I'm looking for my new boat again this year. As I've stated in the past, I'm looking for a boat that will rival the 18sq. We have a fleet of 18's on my beach, but I can't get a new one, don't want a used one and would sorta like something different. Is A-Class the way to go, or is the Inter the boat for me.
Thanks guys/gals!
Well it would depend:
Do you want to take people out for a sail?
Do you want to race seriously or casually?
Single or double handed?
Down the road.. .will you have a kid to take sailing?
How big are you?
How much weight on the beach will you put up with.
How heavy a mast will you put up with on raising?
Do you want a boat with a heavier layup so that you can beach it on occasion or do you want to always put the boat on wheels and never let her hit the sand.
Do you want a chute or will an A cat work for you.
Do you want to follow the others in your fleet with your boat choice so that you are attempting to build a one design fleet or do you want the best boat for you and your circumstances.
How big of an itch do you have to get a boat today?
Depending on your preferences you should look at
Hobie FX 1
Inter 17R
A Cats
Formula 16 HP:
Taipan's and/or Stealth's.
F18HT's:
Bim Jav2 Sailors are testing a small main and the same chute for single handed sailing.
Most of these designs are fairly new and probably won't be found on the used market.
Take Care
Mark
Well it would depend:
Do you want to take people out for a sail? Sometimes
Do you want to race seriously or casually? A little of both, but more casually.
Single or double handed? Primarily single
Down the road.. .will you have a kid to take sailing? Have kid.
How big are you? 6'0" 180lbs
How much weight on the beach will you put up with. - This doesn't matter as the boat will sit on a rack in front of my house.
How heavy a mast will you put up with on raising? Again, once up once down per year so no biggie.
Do you want a boat with a heavier layup so that you can beach it on occasion or do you want to always put the boat on wheels and never let her hit the sand. - Would prefer to not let it hit the sand as I can moore it out in front of house.
Do you want a chute or will an A cat work for you. Chutes intrigue me and the snuffer system sparkles my eye.
Do you want to follow the others in your fleet with your boat choice so that you are attempting to build a one design fleet or do you want the best boat for you and your circumstances. - Best boat for me...fleet is secondary
How big of an itch do you have to get a boat today? I'm itchy
Depending on your preferences you should look at
Hobie FX 1
Inter 17R
A Cats
Formula 16 HP:
Taipan's and/or Stealth's.
F18HT's:
Bim Jav2 Sailors are testing a small main and the same chute for single handed sailing.
Most of these designs are fairly new and probably won't be found on the used market.
Take Care
Mark
Thanks Mark!
Depending on your decision you might want to contact :
Kirt Simmons at simmons_kirt@msn.com
or John Pierce at Stealthmar@aol.com
When considering ;
A new Taipan
A used Taipan from Australia Being brought in this year
A new Stealth F16
Both Kirt and Jon as myself would be happy to answer any question regarding the Taipan, Stealth and Bimare 16 boats.
Even thought all of us are involved in the F16 group we will give you straight answers. Personally I think the A-cat is the single hander of all time. Kirt has also an A-cat next to his Taipan, John is an old Tornado campaigner and I still love get rid of my old Prindle 16 even though I'm building a F16 myself from ply and parts.
I have one extention to the list :
Marstrom M18 A-cat like single hander with spi.
Wouter Hijink
Chairman F16 HP class.
To the Seeker,
Well, whatever you get,..you are amoung some of the coolest cats designed today.
What is the wind like on your water?
What is the wave condition?
I am in a similar fleet situation as you. Mine is the only I 17 out there. But the Texel of 115 makes it a outrageous boat on race day.....heck, last year I was sailing at the wrong # ( 111) and still winning!......it was the boat, make no mistake.
I do not have the spin yet,..later,...having to much fun as is now.
PS,..I take the family to the local offshore island all the time,...no problem with the platform.
PPS....we had races off the YC the last 2 Saturdays',....5 'fast' races a session,......my I-17 (normal) against N 5.8's,...wind was 22-28 mph with shifts and BLASTS all day,.......we all corrected out within 5 seconds of each other for the 9 races,.....I was not at full throttle downwind, if I had been,..the I-17 would have taken all 9.....a good boat.
Bruce
St. Croix
Virgin Islands
PPS, Wouter,..after the session on pulling up my boards 30%,..the 5.8's are doing the same,........the 5.8's can point now!
What is this about pulling the up the boards and 5.8s pointing?
David Rogers
: PPS, Wouter,..after the session on pulling up my boards
: 30%,..the 5.8's are doing the same,........the 5.8's can point
: now!
Dave,
Awhile back in this forum,...a number of cat sailors came to my call for help on upwind efficiency ( I sail a I-17).
It was agreed that Inter used the same rudders and daggarboards or 3 diferent designs,..( I 17, 18 & 20) as a ease of production technique.
It was also agreed that this was an impossibility because all the platforms where quite different( the boards/rudders originally are designed for the I-18)
Being that, Wouter pulled out a formula and proved that the existing boards ( except in the lightest of airs) were 30% TOO DEEP for the I-17 design. SO, I pull them up 12 inches or so,....the results make the rudders add to the lift formula and away you go.
So the N 5.8 boys saw this,m....and started pulling theirs up too,....the boat points higher now. The realize that board depth does not mean point higher (...like mono hulls)....look at the Tornado and P-19 board depth,...not much there,..is there.
In fact,..look at the Tommy Bahama site photos,...you will see Nigel Pitt with the boards uo about 8 inches on a I-20,........go figure!!
Bruce
St. Croix
I lake sail with winds generally below 15 mph and waves less than three feet. How would the upwind/reaching performance of a Taipan compare to that of an 18sq? (if we pretend sailing ability and skipper weight are equal).
Thanks!
This question is best answered by Kirt Simmons, as he has sailed both boats extensively. He must be able to give you a thorough comparison.
All I can say is that according the Aussie rating
http:/
An 18 sq is rated equal to a Taipan sloop and just faster than an Taipan uni.
Wouter
Hmm- Well, I used to let my buddies use my Category 2 "A" cat and 18 sq. while I sailed my Taipan 4.9 uni and we had another bud who sailed his P 19 uni- In a gusty blow no question who was fastest around the track- the sq.- especially reaching- Hard to beat 11' of beam in those conditions! Upwind ONLY the "A" had everybody- higher and just as fast, reaching the Taipan had the edge (except for the sq.), downwind- It all depended on who did the "Wild Thing" the best (and when the other boats could go "Wild" and the sq. couldn't they passed the square). As the wind got lighter and more "flukey"- the "A" & Taipan gained advantage due to quicker tacking, higher pointing and ability to fly a hull much sooner- In very light conditions was very close- more dependent on sailor skill than boat (that we could see)- P 19 was disadvantaged upwind (by short boards??) vs these others, but in the right conditions on reach and downwind quite fast (if could get the hull up- also the P skipper was the largest of us all too-). Now, if I put the jib on my Taipan (if it was that light air) or the P 19 did the same- it was no contest reaching or downwind vs the "unis"- Just so much easier to keep main drawing and "motoring" and going "Wild"--
At Cat Fight, I raced against Jon Lindahl on his (old) Category 1 square on my T 4.9 uni and we were quite close most of the time (there was no reaching as I remember, but I think we were both struggling in those conditions--).
Now, if you add a spi to the Taipan you will still be behind the sq. upwind- But at Spring Fever, on my Taipan sloop, w/ two crew- using a spi - we matched Dennis Palin's speed downwind in good breeze (Dennis has a Category 1 18 sq.- I think about 200 lbs. or so all up??) but were going lower too--
Didn't get to compare reaching or upwind there-
A Taipan 4.9 sloop w/ spi rates a PN of 67.1 if you want to compare the PN's- I liked my 18 sq. but the tear down/rebuild and general "heft" required on everything on the boat (compared to the "A" or Taipan) is what led me to keep the "A" and Taipan and sell my sq.- Plus, on my lake it's rare to get the REALLY big breeze and waves the sq. seems to excell in-
Kirt