| Boats for Women - Why not A-Class? #12593 11/04/02 09:55 AM 11/04/02 09:55 AM |
Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 395 LA Acat230 OP
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Posts: 395 LA | I was glad to see Mary's post about women in sailing. I agree 100% that many of the new powerful spinnaker boats are not much fun for a female sailor. Heck, while I love sailing with the chute, there's the expense, upkeep, and extra rigging time involved. My favorite boat is still my A-cat and I wonder why more women who would like to race have not looked at this option. Here is what I think are the pros and cons: Pros 1. Super performance 2. Extremely fun to sail 3. Competitive with crew weight ranges from 145 lbs. to 200 lbs. 4. Extremely easy to rig, tune, and handle (165 lb. boat) 5. Super friendly class (there has not been one protest filed at any North American A-class regatta in 2002 to date) Cons 1. Somewhat pricey for new boats but there is currently a very good selection of used competitive boats 2. Not as big or established as the Hobie and Performance fleets 3. Very high level of competition that could be discouraging initially (Melvin, Smyth, Ogeltree, Lovell, Hall, Struble, etc...) The two most active female A-class sailors in the US are Pease Glaser (who is an Olympic Silver medalist and Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year) and Carla Schiefer (long time Tornado/P-19/Corsair crew and sailmaker). Pease is located in Newport Beach, CA at the Ullman Sails loft. Carla is in Cocoanut Grove,FL at Cocoanut Grove Sails. I think women who might be intrigued by this option should contact Carla or Pease and talk to them about their impressions of the boat and the class. You can also visit the US A-class website at www.usaca.info.Bob Hodges A-Class USA 147 | | | Re: Boats for Women - Why not A-Class?
[Re: Acat230]
#12594 11/04/02 05:13 PM 11/04/02 05:13 PM |
Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 273 Key Largo, FL MaryAWells
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Posts: 273 Key Largo, FL | Bob, I agree that the A-class seems like the perfect boat for women. And I think more women might enjoy sailing if they could single-hand -- I know I certainly prefer sailing alone and being the one in control. If we could get all racing couples to split up and sail single-handers, we would have a lot more boats on the water and a lot less strain on relationships.
However, I only recommend the A-class cats to women if they are sailing in a predominantly light-air area, because the boat can be a handful when the wind gets above 12 knots. It sort of reminds me of the Laser in that way. I could race a Laser pretty much all summer in Ohio, but when we moved to the Keys, there was just too much wind for me to keep the boat flat and be competitive. At least in the case of the Laser, they have the Laser Radial rig for women and kids.
What do you think about having a smaller sail plan option for the A-class to make it easier to handle for women and kids, especially in areas that normally have pretty breezy conditions?
Mary A. Wells
| | | Re: Boats for Women - Why not A-Class?
[Re: MaryAWells]
#12595 11/04/02 06:47 PM 11/04/02 06:47 PM |
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Posts: 395 LA | Mary,
I weigh 155 lbs. and when I first got my A-boat, I thought it would be tough to sail in breeze. Now my opinion is that it is the easiest boat to sail. Here's why:
1. Upwind in a big blow, just drop the traveller and it's amazing how quiet and controllable the boat becomes. 2. Downwind, you can easily depower the boat by sailing deep and due to the light weight, it just does not want to bury the bows. The Flyer and Auscat Mk. V are amazing in big chop and seas and while I have never sailed one in a blow the Marstrom owners tell me the same about that boat. 3. One advantage to this class is the boat only has to comply with three rules, 165 lb. minimum weight, 7.5' maximum beam, and 150 ft2 maximum sail area. So technically, a Hobie Wave and Hobie 14 are A-cats also! The point is a very light woman could have a high wind sail built and race with it. It would be easy to do by just shortening the foot of the sail and making the sail more high aspect.
C'mon girls,what are you waiting for? Check us out at the Tradewinds Regatta this January! | | | Re: Boats for Women - Why not A-Class?
[Re: Acat230]
#12596 11/04/02 07:13 PM 11/04/02 07:13 PM |
Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 273 Key Largo, FL MaryAWells
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Posts: 273 Key Largo, FL | You don't have to convince me. I have wanted an A-Class cat since the 1960's, when I fell in love with a Unicorn.
And I am glad you mentioned that the Hobie 14 and the Hobie Wave fall within the A-class specs -- I didn't mention it, because I didn't know whether the A-Class Association would be happy about the prospect of those slower boats competing in your formula class.
To me, the ideal situation, from a woman's standpoint, would be to be able to have a pure A-Class cat at the maximum specs to sail on light-air days and something like the Hobie 14 or Wave to sail on heavy-air days.
But I am interested in what you said about the heavy-air sail, shorter on the foot and higher-aspect ratio. Maybe I will get my A-Class cat yet. And I hope Cyndi Bohannon over in Houston is reading this, too.
Mary A. Wells
| | | Re: Boats for Women - Why not A-Class?
[Re: JenniferL]
#12598 11/04/02 08:12 PM 11/04/02 08:12 PM |
Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 273 Key Largo, FL MaryAWells
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Posts: 273 Key Largo, FL | Jennifer, we have a Taipan 4.9, too. Very versatile boat. It can be raced in the Formula 16HP class, but I was very disappointed to learn that it cannot be raced in the A-Class because it is about an inch too wide, or something like that. And it is probably too heavy to be competitive, but who knows? And if a Wave and a Hobie 14 can race in the A-Class, it's too bad that the Taipan 4.9 cannot. If it could, it would be the ultimate versatile racing boat, because it also probably fits within the Formula 18 and Formula 20. Are you going to the Taipan 4.9 Nationals this weekend in Tampa/St. Pete area? You didn't say whether you race your boat. Rick White (my spouse) is going to be there, with Stan Woodruff as crew. They are both about 65 years old, so if they can do it, you can do it. Rick told Stan he has to get down to 115 pounds if they are going to be competitive. Stan's wife Sharon is dubious.
Mary A. Wells
| | | Re: Boats for Women - Why not A-Class?
[Re: carlbohannon]
#12603 11/05/02 10:53 AM 11/05/02 10:53 AM |
Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 273 Key Largo, FL MaryAWells
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Posts: 273 Key Largo, FL | I'm glad you brought up the righting issue. Every time I mention that to A-class sailors, they are adamant that it is not a problem at all, but I have always had my doubts. So I was thinking that for women, maybe there could be a rig with shorter mast and smaller sail, ala the Laser Radial rig. Would that make it easier to right the boat?
Mary A. Wells
| | | Re: Boats for Women - Why not A-Class?
[Re: JenniferL]
#12608 11/05/02 08:21 PM 11/05/02 08:21 PM |
Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 273 Key Largo, FL MaryAWells
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Posts: 273 Key Largo, FL | I'm with you, Jennifer. If I am going to sail my own boat, alone, I do not want to have to ask anybody else for help, whether in righting the boat, raising the mast, moving it around on the beach, putting it on the trailer, etc.
The good thing about being a woman is that, #1, we CAN get away with asking for help, and #2, since we don't want to ask for help, we figure out alternative ways of doing things, and/or, #3, we get a boat that fits our physical abilities.
Men do none of those things. Instead, they end up with back problems.
Mary A. Wells
| | | Re: Boats for Women - Why not A-Class?
[Re: JenniferL]
#12609 11/06/02 04:05 AM 11/06/02 04:05 AM |
Joined: Apr 2002 Posts: 170 Australia (Queensland) Berthos
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Posts: 170 Australia (Queensland) | JenniferL, You are right about the Taipan being a great boat. I sail mine cat rigged only and love it. I'm male by the way. If you are finding that the boat is overpowered for you when the wind gets up sailing solo you may wish to use a different sail. The specialist cat sail for a Taipan is built differently to the sloop sail and is built to suit the weight of the sailor as well. The sail is fuller lower down than the sloop sail to reduce the heeling moment wheras the sloop sail needs to be flatter lower down due to the jib. Of course, the lighter the sailor the flatter overall will be the sail. This is my understanding anyway. If you are finding that you are overpower sloop rigged as well then perhaps a flatter sail would suit you better. You should probably talk to a sailmaker about this. I can recommend two in Australia who specialize in Taipan sails. One is of course the co-designer of the Taipan Greg Goodall : www.ahpc.com.auand the other is the current World A-class champion and Australian Taipan champion Glen Ashby : www.ashbysails.comI hope this is of some help to you. Regards, Rob Wilson Taipan 4.9 AUS175 | | |
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