All,
A couple of comments as a F16 sailor...
Having just come back from an outstanding A cat World championship and some other recent events on other boats, such as the South East Wave event, I have really come to appreciate my F16. Competition is 1 aspect of why I sail, but being on a a boat that I really enjoy sailing has become more and more important to me.
The issue we have before us is how do we promote the F16?
The biggest selling point we have is the versatility of the boat. No other class can you legally run even 1 or 2 up, and although they can be sailed with differnt rigs, no other boat stays as ballanced when changing configurations. The spin is there for adrenaline or to just make the boat more fun in light air. It does not have to be rigged for a quick sail, but the boat is made to use one, not just added as an afterthought.
The next selling point is that the F16 is light weight speed on the water. No huge sailing loads or weight to move around. Unfortunately the only way to really appreciate this feature is to get on one. After the Alter Cup, the feedback from the competitors was almost universally positive. People were impressed/supprised with the power and performance that was in a 16 foot boat. Here we are back to Pete's suggestion about just showing up and getting rides for everyone interested. The "professional" level racers/sailmakers like the Glasers and Asbeys of the world are not goint to get fully into the class until there is more world wide racing available. We can not rely on this to sell the class. We amy be able to get them on the boats for local events etc and at least speak well of the class of boat; it is at least a start.
The other real selling point for us a class of boat has to be its current rating, especially in the US. There has been a lot of bashing the handicap system and trying to get numbers for single/ double changed. For people in areas where we have handicap racing, the push should be to get people on more F16's because they have a sweetheart rating and they can do well in handicap events. The rating will change with more events eventually but right now take advantage of some favorable ratings.
There has been a lot of emphasis especailly on this forum in making comparisons to other classes, especially the F18 class. This has drawn a lot of criticism from the other classes, and helped perpetuate the thought that we are just a baby F18 class. No one who has seen or been on an F16 will disagree that they are fast. We are not just a little F18 training boat though. There should be more emphasis on differentiating us as a stand alone class of boat, and promoting the advantages of the F16, than comparing us to other existing designs.
Everyone has their own story, we need to hear them.
Matt
Blade F16 - USA 725
