A big thanks to Vectorworks and Matt for providing the 10 blades to sail last week. I had a great time. The boats turned out to be very different from what I expected. I only wish I would have got to sail them in a little 5-12 weather to get a feel for them in lighter wind. Most every race I sailed was 15-20.

Our team tipped the scales right about in the middle of what most of the teams were running. The boat seemed very powered up for our weight. I only had one race where we had to single trap for a short time upwind.

The build quality was very high on the boats. Most if not all of the redress issues were with rigging issues that were worked out as the week continued. The rigging issues were simple stuff like tieing knots with tales and taping knots so they don't come out.

This is the first boat that I can honestly say I've planed upwind on. The boat was just blazingly fast in the big air upwind.

Downwind they are a handful in the big air. You definitely have to be careful to baby them and be ready to bare off quick when the gusts hit.

I think they are the perfect boat for a person that wants to go out single handed at times and yet would like to also take a crew out at times. Seems like the perfect boat to fit that niche.

The wing mast was a learning experience for me. Unfortunately I didn't catch on to it quick enough.

The boats controls were laid out well and worked well with the factory setup. The lines on the boat were very high quality for a factory setup.

I also believe Matt still has some Alter Cup Boats available after this competition. Boats should be debugged for some happy owner.

Mike Hill
www.stlouiscats.com