John and Mark,

I try to look at the re-routing of the main halyard with a neutral position.
1: The Tornado fleet dont invent everything, as their creative pool is limited to fleet members <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> and reliability is a concern.
2: The Shearwater dont look too fast (I would not know) by the photos on their website. Looks like they have centerboards not daggers and the hullshape is kind of V'ish. Would the relatively small difference in drag/lift be noticeable on that platform?
3: 2.5 to 6 minutes delta upwind is a lot, and so it's worth researching now that the horse is out of the stable.
4: Shearwater assocs. website crashes my Firefox every time <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />


I got to say, if I were planning a really secret weapon for a major event, I would also like to keep it quiet. But then again, I would not go racing with it. Two boat testing is the way to go if you want to keep something hidden. The openess is partly what makes this forum so cool.

I suppose the increased pitch resistance from T-foils (like the ones Darryls F-14s use) could help neutralizing the advantage of the A's longer hulls upwind.

Mark, good of you to kick some Tornado butt. Got to say tough that the boat is not easy to get the most from. Sailor skill makes up for so much speed on the boat.

One question. What will 20kgs difference in crew weight do to your pointing ability? How about 40kgs?

Second question. How many go low after a tack to build virtual wind before heading up? Is it worth it?