnaker 30 days.
For me this worked out to a jib and spinnaker every year and a main every other year.
I have owned catamaran sails by Goodall, Glaser, Ulman, Smyth, Shore, EP, and HobieCat. For ME personally, this worked out to be around 8-10 sails over the 4 years I own a boat. Now I am down to about 2 sails per 4 years. Your mileage may vary.

Sail fast, sail light
Eric