Indeed, I've owned a US Blade and an AHPC Viper - both are superb boats. The Viper is supposedly heavier (I have not officially weighed either) - the extra weight seems to be in the beams, the daggerboards and the rudders. The intention for the Viper is to to have a stiffer platform for waves, chop and heavy air - AUS built and delivered.
Does it pay off?? Time will tell.
Additionally, at its current specs - the Viper meets the F104/5 rule. The market in EU is much greater and to meet 2 classes in design may have been preferable. THIS IS MY OWN ASSUMPTION.
Following Tim's sugestion and keeping this thread hijacked---
Weight within the amount the Vipers are heavy will get lost in performance given wind variations and skipper skills. It will make some difference around the beach, but big deal.
The Viper though is not Aus built. At last tally it was being built in Thailand. They also supposedly use the pieces where possible from the F18 to keep cost down. This is a convienece issue and not specifically done to improve or stiffen anything.
MYopinion on the Viper is that it is an afterthought. They took a Cap hull and cut 2 feet out of it and used the same bits. The Blade was purpose designed for the F16. The latest generation boats, like the new Falcon appears to have done, is to continue to refine the shape and performance and the parts specifically for the F16.
Maybe one of the Euro guys can correct me on this, but the last I heard was that the 104 class rules had yet to be agreed on, and that in their last revision, the Viper did not quite meet the requirements. Seems like a creative push to try and double dip.
