I'm getting ready to trade in my Nacra 5.8 and looking to buy something F16HP compliant. I've narrowed the choices down to the Taipan and BIM, and would appreciate any advice, info, suggestions, recommendations, pros/cons, or whatever you can think of to assist in the decision-making progress.



I weigh 155lbs and sail mostly single-handed.



I've read through the F16 website, and want to thank the class for having such a great resource of information.

These boats are incredible. Quality of production is better than any lightweight boats out there (other than maybe Marstrom and Waterrat A's, but they don't make F16's).

The BIM is not a true single/double hander, but rather a singlehander.

When BIM revisits the F16 concept, I bet their boat winds up closer to the Taipan and Stealth.

Please e-mail me at fastcatmichael@hotmail.com and I'll fill you in on some other stuff.

Good luck - any F16 will be a blast.

Michael Coffman

Taipan 4.9 #32

Jeff,



I have been a Taipan sailor for only a few months. I sail my boat single handed only. I absolutely love it, it is a dream. I've never sailed a BIM so can't compare but if its a better boat than a Taipan I'd be gobsmacked. It's hard to beat perfection.



The Taipan has beautiful fair hulls and a very stiff platform. They are also a very beautiful boat to look at. The look as good as they sail.



If you want more information on Taipans (or to just drool over some photos) see my website:



http://www.taipan.asn.au



or the manufacturer's website:



http://www.ahpc.com.au



I hope you make the right choice.



Rob Wilson

Taipan 4.9 AUS175

Jeff,



I have had the opportunity to sail both boats and compare them head to head. Basically, the BIM 16 is the better singlehander (by a lot) and the Taipan is a better doublehander.



When singlehanding the Bim benefits from its A-Cat carbon mast and rig. The mast is a beautiful two piece unit by RIBA and has been reinforced to accommodate the spinnaker. RIBA builds Ferrari's F-1 car chassis. The boat is nearly as fast as an A-Cat upwind and faster downwind, so its handicap is a gift!



Upwind the Bim is a singlehanded rocket and downwind it is beatifully balanced. When doublehanding in 10 knts or more, the Bim is great, however I found it underpowered in the light stuff for two people (sailed with combined weight of 340 lbs) when going upwind. It was fine with two people once the spinnaker was up.



The Taipan is also a great little boat that really goes. The boat with the jib was better than the BIM in light air, however the helm was poorly balanced under spinnaker. I think that the daggers need to be moved forward to counter the lee helm caused by the spin moving the CE forward. With two people, this little boat is a hoot to sail.



Both boats are well made and should hold up well. I would go with the boat that you can get the best deal on. Either boat will make you happy.

Jeff,



I have sailed both boats. If you would like my opinion, then e-mail me at [email]williamoliver@aol.com.[/email] I will say that both are super little boats.



W.F. Oliver

Tell us all W.F.Oliver!



I, and alot of other readers of this forum, would be interested in your opinion.



Rob.

Although I was very impressed by the Taipan myself I'm very anxious for spring 2003 to come and see the announced Bim Javelin-16. In tradition with the new Bimare designs it is sure to be a wavepiercer design. (a little counter weight to the Taipan guys)



And this is as far as I can go as the chairman of this class; Impartiality.



But to more general stuff.



With regard to singlehanding, I can assure you that the rig was described as powerfull but very controllable by sailors sailing different kinds of F16's. Micheal Coffman (135 lbs) decribed it as better controllable than his earlier boat which was a nacra 5,2 with custom squaretop main. He indicated that the rig was very depowerable, which implicetly means that you can power up again when the wind drops.



Anyways what I'm getting at is this; Micheal both sails solo and with crew and has a sloop mainsail optimized for doublehanded sailing. A trick communicated to me by the Aussies doing both the solo and doublehanded sailing thing is to have a extra set of stiffer top three battens and use those to optimize the mainsail to both roles. The F16 rules allow this without remeasuring the mainsail. It is a extra present to singlehanded sailors and the cheapest way to get good dual role performance from one mainsail.



I'm sure that this trick can be used on any of the mainsails of the F16 boats.



Wouter

Rob,



I said that both the BIM 16 and the Taipan are both great boats. I have a lot more time on the BIM 16 and have set one up the way I like. The BIM 16 was a pleasure to race and won all three regattas that I entered it in, often against much larger boats. The BIM 16 is a gaint killer. I like the idea of a smaller version of the F-18HT, which is how I see the BIM 16.



I sailed a Taipan 4.9 in Cambridge, Maryland and thought it was quite responsive. Jim Boyer and his daughter Julie sailed the Taipan in the Cambridge event and often arrived at the A mark with the larger Tornados and I-20s. I think that they finished second behind Bobby and myself on the I-20 for the regatta.



Again, either of these F-16HP class boats should make a sailor smile!

I just want to comment on the BIM and Taipan Portsmouth numbers. I own a 4.9 and have seen and sailed against the BIM singlehanded. The PN number is a "gift" for the BIM IMO since the BIM uni with spinnaker is rated slower than the Taipan uni W/O spinnaker! The BIM is fast, especially upwind; and downwind, with the spinnaker, it is no contest vs the 4.9 (w/o spinnaker) but both sailed uni (w/o spinnaker) downwind the 4.9 has an advantage. To my knowledge no one has sailed a uni setup (w/ uni specific cut mainsail) 4.9 w/ spinnaker against a BIM w/ spinnaker (and I and Mark are the only ones to have sailed with each other on the same course at the same time uni only that I know of).

It's also worthwhile mentioning that a 4.9 can be retrofitted under F16HP rules with a different mast/mainsail including one similar to that found on the BIM 16 and the BIM can be fitted with a larger spi (presuming the mast would handle it) than the one that was being used on it in the past (although there is debate still about the merits of larger spinnakers on these lightweight boats and we are all still trying to find out what the "hot ticket" is- the 4.9 with the big- 21 sqm- spi does have helm "issues" but they are less with the 17 sqm spi- the F16HP size and I'm not sure what they would be with the small BIM spi so sort of comparing apples and oranges there).

In my mind, if you are talking going uni only, then the "big" advantage of the Taipan over the BIM is largely negated. Whether you go with the Taipan or the BIM 16 you will end up with a great boat that will be as fast or faster than your current boat on the water and MUCH easier to setup/trailer/move about/right/etc.

Welcome to the class!



Kirt