uhhh, that's not going to sell a bunch of new boats now, is it?
And that has always been one of the archilies heels of the f16 class, people bought new boats as early adopters of the class but 5 years on have invested only in new sails to remain competitive due to there being no new leap in designs within the class. Why spend a load of dosh when you don't need to remain competitive.
But with no one selling boats because there is no leap in design, there are few boats on the market for those who want enter the class at a discount unlike the F18 class and A classes where a few year old, now superseded design, can be bought at a huge discount.
So to enter the class you need to buy a new boat and few are willing to dip there toes in the water at a premium price. The class rules were ahead of there time but by setting good weight and build standards the consequence has been slow growth.
Wayne,
I think the issue is with the class itself. You don't have the ultra competitive sailors flipping boats every 2 years, and I think this is going to slow down in the F18's as well. We're on a 5 year old F18 and have placed in the top half of the fleet at most of the events we've attended. There hasn't been a major F18 launch since the Infusion/C2 either. An 07' Infusion was in the top 10 at F18 Worlds.
Anyway, the crux of the matter is new boat prices aren't getting cheaper and the folks' spare income levels aren't growing to match new boat inflation prices. Building larger fleets in any class is getting tougher; best start by getting your local bankers out on the boats, maybe they'll get hooked.
Are these sailors still in the F18 fleet, or are they starting to move to some other platform/fleet?
Umm, what fleet would you switch to? Some are running parallel campaigns in Nacra 17's, but none have sold their F18's to do so AFAIK.
The F16 is a great boat for its intended use, mixed teams, lighter sailors and those that like to single hand. When you start bumping up near the weight range of the F18, it's IMO a more competitive platform; more boats, more competitive sailors and more regattas.