Blade Sails/Snuffer Manufacturer?

have you ordered your blade already?have tried to contact matt several times but no reply and was unsure how to proceed. [color]

Nah, I've already got a T4.9, but am looking for someone stateside with some experience with wingmasts.

Matt has become the wizard of OZ. Everyone knows he's there but no one can find him. LOL J/K

Matt is extremely busy and hard to find. If you want, I can try my hardest to contact him for you. Shoot me an email. I am purchasing a Blade and Matt is currently working on my boat. My email is wildvan at bellsouth dot net. or even a private message will work as well.

K1X2,

I concurr with Robi here. Also I'm not making Matts live easier at this time. Together with him I'm working out another deal that places some big demands on his time as well. The poor fellow also is attending some event in Florida to show the boat. With the closing of this deal and the delivery of the first 5 boats things should calm down some.

If you want I can answer most questions on the Blade for you. Even with respect to the US version. At this time I'm trying to handle as much of the PR stuff as I can so to free Matt up for getting proper boats out. After the first batch of boats Matt and VectorWorks Marine will take full control again and I can return to being an unaffiliated chairman of the class.

Mail me at Formula16class(at)hotmail.com

Wouter

(imagine the next comments with a slight gay voice)

The Blade shown in the pictures wears a lovely suit of smoke-coloured Contender Apen 06 pentex, by the designer Ian Markovich or Redhead sails Australia.

The exquisite and very stylish green assymetric spinnaker is from the highest quality spinnaker rip-stop nylon by who else than Ian Markovitch and his Redhead team of specilists.

The snuffer system is coop-deal between the great fashion house of Hobie Cat Corp and the young "up and happening" house of the F16 engineers. It is however expected to be replaced by a new snuffer system that accentuates the lightweight character of the whole setup better. In the fashions circles it is rumoured that AHPC has been awarded the new snuffer deal.

However , in staying with the new philosophy of the formula class structure the coutier offers a choice. And a excellent choice it is as well. Both well respected houses like Ullman sails USA and Ahsby sails Aus have been awarded contracts for the Blade F16 sail suits. Depending on customer wishes both suits can be delivered. For the spinnakers Goodall yacht sails is an excellent alternative. It is yet to be determined who will be the standard supplier; although the gossip tips Ullman USA as the likely candidate for the US build Blade F16.

(End of voice)

I hope this helps Jeff and please forgive me for having a little fun with this post

Wouter

That cracked me up!!!

Wouter,
Is it required to buy the Blade complete with sails and snuffer, or can you get the boat and find your own sails and snuffer? If you don't know, that's okay. Just curious.

Mary (and all),

Matt mentioned to me in the past that vectorworks marine will deliver a fully fitted Blade F16 or any collection of desired parts. even a kit if so requested. I assume Matt is still of that opinion.

So I guess that you can get the boat without sails or snuffer and do your own thing there.

Wouter

Wouter,

I thought you were Dutch, not French!

Hahaha.

Jeff.

"There's only two things I cannot stand: People who are intolerent of other people's culture and The Dutch..."

From what great movie?

Well Jeff,

We have been inbreeding so long over here that we really don't know who is what anymore.

And as Dutch we don't care as well.

We've always been that annoying little poststamp nation that just sank your flagship or confiscated your silver fleet, replaced your missionary post with an exclusive rights trading post or wrecked your warfs. And we never did fight fair. Being small, we never could afford that luxury. If we had to we'd sell you the canons and canon balls to put down the Dutch revolt only to reinvest the earnings into bolstering the same Dutch uprising again. (We actually did that in 80 year independence war we fought with Spain). And yes we won alot more fights than the French ever did.

All and all this attitude made us survive the centuries right there packed in tight between the usual power houses England, France and Germany. We were surrounded on all sides !

Now if you excuse me I'm going to light up a joint and watch the Dollar-Euro exchange rate improve even more !

Lets call it the "Project for the new Dutch Century"

Wouter

Wouter-
Who's supplying the masts (is it AHPC?) as well as the boards and rudders? The rudders in the photos of Matt's boat look a lot like the rudders on many of the European Acats (ie Ashby's)?

Thanks!

Kirt

Masts are the Goodall superwing section (also used on the Taipans)

The boards and rudders you see are McKenzie's (Aus) ; but the rudder setup can also be bought from AHPC, both will go on the sterns as they are very similar. Actually Glenn used McKenzie parts on this A-cat. The stocks and rudders you saw on our boat during the DCC were AHPC's.

The designers of the Blade did a great job in sourcing components. This is all good stuff.

Wouter

Wooter, my movie quote above came from the James Bond-Austin Powers spoof by Mike Myers, "Gold Member" the third movie of that series. Did it play well over there?

Personally, I have no problem with the Dutch, what with the invention of Heineken and all...