For an A-cat mast blank is typically around 9 kg's (19 lbs)while the Taipan mast blank is 13,5 kg's. (29 lbs) Single hander mast blanks of big builders usually measure 18,5 kg's and more (41 lbs and more.)

Naturally the increase in weight won't help you but at 180 lbs = 81 kg's and at 2 inches less than 6 foot tall you should be able to right all singlehanders.

Wouter

Mary ,Mary come on now. Lets not start man bashing. The problem with your second point is it goes back to your first point.....asking a man to help.....By the way, something I would gladly do.

Mike Catley

ouch, you hurt my feelings mary. why should i ask for help when most cat sailors are generally friendly enough to offer without being asked?

Catman, I was not man-bashing. I just said that men don't like to ask other men for help, don't like to bother with using mechanical devices to help raise their masts, and have a tendency to get boats that are maybe bigger than they can physically handle. Women, on the other hand, tend to recognize their physical limitations and ARE willing to ask for help, use mechanical advantage, and get boats that fit their size and weight and strength level.

And, Dave, obviously, men are happy to help both women and other men who need help. It's just that many men, at least in my experience, do not like to ask and do not want to even give the appearance of needing help. They would rather stop sailing.

Okay, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's just my own stubborn, macho-man husband, who has always refused to ask for help even with back problems, neck problems and rotator-cuff problems in his shoulder. He doesn't even want anybody to know he has any problems. I don't have to bash men -- they do a fine job of bashing themselves, at least physically.

Sorry to have dropped off the face of the earth. Not one, but two people e-mailed me to make sure that I jumped into this discussion. Let me preface my post with the understanding that I am not the typical performance driven racer. I highly respect folks that choose the ultra high performance boats - I'm just not one of them.

We have a strong and growing A-class fleet here in Texas and I have been strongly encouraged to get an A. I originally decided against the A-class because I wanted a boat that I could sail with my 6 year old son and I felt (after taking a closer look thanks to Mary) that the A was too "tippy" in heavy air. In retrospect, I am very happy that I did not get an A-class. Why? Well, Bob Hodges gave a good summary of the pros and cons - and as the long list of replies have shown, almost all of the drawbacks of the A can be remedied with changes in the sail profile or in sailing technique. But the long and the short of it is that the boat is a beast in heavy air, the acceleration in puffs can literally scoot the boat right out from under you.

I have been following the trials and tribulations of one of our male fleet members who is about my size and weight and I feel the A is just too unforgiving. Dennis' boat starts to fly a hull at 6 knots! Any momentary lapse of concentration will result in a bath. I personally sail for the fun of it - and the thought of sailing a boat that requires that much concentration and is as unforgiving as the A gives me a headache.

The other problem that I have with the A-class is the level of competition. Almost all of the A-class skippers in my area are extremely talented and aggressive sailors. Around here the A is the boat that you graduate to once you are at the top of your game. Call me a spoiled sport, but I prefer to compete at my level - I have a serious problem with being lapped by the lead boat. I am rarely the the lead dog in the pack, but I prefer to finish a race before everyone else has fallen asleep from boredom.

So, what did I get? Well, if you subscribe to the magazine - her name is Monster Kitty. If you don't subscribe, shame on you. The subscription rate is a steal and you are missing out on great articles and wonderful photographs. It's late and my natives are getting restless, if I don't feed them soon they may start chewing on my ankles. I'll post again soon about what boat I think is best suited for women sailors.

Mary as you can see (attach.) I'm working on the next generation.........So far so GOOD!

Mike Catley

You're probably right, Mary - it's just your macho husband.

On my beach, I find it virtually impossible to actually set up or break down without one of myfellow sailors, god-bless-'em, coming over to help out. Even when experimenting with a new aproach to rigging it up solo, I end up getting help 'cause who wants to be rude and say, no thanks?

The beach has a 2 foot lip of seaweed, and every time a cat comes ashore, 2-4 guys trot over to haul it up.

This season, I spent a couple hours at the home of one of the guys, installing a gin pole onto my trailor. Most of us have them, now, and not for any lack of manliness. You can rig solo; (yes I figured out how to do this without a gin pole, but it's inelegant) and standing on the tramp, shouldering a mast just seems like too much abuse for boat, tramp, and potentially, 'nads if you go through the tramp. Plus they're cool innovations; one 4 foot pole hinged where front crossbeam meets trailer, no extra wires, use the forward traps as guy-lines, up you go. You can get the rig tension right without going to the sidestay each time. Et cetera.

And you're right about (at least) one other thing, Mary. You hear "Hey Bob, want a hand with that?" about a thousand times more often than you hear, "Hey Wally, gimme a hand, willya?"