Another thing I noticed was that the new rig Nacra 17 was quite competitive sailing 2-up (very light Aussie crew though).
And it should be as it is resembling the F16's more and more. The F17 has an alu wingmast now that came of the Infusion F18 which stole the idea from the capricorn F18 which in turn was inspired by the Taipan Superwing mast that we all have on our alu masted F16's. Of course the Superwing is a refinement of the Sori A-cat mast.
Also the F17 is now more and more sailed as a sloop apparently. And the F17 has shed some 20 kg weight lately and had an updated sail design. The only difference between it and the F16 now is the mast length (+0.5 mtr), hull length (+0.20 mtr) and the weight (+25 kg). In itself these differences are quite small overall and hence the handicap is only a few points slower then the F16.
To me this all proofs that the lightweight short hulled alu masted sloop design with a modern cut suit of sails is a winner ! A concept pioneered in the F16 class !
Wouter
