Blade ordered

Welcome!

Congrats. It is really not the dark side. I think you'll be very happy with the boat.

Oct. 27 and 28 is the Cat Caper at Birmingham Sailing Club. NOR posted at www.birminghamsailingclub.org

2 F16s from TN, 1 F16 from AL and 1 F16 from AR are slated to be there, so far (3 Blades and 1 Taipan).

There wil also be an assorted mix of other classes. Come one over and play; maybe and hour and half from downtown ATL.

Are you sailing out of Lake Lanier Sailing Club? Just curious. I had intended to get over there this summer, but it seems as though the timing was always wrong.

We use mast-up dry slips at a marina just south of LLSC. The launch ramp/beach setup is a little better for cats at this marina.

today Georgia... tomorrow the WORLD!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA....

cool man, you'll like it
<img src=

alt=

/>

Hey Geoff, congrats on the new boat, you will definately enjoy it. Maybe we can get some of those Fla guys to come up to Spring Fever, eh? Maybe get some of the F16s from up here to get down there also. Ed

Welcome to the club, Geoff.

I wish you and your friend the best of weather and enjoyment with your new boat !

Indeed, with the growth to the north of Florida it gets more and more likely that a F16 fleet will develop for the Spring Fever regatta's

Wouter

Geoff-Congratulations!!! Welcome--You will love it! Spring Fever is a must and being on Lanier make sure you all come to Sink-oh-de-MAyo and The Raegge. All are a great time and we always go. With Jody that would be three!

Geoff, welcome, and if you don't mind driving about 6 hrs. south of Atlanta, down I75, you can race in the Wild Cat regatta at Lake Eustis (find Eustis, FL. on Mapquest) later this month (Sept. 15-16). Always a good time. Some Blades will be there. And also in Gulfport, Fl. right off I75 in Tampa area, there is a growing fleet of F16's racing twice a month.

Our new VWM Blade was delivered over the weekend. I haven't seen it yet (too busy with school), but I hear it looks pretty bad-butt. I'll post pictures when I make it up to the lake.

I heard that someone else on Lake Lanier also bought a VWM Blade recently, so this makes two. Pretty cool.

Congratulations!!!! Just in time to come over for CatCapers in Birmingham. http://www.birminghamsailingclub.org/pdf/2007CatCaper.pdf
Only a couple hours west of you guys and last I heard there were 5 F16's coming.

Great news! Remember to put St. Patrick's Day weekend on your schedule for the Gulfport (Tampa area) F16/A cat regatta.

http://www.gulfportyachtclub.com

Randy Mulligan's and Geoff's first sail in the new Blade on Saturday. Boat sailed great out of the box!

Beautiful!! Great shot!

Sweet looking boat!

Joanna,

if you want us to come to Spring Fever (or any other race you need to get some dates posted so that we can start to plan around those dates on our calendar!!).

Right now, my closest race to you that I'm planning on going to is Pensacola in March.

Geoff, which lake are you sailing on up there?

Lake Lanier, 25 miles north of Atlanta. I think it is about 40,000 acres when it is full. We have a pretty nice beach that we launch from at Aqualand Marina on the east side of the lake.

Yet another picture...

Geoff-
Great photos--looks like you all have had a great day. Hope to see you in B'ham....

Tback-
Cat Capers Is Oct 27,28-2007 (always the last wkend of Oct) in Birmingham, AL. (Tshan's home club)
Spring Fever (Hartwell, GA) is always Easter weekend races Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Sink-Oh-de-Mayo (Lake Lanier, GA) is always the first weekend of May.
The others jump dates so will have to keep you posted.

There is a calendar function on the www.formula16.org website..... maybe we should start using it?!?! <img src=

alt=

/> <img src=

alt=

/> <img src=

alt=

/>

March 2008 is looking busy.....

March (and Nov.) is one of the best months for wind/temps down in Florida. March 15-16 I'll be at the Gulfport St. Pat's regatta. www.Gulfportyachtclub.com

I'm going out today in Sebring, come on down, too much wind to stay inside! <img src=

alt=

/>

Yeah its blowing 15+ here in St Pete, right next to Gulfport. Debating if I want to go out or not, seeing how I now have a case of sailing burnout. LOL!!

I went out yesterday with Stefan and managed to crash in every course change. Too much fun!

Well, I finally got the Prindle back together after it had been blown over in a storm, one of the shrouds broke, so I replaced them both and got the mast back up today, then of course I had to take it on a test drive. Nice wind for it, but very tame (and slow...) compared to the Blade! I would have taken the Blade out but it is still on the trailer and I didn't want to spend two hours setting it up.

what is the rudder pull down mechanism on your boat? And are the aluminum rudder castings a new thing on the blades?

We specially requested the rod system (it looks similar to AHPC's). We keep the boat on a lake, so we don't have to worry about going in and out through surf or sandbars.

If we had to deal with surf, we would have selected the rope system. Randy keeps a Nacra down on the coast that uses a rope system.

Congatulations with your new boat, I hope (trust) she will give you all the sailing pleasure in the world

This looks like the European rudder system. It is not an aluminium casting, that would be too heavy, it is made of bend alu tubing and is surprisingly lightweight.

Interestingly enough all 4 F16's at my club (and all other European boats that sail on the sea) use the rod system. We traverse the surf all the time that way. And I wouldn't even want to go back to the non-rod system. Going through the surf is not an issue with the rod system.

Wouter

I was hoping someone would chime in on the weight comparison. The weight difference is negligible?

Two more questions:
1. Are they the same rudder blade profiles? Probably not. What are the differences?

2. What is the mechanism for holding the stocks on the pintles? Does it use the clip (like the Cap and Taipan) or the little pins like the other Blades?

Ok - that is more than two questions.......

Hey Tom,

On the first question i do not know, but on the second question you can use both systems.
Probably Matt is using the little pin like the other Blades. In Europe i am using the little plastic clips.

Regards,
Hans Klok

btw
The rudders are indeed the European ones.100% sure.

Don't know about the profile but they are secured with ring-dings that go through holes in the lower pintles.

[quote
I was hoping someone would chime in on the weight comparison. The weight difference is negligible?

Two more questions:
1. Are they the same rudder blade profiles? Probably not. What are the differences?

2. What is the mechanism for holding the stocks on the pintles? Does it use the clip (like the Cap and Taipan) or the little pins like the other Blades?

Ok - that is more than two questions.......

Either system is available upon request when buying a boat.

Weight wise they are very close when using the same tiller atachment system. I have not stuck them on a scale, but the bent aluminum may be just a few grams lighter. Holding them in your hands it is very difficult to tell much difference.

The foils were developed separately and unfortunately in hind site, they are not interchangeable between the 2 different style stocks. The shapes are very similar though and although I am not that skilled a sailor, I was not able to detect any difference in boat handling. The difference is in how they are deployed up and down. That is just a matter of personal preference. Although the foils are not changeable within the stocks, the 2 systems can be interchanged on a boat with little difficulty. The pull down system requires a release cleat and exit block to be installed on the rear beam, so going the other way is very simple. Unfortunately the ackerman is also a little different, so the tiller tie bar for each system would also be different.

We use the pins for attachment. I dislike drilling additional holes in a hull. Fitting the clip is a relatively simple procedure if desired.

Matt

Thanks to all for the replies. It is nice to have a lot of options. Choices, choices.....