Thanks for the reply, it certaily makes sense to me. 18 kgs seems significant.

One more question.... let's use 10 kgs wieght difference in this example. What order would you place the following (from most important to least important - obvioulsy all would help)?

1. New set of sails
2. Completely faired hulls, rudders, boards
3. Get boat/crew to minimum weights (10kgs)
4. Extra 5 hours practice each month

What else should be added to the list?

Thanks for the input.