Firstly I am a big fan of F16 class, however Wouter the F16 is also a copy cat class, yes as you mentioned. (and there is nothing wrong with that).
The class had a good look at the F18 formula and decided down a similar track. They had a good look at the Taipan 4.9 with regards to it’s flexibility and possibly even the F17 as if I remember correctly, they were offered in one man to two man form (At least in OZ) many years before the F16.
Additionally, it is a different kind of skill to build a 107 kg ready to race 2-up spinnaker boat then a 180 kg ready to race 2-up spinnaker boat. So in the first years we had to some researching and build optimalisation ourselves to get down to the specs we desired. Experiences taken from the A-cat class was very helpful here. Interestingly enough, we also recognized the superiority of item like the (true) wingmast before the F18 class did.
The F18 class is a much bigger boat, in length, volume, loads and rig size. It’s rules regarding build material also differ from the F16, so it is inaccurate to compare the skill / weights of building the two boats. More accurate to compare the F18 with the F18HT.
The F16 would have mimicked what the A class and Taipan 4.9 had done over many years (no point in re-inventing the wheel)
we also recognized the superiority of item like the (true) wingmast before the F18 class did.
The F16 class was foundered in 2001. The first wing mast was used in the F18 Worlds in 2001 by the Taipan F18. So, a little inaccurate there mate.
So I think we can rightfully claim to have done alot of pioneering work with the F16 class. We had to do alot of proving against commonly encountered disbelieves. And surprisingly enough we got the concept and specs right almost entirely from the first moment.
Not too hard to copy the Taipan 4.9 and put a spinnaker on it.... Then look at system developments from Tornadoes and F18s. Hardly pioneering but the right way to go about it.
