Firstly grandfathering any boats to 2 years means as Im sure you know that all boats will have to comply completely to the F16 rules.. This means the Tiapan 4.9 will no longer be a boat that complies in 2 years..
Wouldnt weights being added to a tip of a mast increase the stress at the areas you dont wish? Willing to see more mast tip breakages?
We discussed banning foils at the start of designing the F16 rules.. Then the general agreement was.. Dont ban.. Reason they havent been shown to work consistently in any class.. A total ban would mean the Stealth F16 would need to be redesigned..
wings.. Hmmm... Having sailed 12s, I14, 16teen, 18teens and Javelins.. Experience showns that a cat is far far far far easier to sail to its limit than a skiff hull..Yes an 18teen will hold a classic Tornado BUT only the best crews will hold the T .. Im talking professional crews that sail every day have good budgets and are the worlds best crews.. Now Im willing to bet none of the "Aussie F16 group" has anyone with the skills needed to do this feat.. (I know, I dont know you but having sailed one of the last super 18teens I know the abilities needed to stay upright).. If we look at building a F16 configured as a 16teen foot skiff.. Then the VYC yardstick shows the F16 (cat al la T4.9 at 74 which you should know!!) the equivalant 16teen foot skiff is 84.. Putting this into perspective 10% slower!! Now the 16teen that conforms to the F16 rules would be a LOT less sail area.. So expect 15+% slower per hour around the course.. In effect IF anyone decided to build a skiff to the F16 sail rules .. They would find..
1. they are underpowered
2. they would need to have crew skills that only the top few Olympic+ crews would handle..
3. They would be generally slower than the the more inexperienced F16 crew ..
Knowing all this is it problem?
spinacker size... Its the luff length that is important NOT the area.. Ask any skiffie...
Gudgeons.. Obviously you have never sailed a skiff.. The reason for the outriggers is to increase the length between the plate and the rudder.. This isnt to increase boat length BUT to make the boat more controllable.. Ok.. lets get back to basics.. The 12 footer has a hull length 12 Ft (3.7 meter) foot long and a pole 14+ foot (4.3 meter) in front of the stem.. The I14 iis 4.3 meter long and has a pole that is 2.7 meters in length.. The F16 has effectively a 0.8 meter pole on a 16 foot (5 m ) hull.. Skiffs are twitchy!! A small movement in rudder means the boat literally jumps.. Increasing the distance between the plate and the rudder means the helm is smoother.. From experience a very small movement 0.5 cm (0.25 inches) may mean up to 20 degree change in boat direction. Now ask yourself.. Are T4.9s super twitchy or smooth and balanced in the helm? If they are balanced and smooth they increasing the plate-rudder would make the helm sluggish.. Why ban things that makes the boat slower..
As for mast height.. My boat has a 9 meter mast.. An A cat have 9 meter masts.. Because you have decided to purchase a T4.9 means you have decided to purchase an 8.5 meter rig.. But if you had been more creative you may have purchased a BIM 16 which has a 9 meterr rig.. I had an 18teen with its big rig standing 40 foot above the keel..Not once did I break the tip.. Guess Im a legend or perhaps the rigger was smarter...Whatever the F16 rules limit the pull height.. As this is the real stress point we have limited the tip stress already.. (apart form adding weights as your already suggested we do)
Finally..
It would appear your committee is the T4.9 group and not the F16 class committee... But who is quibling about misrepresentation...
