Actually, I meant to delete that entire part of the post. The rest of it said something like "...based on second hand knowledge...yada yada yada." Although unintentionally leaving just the "b" provided a crude summary of the rest of the post, it was not intended. I hate this microscopic text box to respond in.



First, the old A Cats, pre 1998, were built when no minimum weight limit was imposed on the class. If you are referring to a pre 1999 boat, your argument is not relavent to the current class. or group of boats currently available.



I still am waiting to hear what is wrong with these boats that are not lasting. Do you have any specifics? Any names for the real owners? You are saying what you have "seen", how about pictures? I'll go out this afternoon and take pictures of our entire fleet and post them if you will come up with pictures and names of real owners you are referring to.



Is an A Class Cat more durable than a Hobie 18? Not if you abuse it. You can sail a Hobie 18 across the sand at the beach. We have all seen the video of that done. There is a ton of fiberglass on the bottom of those things. They WILL take more abuse. If you are new to sailing, a Hobie 18 or other heavy, over-built boat is for you. If you can't or won't take care of your boat, than a heavy, over-built boat is for you.



If you know how to and plan to take care of your boat, than more options are open for you. If you take care of an A Class like most responsible racing sailors do, it should last as long as a Hobie 18.



My point that I was making in the original post is still true. The guys in our fleet who sail other boats spend more time sitting out races due to mechanical failure than do any of our A Class sailors. It is because of stupid things, like missing or bent shackles, broken rudder mechanisms, or otherwise poor maintenance on their boats. We all know that these types of things are 100s of times more likely to happen than the spectacular failures everyone hears about. Who ever hears about the guy whose trampoline came unlaced because the original line rotted out?



Lastly, my experience in A Class cats is first hand. I have owned two. We also have a fleet of five boats 1 1/2 blocks from my house. Come on out and take a look if you don't believe what I am saying about our fleet. Also, feel free to talk about what ever type of boat you have, as though you are an expert, but don't pretend to be an expert at A Class boats unless you have sailed and owned one.



As Jimmy Buffet says, "Don't try to describe the ocean..a Kiss concert, etc... if you've never seen it" Oh yeah, "And I hope Anita Bryant never ever does one of my songs."