Only 3 F-18HTs sold in North American????????????-I think (know) your info is inaccurate. There are currently 7 HTs sailing here and another 20 or so sold and on order for delivery over the next three months.
I do agree that the HT will not acheive enough DENSITY throughout the USA to offer their own class consistantly in the near future. This is my point! I propose racing within handicap classes and be scored as a both as a formula/one-design AND handicap!
if I may:
I think what Sam means is, that you can make modifications to a Tiger which are perfectly legal under ISAF/NAF-18 rules. However those changes might not be in compliance with the the IHCA Tiger (one-design) rules.
So if you were then to show up at an event which was being governed by the IHCA Tiger class rules, you might have to change those modifications back, to avoid an equipment protest.
A good example might be that you decided to put a non-Hobie (but properly sized) jib on your Tiger. That would be fine in an F-18 event. But other Tiger sailors might object, in an event being run under IHCA Tiger (one design) rules.
You broke the first rule about racing boat selection: "What boats ARE BEING RACED in my target area". I am sorry that someone sold you a bill of goods about the current market penetration of the Tiger, but you should have known better than to believe a salesman.
But more Tigers are being sold all the time. All of the new Tiger owners I have spoken to(seven) love the boat. It has an excellent history of success in EU too. I am sure that it will have a national presence one day, just not today.
You have a choice of finding where the other Tigers will be racing (they try to meet at certain regattas) and travel with them or going to more local races and trying to build local interest. You would definitely attract a lot of attention as the only Tiger.
On classes.
The Tiger actually qualifies under three different Class organizations.
1) The IHCA Tiger mfg. one-design class. Open to only Hobie Class Rule compliant Tigers. At most Hobie Fleet regattas they will score the Tiger as a Class. The Tiger is the only F18 that is allowed to race at the Hobie midwinters and the NAs (Mega-Event) in Ft. Walton in October.
2) The International F18 Class. Supposedly, all Tigers are built at the factory to fit this rule. BUT, all IF18 rules are not legal Hobie Class rules. You could make IF18 legal changes to a Tiger that are not Hobie Class legal(new sails, etc.), but IHCA is trying to follow some of the IF18 changes.
3) NorthAmericanF18 Class. This is a Class that uses its own set of rules which is similar to the IF18 Class.
It has numerous modifications. These modifications allow US Inter18s to race despite the fact that they have a larger sail area.
So if you keep your boat Hobie Class legal you will be able to race all three classes.
Sam,,,
It is my understanding that US Inter-18's are only allowed to race NAF-18 IF they purchase the new NAF-18 certified sailplans. Which, of course, would give them the same sail area limits as everyone else.
samevans & feg.. thank you for your input. valuble information. For the record it must be stated that although I may have been persuaded to buy a boat i can not race as much as I would like, it was not the dealer who did that. He showed me the boat: I bought it. Please don't read any more into it than that. It was my sailing peers who talked me into it, and I'll pay them back on the water. When i suggested that I had been duped, it was in regard to the Hobie corporation marketing a boat as F18 compliant, which i now see that it is, with a twist or two. I am learning. Thanks again for the valuable info, & I hope to see you folks on the water some day. I'll enjoy this boat alot as i get over this more and more each day. The boat is awsome, which is even more reason I want to race it. ciao.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
This is by far the best, most informative post on any of the forums I`ve seen so far.
I`ve been watching the F16 forum & have become bored to tears with all the theory - If only they would go sailing some time & relate real information.
Cheers
Steve
You don't mean that the argument about a 8.5 meter mast instead of a 9.0 meter mast doesn't have you giddy with delight?
Anyway, this thread started almost a year ago, so let us look at what has happened.
The F18HT became the next Worrell boat, which spured sales tremendously and should generate some used boats next year.
The Tiger Class has had steady growth throughout NA. Though more have been sold, 26 Tigers made it to Ft Walton Beach for the NA's. Overall, the Mega's had 203 boats.
Hobie Corp has learned to "bend with the wind" on the Tiger Class rules, allowing many of the iF18 "improvements" in quickly.
P.S. And wouter is still doesn't have a boat to race and is still "building" his legendary Tiafoon.
My birthday cake is a composite material, so was yesterday's lunch and neither have carbon fiber in them. The blocks are not called composite because they have carbon in them. They're called composite because they're made of more than one material. 