Steve,

Your comment that the A-class is too fragile is a very erroneous statement and seems ignorant from my viewpoint. I've owned two A-Cats starting with a Boyer Mk. IV that I sold to upgrade to a Boyer Mk. V two years ago. The Mark IV (a 2000 model) is still sailing quite strongly and I have not had one issue with my Mk. V and it has been sailed quite hard in all conditions. It is as stiff and leak free as the day I got it. There is not one stress crack on it.

I have also owned a P-19 and a Tornado. My P-19 had deck delamination after one year, many areas with stress cracks, and yellowing gel coat. My Tornado was a Marstrom that I owned for 5 years, no issues at all but hey, it's a Marstrom.

You should really know what you are talking about before you label any boat fragile. True, an A-class is not the classic beach cat that can be slammed into the beach at full speed. It is a high performance racing yacht, the finest I have ever sailed in over 30 years of sailing. I take my girlfriend out quite often on my boat in all conditions. We have even gone full moon night sailing on it.

I agree that the poster above may not be a candidate for an A-class but please have experience with one before you give it such a negative label.

Thanks.