I dont know if its an indictment of the decay of the f18 class or the drop off in the number of people reading this website. If this topic had of come up and phrased like this one say 10 years ago there would be hundreds of posts defending the weight of the f18 and a heap of f16 zealots criticizing the high weight of the f18.

Next time the f16 boys are giving you a hard time as the boat struggles up beach you can remind them that history says the F16 never really got to fleet sizes enjoyed by F18 and never will. Ultimately i think the foilers will take over from both classes somewhere in the distant future. (may not even be in my lifetime)

There is no point in changing the f18, its fine the way it is. But is suspect somewhere down the track the same organisation leverages it associations, marketing and personnel to make the F18F (foiler) class.

I will put my crystal ball away now

This is a pretty good discussion, and one that we should continue. Would love to see some of the world council meeting notes, I've seen some of the Argies notes and they have a different perspective on the whole matter...

Weight: That's a tough one, I can feel 15+ lbs of weight in lighter conditions, especially in the single wire trapping range. Once the breeze is into sold double trap conditions, no it doesn't matter at all. I agree that not obsoleting the existing fleet overnight is important. Really important, as the large number of boats makes the class what it is. I think the class would benefit from reducing the price of new boats, rather than reducing weight. May not be a reality either (no one is getting rich building F18's!), but if you had the option, I'd go for reduced cost over lighter (well, I'd go for higher build quality over reduced cost and weight, with improved materials like epoxy vs. vinylester and maybe s-glass vs. e-glass, but I'm probably in the minority and in complete fairness my 2012 Infusion beat Todd's 2017 Infusion at Nationals a few weeks back, not a dig on the new boats which are a nice improvement in quality over the older Infusions).

My concern with the F18 class is the numbers are down worldwide at major events. Its a reality that some in the class are ignoring. That's OK for a short while, but long term something must be done! Changing the boat may not help, likely won't, but bringing cost down, making the boats available to youth sailors, publicizing events, organizing group housing to further reduce costs (especially for youth sailors and new class members etc.) will all help. Attracting international talent, like we had at the America's 3 years ago, and expect to have at Worlds in Sarasota, 2018 is also important, as is attracting some of the top sailors in the world (who are a little distracted with the foiling A's and Olympic N17). That was a large part of the appeal of the F18, the opportunity to race the best of the best!

The best thing the F16 class can do is open up the rules on foiling and close down the rules on materials, pricey carbon masts etc. The new boats from Nacra and AHPC can accept a variety of foils. The Nacra 15 would also be F16 legal, and like the A, in sub foiling conditions the old F16 will be just fine! Would make a great class to go alongside the foiling N17 as a feeder class for youths and weekend warriors who don't intend to make a run for the Olympics. The tough thing is controlling the bleed to these boats from the F18. The better sailors I know want to sail in the largest class with the most competitive sailors, and the F18 is down a little in that regard, the N17 will have top level competition, the A-cat is attracting those guys, as is the Moth and Wazsp to a certain extent. We just need to keep the F18 format exciting and appealing to the masses like Hobie have down the 16.