wouter, the Nacra Inter 17 is not the same boat as the Nacra F17, the F17 has simular shape hulls, but not carbon kevlar and a totally different platform. the specs that I put up are from the Nacra website, I didnt write them, they were copy and paste...and yes due to the lighter weight of women on average they will be faster on a F16 platform than 2 heavier guys of same experience, but thats just logic,but i cant see lightweight women handling a larger sail plan as well as men can, so making the larger sailplans will be more sutiable for men, the Inter 17 has a 20sq mtr spinaker the F16 has 17.5 sq mtr / the Inter main and jib totalls 21sq mts not including winged mast the F16 is 18.7 including mast, Im not saying that F16`s are girlie boats I am making facts, so according to the experts, designers etc the extra 10inches does make a difference along with the different hull shape, to clear my point i dont believe that a F16 footer mixed is the way to go at the next olympics, as i posted previously it is a development class, the Inter 17 isnt, it wouldnt interfere with any other classes, just like the tornado, the reason i higlighted the carbon kevlar was because of the huge weight reduction and extra stiffness of the I17 over the F17, are you suggesting that the F16 should be put up to the ISAF as the next mixed olympic catamaran? Do you feel that the F16 will be more spectacular to the general public than a tornado?
I gotta say I also prefer the x40 `s but thats not going to happen (sigh)