Hi Wouter
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<br>Its interesting that you mention the Stealth I was talking about it with a friend of mine the other day and its progress in being accepted into the mainstream clicky market. There is no doubt from the results so far that this smaller 16 foot framework has a lot of potential where weight may be crucial, but can it can only be tried and tested with more sailors and their input.
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<br>When you mention weight of the boat, in light airs again, high aspect to a light platform is a sure winner take the A-Class (especially Auscat) as an example. It is heart rendering in light airs when you are sat there and this super trick piece of engineering passes you by like you were standing still. HOWEVER, I always thought that the A-Class would lose it in the strong winds with it's shear lack of weight however when watching a open multiclass race the other day and seeing the the boat in the hands of an expert I was amazed to see it cross the line before the Tornado Sport and take first place. Now I am not saying that this is the best boat since sliced bread it is purely an example of how the lightweightconcept with less surface area does have a lot of potential. In fact what prevents me from going out and buying one is largely the boat is extremely nervous and I am probably too clumbersome for it, I do like to sail with another person as well and the class is not that big so in most local regatta racing you are comparing your sailing ability to handicap which is always a topic of much debate.
<br>The outcome of this is "Does the Stealth have the same twitchiness, nervousness as the A-Class due to its weight and narrow beam or are there other factors that determine a more stable and sure sail with the Stealth such as hull shape.
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<br>The comparison between all the different boat designs can be a fascinating subject and something that can be discussed on and on and on. I suppose thats the beauty of development in whatever field really it just depends on what is the closest to the heart.
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