Steve-

I was not trying to say the BIM could not be sailed two handed but that the F 16HP class was originally set up so that the handicap numbers of a uni rig solo sailor boat would be essentially equal to the handicap numbers of the same boat with the added sail area of a jib and a second person (which was to equal the handicap numbers of the popular F 18 class). If someone wishes to forego the jib and race doublehanded on a boat which meets the other requirements for the F 16HP class they can and they are welcome to do so. It is not an option in our class (at this time) to "add" the sail area that would be in the jib to the mainsail (and/or spinnaker) ala the F 18HT. If this were an option then one would "have to" get two separate mainsails and/or masts to be able to sail one or two up safely (as some of the F 18HT owners have proposed to do). Our class did not want to "require" someone to do any more than merely remove one sail (the jib) and related hardware to be able to safely sail (and race) the boats with one or two persons.

I (and the class) cannot control BIM, I certainly hope they wish to make the boat comply with the F 16HP rules but that is up to them. Performance, for instance, chose to modify the Inter 18 sold here in the US so it did NOT comply with the F 18 rules- Hobie chose to make the Tiger comply- Not much question which there are more of now in the US and unfortunately it has caused "issues" for F 18 sailing in the US which I would like to avoid but it's not up to me.

The "F 18HT" class you refer to is really at the moment a "Jav F 18HT class" since it's the only one readily available here in the US. It's success is attributable (IMO) to a unique design, very strong company backing and personal financial backing by WF plus some smart political moves to outbid the competition for things like the Alter Cup and Worrell 1000. IMO it is very hard for any "foreign" cat manufacturer (or actually any small domestic one like Isotope, Hardcore, Freestyle, Sea Spray, etc.) to "break into" the US market and probably requires things like WF and BIM have done to take off quickly.

In closing, let me say I truly hope BIM's intentions are to produce and promote a fully compliant F 16HP model which is comparable to the offerrings of the other F 16HP builders, as that is the intent of the "Formula" concept.

Looking forward to seeing you on one!



Kirt