Scarecrow, Now you and I know real pressure thanks to Gato
regards

It's faster than the Laser in windspeeds over 5 knots, downwind it can sail around it.
Trapeze <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> the kid asked for a kite when he came ashore <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
In fact I think we are quite all right with the sail area and the mast lenght. At least here it's not allowed to have somethig on the car that exeedes it with more than 2 meters.
This kid has been sailing Optimist, and since last year he is crewing on a 29:er, no multihull experiense, it took him about 10 minutes to get the hang on the thing. this cat is extremly easy to handle.
At least here where the cats are not so common I think it could last up to 15 -16 years old equipped with a kite for the older ones.
http://www.gust.ax/gallery/f12/08-06-25/

Gato, you are from now on one of my heros! Please dont disappear from us. This is the coolest little thing I have seen in a long time, and you did it all from scratch. Great stuff, hope some kids get interested enough to take up catamaran sailing. What happens if they come at you asking for boats?

Not thinking of disappering quite yet, even if I sometimes are a little bit surprised about the catsailors. Went to see the guys on the Archipelago raid, and there was only one that even bothered to answer some questions...
If they come to ask for a boat, well I tell them to build one...
I am alredy looking at something like this http://www.graingerdesigns.com.au/stock-plan-detail-145.php

Grainger designs are pretty good......good choice.

I got to sail Gato's DS12 last week and I think that I should post some comments about it (from 75 kg's adults point of view).

I was really surprised how well it handled my weight, conditions were really light and I was significantly faster than a small (<50 kg?) girl in Laser 4.7 directly downwind. Biggest problem in light conditions was that it took some speed to get the daggerboards work and it meant few seconds drifting sideways every time that gust came (when I wasn't moving at all), after I gained some speed pointing abilities were decent. Also the boat was really light to handle on the ground, I guess that even mom with ~12 year old kid could manage with it.

If mass production prices will be low enough and it doesn't gain lot more weight then I believe that F12 has lot of potential to be a success.

ps. Test sail got me wondering about foam-carbon (a la A-cat) DS12 weighting about 40 kg's (for adults only, the XXX edition <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />).

It's a funny toy, Valtteris idea is that it's easier to get the kilos of from the boat than from ourselves... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Have any more kids/youths sailed the boat? If so, what did they think about the experience and the boat?

The "going sideways" in gusts sounds like a loose nut on the tiller <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> (Sounds like you were oversheeted, sheet out, sheet in ?)

Great report Val !

I'm really pleased to see the DS12 (F12's) living up to the expectations.

Wouter

There are kids sailing whenever there is a possibility, and I hope even more after the summer holydays are over. The respons is good, but it's the parents who have the money...
What I'm doing for the moment is being present to let the people notice the toy, and it's drawing attention.

Great thread guys. I'm a Math teacher here in Texas. I built 3 wooden boats with my students in a Math class a few years ago. If I may make a few suggestions I think it may make it actually a bit easier.

Scarfing is a process which can give students a bit of trouble. The reason being that if you don't scarf evenly you'll end up with voids in the hull or dimples. A simple butt block joint works well and is VERY easy to make for the students. You can use it as a structural point as well and put braces on each side. Second, have you thought about stich and glue for the construction. I know we only built 12 row boats, but Epoxy and Meranti 6566 wood still only turned out to be $300 per boat using this method and the only real tools needed were a jigsaw and sandpaper.

You can see some pictures by going to my website www.texasspearfishing.com and looking at boat building 101

I found this boat while surfing around the internet. It is rotomolded and looks very similar to f12, except for having more metal than a Honda Civic, lol. You'll see what I mean when you see it. Has very similar sail plan and there may be bits and pieces that translate to f12 boats. Available in France and UK. Built in France where catamaran building is govmnt subsidized to create exports.

http://www.windkart.fr/index.php?lang=en