I don't really see the problem from our F16 side. The Viper could be 180 kg and still be a fully compliant F16. Whether it is economically smart for AHPC to go that far needs to be seen however. from our perspective there is no problem. Hell, I sail a 121 kg F16 myself, the only difference being that I'm not bitching about wanting a slower handicap.

Also people need to realize that the Viper as advertized is NOT at 104 under the SCHRS handicap system and therefor is NOT, I repeat, NOT a F104 compliant boat itself. They have to weight the bloody thing down to 132 kg to even get to that rating.

The problem with the French fleets right now is that these designs are non F16 compliant for a score of reasons. Their hulls are too long, their jibs are too large, often their mainsails as well, spinnaker are oversized, etc.

Afterall when you make a boat at 150 kg you'll need to fit a larger engine to get it back up to 104 (under SCHRS) performance. Same with the Nacra I-17 or whatever its name is now.

Also, I think calling these F104 efforts "a fleet" is a bit over the top. Currently they are pairing pretty different designs into a single class. Much like the F16 class did back in 2002. These "fleets" still have a lot of work to do before becoming a serious competitor. The F16 class has got about a 5 to 6 year head start on them and our boats cost less as well.


Wouter