I'm fearing that some of my comments can be misintepreted.

So allow me to further clearify some points.

I'm not saying Marstrom products are bad in any way. Because they are not. The point I wanted to get across is that I don't see the "gain" in spending a significant additional amount of money (relative to other A-cat designs) for a design that is pretty "average" in performance relative to other modern A-cats. Comments along the lines of "marstrom was just fine in event such and such" only underline this. For 5000 Euro's more I expect a comparable amount of "better" or "faster". If this is not present then why not buy any of the other A-cats and keep the cash ?

It also appears that the other brands have better customer service as well. For what did we pay 5000 Euro's extra again ?

Clearifying M18 = passed station. This is not related to the design of the M18 but more with its position in the larger catamaran scene. After all, this is a very rare and unpromoted boat, with a lot of Marstrom specific components, from a company with the above mentioned customer support reputation. How can I put this in a nice way ? Why put yourself through the trouble ?

In addition to this the M18 is a bit undetermined; it is neither an A-cat nor a F16. It is somewhere in between without having the strong points of either class. This doesn't help its position in todays catamaran scene at all. My personal prediction is that it will slowly fall back to the background and disappear over the next couple of years. Why should it be valued at 5000 Euro's and 9000 Euro's more than the A's and F16's ?

I also wrote that the boats were outdated. I should specify that. I meant to say that they have not kept of with new developments. The snail is hard on the spinnaker (wear) and there hasn't been much development in sails and hulls over the last few years. Both the A-cat class (other builders) and F16 class have seen much more development in the way of spi snuffers, mainsail designs and hull shapes. That is only naming 3 points. The Marstrom products are still fast, well build and well behaved but they are still not level with the newer designs that have come out. In this light I ask again, why spend a large amount more on a new boat and then again spend time and money doing the required development yourself ? Do yourself a favour buy a cheaper but more modern design and spend the remaining budget on things that do help performance. I'm sorry to Marstrom but that is the state of things, nothing personal.


With respect to say A-cats versus F16's (but I consider the Shadow and other to run parallel to this).

If anyone is not interested in spinnaker sailing (or taking a crew along) then your best option under "money-is-not-a-problem" are the A-cat boats. No doubt about that. Plain and simple.

If someone is into spinnaker sailing or even taking crews along more then seldomly then don't mess around with spi packages on A-cats. Get a F16 or comparable boat that was designed to be sailed with a spi. There is more difference in design between both boats then can be corrected by an after market package. The whole design is affected by the choice of having a spi or not. Down to the distribution of hull volume. Yes, 5 years ago putting a spi to an new A-cat was pretty reasonable but now with the new developments in F16 (and similar classes) this is just a waste of money.


So when deciding to buy a new boat, base the decision on whether you want a spinnaker or not and don't try to predominantly use either boat in a role different then to what it was designed for.

This means that you should not buy an F16 to sail exclusively solo with only a mainsail, that is pointless. Neither should anyone buy an A-cat only to smack a spi package on it (or double hand it). Both boats will be okay in these switched roles but they will not be exceptionally well in it. I hope this satisfies the fans of both camps.


With respect to spinnaker sailing and crews who are not interested in it.

If only I had a dollar for each "disinterested crew" that turned into an "adrenaline craving spinnaker junky" after a single demo sail in 8 - 14 knots of wind.

I'm not joking here, the score in converts is extremely high. So I'm saying to each and any crew, take this into account. Chances are that there will come a time where you want it, badly.

I hope this clearifies a few of my earlier statements

Sorry for any inconvenience

Wouter