and how about modified TheMightyHobie18 crossbars for some more beam, cut a few inches off the 18 mast, maybe a few inches off the pylons for a lower stance, couldn't add more than 10 to 15 pounds, some kind of jib???, then custom standing rig and tramp...oh well, how much is a Blade?

if you manage to somehow put TheMightyHobie18 crossbars on a H16 set of hulls, you're a regular jesse james.

(think monster garage)

Forgive me if someone answered this..... The year I did the RTI a Taipan 4.9 won.

the T4.9 has a gift rating.

That was Michael ... a guy that initially taught me a good deal about sailing a 5.2. Gift rating or not he's a good sailor. I did it that year on my 6.0NA + spin and had a good (albeit painfull) run.

Jake-
got me curious- what happened when you did the RTI? I am going to do it again this year with the spin.

I'm, 6'1"...no problem sailing the F16 two-up or one-up. The height is very helpful trapping in a breeze--these are powered up boats.

Absolutely possible.

I believe the best option for an inexpensive F16 conversion is the Nacra 5.0. I think you could put together a very competitive boat for 3-4K. It would be a bit heavy compared to Taipans, Blades, etc, but you know what they say about the nut on the tiller.

Just curious, what is your basis for this conclusion? Have you spent some time sailing and racing the 4.9? Do you mean the cat, sloop, or F16 version?

I seem to remember that in the F16 class we have :

- 1 modified A-cat (now full spec F16) ; it was a prototype boyer mk 5 that the new owner could buy cheap

- several (modified) mosquito F16 in South Africa and Australia. Quite fast and quite inexpensive.

- a modified nacra 5.0 (now full spec F16) in California

- Dave Parker looking to add a spinaker to his Mystere 5.0 and thus make it into an inexpensive full complient F16

Certainly to full blood F16's will be faster but it surprises me how fast these modificated boats still are.

Wouter

I'm 85 kg (188 lbs) and 1.85 mtr (6'1) and I have no problems what so ever.

I also race the boat doublehanded at 150 kg, no problem there as well with me being the crew

The boom on the F16's is actually rather high, as is typical with spinnaker boats. Good clearance under the boom is important in spinnaker sailing. The fact that the hulls are shorter than most boats out there doesn't means that everything is smaller. As a matter of fact we have the same boom height (sometimes even more) then the F18's and F20's. Boats like the A, 18HT and M20 typically have very low booms near the mast.

Wouter

By "painfull" I meant mentally. Our spinnaker was strangely untied at the tack and the clew overnight on the beach (we had been out practicing the day before) so when we set with 10 seconds to go on the downwind start...you can just imagine. By the time we got all that sorted out the back of the pack was turning the corner to go under the first bridge. We gambled and went for the rumbline and it actually paid off (I don't recommend this tactic unless all hope is lost) and we entered the P'cola cut (some 10 hours later) in front of all the 'normal' beach cats. Only lost a couple of spots running back to the beach through the night and ended up, I think, 8th overall finishing at 3am.

I have read a strong case that purchase decisions are first made on emotion, then after that, we build a rational case of fact to justify our decision. That is just the opposite of the way most people perceive their decision making process.

I would like to go out on a limb and say that in ten years (probably closer to 5) one of the most popular classes of catamarans will be the F16. Not because of some marketing genius, but because it’s merits.

The only viable answer to why sailors are putting up with 400# Catamarans is the racing popularity of particular classes or brand. I have noticed that as “radical” as catamaran sailors perceive themselves, they are very conservative, one might argue nostalgic, in their selection of boats and the materials they are made out of. There seems to be an apprehension in moving to something new/better (F16 in this case) because it is still in its growth stages, and growing it is! And will continue to grow. Why? For the same reasons that have been listed ad-nausea.

The F16 fills a vacuum that is screaming to be filled. It gives top level performance, while being able to be easily tuned up or down depending on the use and the user.

Dad/Mom can buy one boat… one he/she can seriously race on the course solo, or with crew (wife/husband/neighbor/child). He/she can take the wife/girl friend/husband/boy friend out for just for a fun day on the water and let her/him relax (self taking jib) … or be as involved in the sailing as she/he wants (spinnaker). One that his kids can go out in light wind and sail with just the main to get their feet wet in sailing…and add jib and spinnaker as they grow in size and experience.

One boat to buy, one boat to store, one boat to insure, one boat to maintain. Yet it, for all practical purposes, replaces an F18 for serious racing with a crew (for all but the largest competitors), an A-Cat for Solo Racing. And while arguably not as resilient to abuse, the potential for advancing racing skills if off the scale when replacing a Hobie Wave for the kids to use.

I guess it all boiles down to that emotional decision…where do you invision yourself in the catamaran community…
Do you see yourself as living in the “glory days” when the Hobie cat 16 reigned suprime?
Always trying to recapture the feelings you experienced when it was all about “Having a Hobie Day.”

Or …Do you see yourself as fierce competitor? Ready to do battle on the water, it’s all about the win and the boat is simply a tool to get the job done…doesn’t mater what the weapon is, as long as everyone is using the same one… Although you tire of having to change from boat to boat as the wins of change blow thru the racing community, you do it because …well …you have to follow the competitive sailing scene wherever it goes to spar with the best.

Or do you see yourself as one with an eye on the future, you have stepped back and looked at what has been in the past…appreciated it for what it was and the valuable contribution it made, but have now moved on.

You look at what is now considered the standard in the industry, and find it uninspiring…just a re-package of the same old, same old… (Often a new design built with 1970-1980’s construction methods/materials) …a little change here…a little change there…but nothing to get really excited about. Tired of changing boat brand or model just to fit into the racing scene. Wanting more freedom of choice…choice of what particular boat you want to sail...not the one dictated by the “majority.” Tired of sitting on the beach because of the lack of a crew for your two man boat…or tired of wanting to take out another person on you solo boat but not being able to without taking it outside the boundaries of its structural design.

There now seems to be a better way…

Following the F16 idea from its infancy, I would like to state some observations. The F16 is one of those simple concepts that make so much sense, that it is astounding that it didn’t happen long before now. Love him… or hate him… much of the credit has to go to Wouter (Not in any way diminishing the major contributions of Phill, and Kirt) without his tireless effort in concert with Phill and Kirt, this concept could have had major setbacks like the 18HT. Committed leadership, who believe in what they are doing, motivated by love for the sport, is the catalyst, that is going to make F16 a landmark catamaran class… It’s not only possible…if it stays it current course…it’s pretty much inevitable.

Regards,
Seeker

How come "Das Boot" isn't flying their chute? Wussies...

That would be an example of wave piercing bows.

looks like photoshop to me.. but then again, what do I know

That was shot during the Worrell 1000 in 2001 at Jensen Beach (I think it was Jensen; I KNOW it was 2001). I was there; that was the day that 12 Inter-20's crashed and burned in the surf trying to get out. I think 5 masts were broken that day, including Castrol's about 4 seconds later.

I just thought this thread needed some ocean-racing influence.

Preferably done by giants.....