Hello again,



Interesting stuff! Here are a couple of thoughts-



1- The Bimare 16 is often pictured being sailed by two people, so I think that a jib would not be neccessary for conversion to and from singlehander and doublehander. I don't no much more about the convertability of this new boat. I do know that the F-18HT is a doublehander and has no jib.



2-Granted there are many (200+) Taipan 4.9s worldwide, but less than 20 in the USA. Most of these Taipan 4.9s are not maxed out to the F-16HP rule and race one-design Taipan 4.9 class. The Bimare Jav 2 18 footer has sold more than twice that many in 9 months, here in the USA. I only care about the classes in the USA. With the proper pricing the Bimare will quickly outnumber the Taipans here in the USA. If the F-16HP class does not accept the Bimare 16 Javelin, then I feel sure that a new class can be organized for them! I would be willing to work hard to organize such a class, if necessary. I am sure that Bimare's USA guy, W.F. Oliver, would lend a hand in such an endeaver. The potential resources between myself and Mr. Oliver are significant. Maybe the F-18HT class would help us out? In short, it would be in the F-16HP classes' best interest to welcome the new Bimare.



3-I am VERY excited about this new boat, as the "smaller" F-18HT is just the ticket for my son. Once he grows, then we can go F-18HT or other larger cat.



Steve