Area in front of rear beam looks like where traveler rail was molded in.

That'll buff out...

;^0

"my dad's a TV repairman. He's got an awesome set of tools, dude"

Front beam broke, then one hull went left, and the other went right...

Today was another big air day. 18-21 with puffs around 30. Only a couple of guys were able to handle being on the wire downwind, most were just sitting in and hanging on.

Is it your boat?

it was Alexis Reeves - NZL 246

Ouch!

Interviews: Burling, Tuke and Davies.

And I thought I had boat repair issues...

This couldn't have ended well:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IgDrf4GTz...gv5Yvo-RZw/s1600/aclassworlds2014d2b.jpg

Looks more like A Cats having sex!

I wonder if that'll produce a Wave? ;^)

Probably a Moth...

Check out 3:05

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4rchn_AWjc&feature=share&list=UUTRH1UWd8Z59xqVgTrVYr-g

Nice video, great boats.

On SA there is a good article from Bob Hodges about the foiling issue in the class. Spot on, and for a former and hopefully a future A catter his opinion mirrors my own. Even in a development class this is a big jump, and for me the foiling thats going on neither looks fun or safe, much less cheap. Sure it looks cool, but not for my aged body.

You got a link or are you going to make me sort around on that awful website?


edit; oh, frontpage.

http://sailinganarchy.com/

Bob does make a strong case to protect the amateur status of the Class Association, but the athletes are going to find/design a foiling class eventually - within two years... NACRA has designed a foiling kit for the C 20, and there is a belief there will be one available soon for the N 17.

I doubt these factory alternatives will catch on due to the arguments Bob presented. So it would make sense to establish a new foiling boat for the wealthy and athletic up and comers.

AHPC has already adopted a new marketing name: Goodall Designs. Maybe they have a lightweight foiler in mind. I would not be surprised.

I could see the F20c foiling kit catching on, since those boats are straight line honors machines. Nacra 17 kit? No, those boats are Olympics only and even the trust fund boys know where to draw the line. Maybe for 2020.

Not an A-class owner but a potential future owner. I agree with bobs assessment. Foil foiling moths are cheaper (darn hard to sail!) and the guys trapping downwind with the C-boards and t-foils are already very quick. Plus the boats are very slippery in light air; that's a tough combination to beat. If it ain't broke don't fix it...

I've said from the beginning that without active control the dynamics to foil steadily and consistently is not in the realm of average sailors. The kits being offered is great but it's just marketing the latest "cool thing" rather it is functional or not. Everyone keeps talking about foiling A's like they're common. There are 2 in the US that I know of and one of them is in NZ right now. The class was strong before foiling and it's not going to change. The sky isn't falling. Go to 42sec and 3:05 in the video to see how easy it is.
My guess on the AHPC name change is that they are no longer made in Australia so they got rid of the Australian High Performance Catamaran moniker. Either way Goodall has been integral with AHPC for a very long time,and that's a good thing.

Todd
Sailors are very much of a follow the leader

What happens to the US class when the top 10 leave the class and go compete against the other top 40 guys in the world on foiling A cats. After all... that is who they are competing against now and WHY they are competing... Foiling A cats are where the challenge is.. they don't care if they beat a class of 100 weekend warriors... they know who the competition is. Glen Asby wins the A class worlds... Nobody says.. Glen won the Worlds and beat 200 boats... or 20 boats.. What matters is the prestige of the Class and the talent in the class.

So, Do you really think the top ten guys give a fig about what the next 30 guys in the US fleet want...
Hell no.... The crass thing to note is that Well It is a game of musical chairs... last guy to get out of their conventional boat loses a lot of bucks.

That is an almost certain outcome for the top 10 guys .. What do you think the next 10 guys in the pecking order do... I bet they follow the action as soon as they can... Again being crass.... It is a game of musical chairs... sell your gear before it is obsolete... Mostly, you jump to the new class because that is where the action has gone and that is what you truly care about. (its not about the parties... a veritable dick forest if there ever was one)

So, you have two classes... one with lots of energy developing foils and the other class going... wow.. the world changed fast! Is that a good thing? ... Is is sustainable?

The intention of the rules was clear.. No foiling... The rule failed.... Can't put the toothpaste back in the tube.. When Glen Asby is imploring the class to wake up... I listen.. I hate the answer (just like you do) ... but I think he is spot on. Let them figure out a proper way to fly an 18 foot single handed uni rig boat, call it an A class and let the musical chairs game continue....This is a no pain solution if the class grows by the way.

When you don't want to play at this level because you get lapped by a rock star on a foiling A cat... Well, you go race SCHRS locally ... I think that is better long term outcome then two A classes.

"What happens to the US class when the top 10 leave the class..."

Ain't gonna happen here.
If all of this is dyer, why didn't the 18^2 set the pace as the next foiling superboat. No rules to stop them. Those pros (w/ the exception of Glenn) came to As to learn multihulls so they could get a piece of the AC pie. AC goes foiling so that's what you see their pros do. Do you really want the class direction to be decided by fully sponsored pros who, with the exception of 1 or 2, don't give a rip what happens to the class? You were whining about the cost before and how you couldn't and didn't compete, wait until the price of a reinforced,at weight,full rigged foiling boat hits the market. It will be 5-8x what you have been spending.