I do quite a bit of landyachting each winter and have a series of 7 sails landyacht sails.

Just as with wind surfing these sails are typically considered small by the general public but can develop enough power to flow a car through the softer sand. Typical area's are 3 to 7 sq. mtr. but my largest sail is only 5.5 sq.mtr.

Interestingly enough my least powered up sail is 5.5 sq, mtr and my most powered up sail is 4.25 sq. mtr. This is all due to the draft cut into the sail and a little to the stiffness of the mast (tunig).

In my opinion the same applies to F16 sails. The area itself is not very important as long as you are sailing with the right cut and trim settings. Alot more difference can be had with adjusting these then by removing or adding area. Afterall, we have both heavy 2-up (150 kg) crews and light 1-up crews (70 kg) sail with the sail total mainsail area and do alright. This to some extent shows to control that the F16 rig offers to a crew. With cutting the sail for your conditions more can be had.

So I too advice to just keep the area and have it adjusted to your sailing conditions and typical crew weight.

Wouter