Hi Andrew,

I guess it would have been my Blade you saw down at Weston. The boat's actually kept at Datchet, but I was down there for the cat open drift-a-thon last year.

I've never sailed a fast asymmetric monohull, but I've seen enough people swimming near RS700s and the like to know that single-handing a cat+spi is a different game. Getting the last few percent of speed is still a big challenge, but it doesn't take long to learn how to stay dry and have a blast.

It wasn't you I gave a ride to in Garda this summer, was it?

Paul

hi paul,

yeah, i was watching at the weston drift a couple of months ago and no it wasn't me in garda.

the 700 was an utter beast of a boat. the speed and power downwind (and upwind for that matter) was awesome, but gybing was always a 50-50 chance. if i had really knuckled down and practiced i probably could have got on with it, as it was i just got depressed about having to try and compete with loads of skiff experts. the appeal of the f16 is "the thrill of the 700 but with stabilisers on" which probably shows my total ignorance and misguided beliefs about cat sailing <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />. would this be even vaguely acurate?

to everyone else who's responded - thank you very much for your help. it has shown some interesting questions which i need to bottom out; my nearest Acat supplier claims to be an agent for the AHPC flyer yet people here are telling me that they've stopped producing this with the introduction of the gel-tec flyer2. i'm also going to have to send mr. saarberg an e-mail to find out what's going on with the tool (the catamaranparts website is completely blank on the a-class page)

I've done a bit of 49-er sailing myself (after I had about 7 years of catsailing on my resume) and it is my opinion that the two experiences are considerable different. Not so much better or worse but different.

The exciting of a skiff (for me at least) is the high octane adrenaline rush when you are succesful keeping the boat upright and executing the manouvres with ballet like control. I found this to be a high pitched rush, but also extremely tiring. Over halve the time your mind is with control and staying on your toes, the racing comes second.

Catamarans, even when fitted with spinnakers, do not provide this high pitched thrill unless it is blowing nuclear. Not that there isn't a thrill to cats, there certainly is, but it is a different kind of thrill. The cats produce a much more lower pitch excitement that humms away over long periods of time. The excitement of cats is the speed and going faster and faster while being in full control. Racing cats is more like fox hunting. You can zero in on your opponent and battle him for as long as 1, 2, 3 hours or even more and still be going strong. The excitement comes from knowing the other won't tip it in or crash and that you'll have to run him down by superior trimming and smart moves. I found sailing the cats to be far more a game of planning and strategic moves then tactics like tacking on a shift. Even with a simple manouvre like tacking on a shift you have to think it over. Is the gain large enough to correct out over the initial loss, which on cats is quite big. Tacking on most shifts is a sure way to loose a race on cats as it kills your speed too much. And all this does happen at noticeably higher speeds. So the excitement builds up during the race but is less high strung, it is more of a game of who blinks first. I personally find this dueling much more enjoyable. Also because on our club race day we can do this for about 2 to 3 hours.

When I sailed 49-ers I would be so tired after 30 minutes of hard sailing that my concentration would drop off leading to more and more capsizes and mishaps. I also found a Hobie 16 to simply pass us on the upwind legs EVEN if we were planing upwind. The boat demanding so much attention that I have hardly any memories of the scenery or the conditions during sailing. In cat sailing I do have several of those where the sun breaks through after a rainy start, where I've been duelling another boat for 3 hours during a long distance race. With the crews chatting when side by side beam reaching at 15-18 knots. Arguing whether the losing boat should buy the other a crate of beer or a box of wine while keeping the pedal to the metal all the time.

A catamaran is more than a skiff with stabilizers on. The are faster, especially upwind. The way they are sailed is different. The setup of racing is different and the type of exitement they produce is different in my experience. I tried to do a short distance race on a skiff once, never doing that again. Cats also allow you to take some inexperienced friend along and have them experience fast sailing. Last season my crew brought a friend with her and after 10 to 15 minutes of getting used to the boat she was trapezing off the boat handling the spinnaker sheet. Granted the water was relatively flat with a nice and stable force 3 to 4 wind but then again even in those conditions I would never have done that on a skiff like dinghy, with or without a spinnaker. When a neighbouring club invited our club to their races then we sail our boats over. Takes about 60 minutes to do so but it won't have much effect on how well our racing goes later in the day.



Wouter

For Heavier Sailors in Order

DK-17
The Tool
Geltek Flyer 2
Bim XJ or MM's A3

The tool though is a production boat made for heavier sailors. The DK17 is more of a one off design that evidently can be built for you. The A3 seems to be less likely for heavier sailors. I took a close look at the DK17 during the NA's in Bristol and was very impressed with the quality and workmanship.

Who makes The Tool and DK-17

That is about the DK17
This below is about the tool
http://www.a-cat.org/id102.htm
After the maiden trip of the first prototype in January this year the TOOL, an Australian design by Wayne Mercer, is now in full production. The new hull shape has proven to be very good in all conditions, upwind as well as downwind. Due to the new hull shape, which has more buoyancy placed through the length of the hull it is a balanced catamaran in flat water as well as in conditions with wind and waves. The wider hull shape at the rear beam provides a stiff platform to connect the rear beam to which makes it the stiffest A-cat available to date. The bow section has been designed to handle waves in rough conditions and the rear transoms have enough buoyancy to prevent the rear beam hitting the water. This makes the platform also better for those heavier sailors who have been restricted in choice by the designs available to date. All this gives the new TOOL a very nice character to sail in all conditions and makes it an all round racing machine.
Of course the latest designs of foils is used giving the lowest resistance especially at higher speeds. The Australian built hulls are the insurance for a high quality standard and durability as down under they are forced to build strong hulls for the environment they normally sail in.
The results so far in regattas already indicate that the TOOL will evolve into the cat to beat.
The TOOL will be assembled for the European market by Piet Saarberg, to keep the cost of transport down. The expected price will be from EUR 13900 exclusive VAT, ready to sail. There are already a few boats available and a normal time between order and delivery can be expected due to the capacity of Boyer Fibrecraft.

Enquiries to:
T.B. PESA
Piet Saarberg
Celsiusstraat 210
2041TR Zandvoort
Netherlands
Tel: + 31 235718695
Fax: + 31 235730102
E-mail: psaarberg@planet.nl
Mobile : +31 653408075

VAT is 19 % overhere (and that applies to any customer from the European Union)

16.541 Euro's in total excluding the shipping to your home. If you're picking it up yourself then that will add about 500 Euro's to the price.

I heard a few comments on this price from a very reliable source. So if you want to have one build at this price then first ask what the general layout is and what is made out of carbon and what is made out of aluminium/other materials. Plus what sailmaker did the sail etc.

I'm really not against aluminium, as is well known, but when comparing to other A's and other boats it is of course wise to know how the boats relate to eachother and to include VAT in the prices.

Wouter

If you want to know about the Tool than the best is to ask Piet about it and not assume a lot of things. I can tell you that the most parts are carbon and than we are talking about 95% or maybe more. The platform is extremly stiff and reliable.
I can tell you this because Piet is my father and i am close to the development of The Tool as you can be for the European market.
I think also that the Tool will be the A-class to beat the coming time, if seen the downwind performance of that boat with 18 to 20 knots and it is really flying and no other type could do this, his was during the A-cat Nationals in Holland. With less wind the boat was also quicker (down and up wind)
On the website of Catamaranparts (www.catamaranparts.nl)there will be soon more info about the boat.
The price for the boat is also not to bad if you see the carbon prices the last time .

Regards,
Hans

Links on website don't work. Will it be shiipped to US?

That,s the point we are working on this page and it will be on at the end of this week.
The best you can do is contact Piet. I will send you a PM.

Regards,
Hans