Lets not forget that somebody still has to saw the mainsheet on that 17 sq. mtr. by 8.60 mtrlarge head (=high leech tension) mainsail. On the F16's we can get by with 8:1 and 7:1 with the F18's favouring as general setup the 10:1 and 9:1. To give an idea of the difference in mainsheet loads.

As a result I wonder a little bit about how competitive a 130 kg crew truly is on a F18. I admit that the differences between the F18 and F16 are not big (apart from boat weight), but things tend to add up.

And to all. I see no problem talking F18 or even A-cat, F17, Tornado and F20 here. This has never been an issue in the past except for one particular periode earlier this year. But back the intent of such discussion was alot less honourable. Personally, I strongly favour getting back to the open feel of before that time; together with the open discussions about everything with at least some link to F16. We discussed Ben Halls solid wing on his A-cat at length, we discussed the changes the the F17 and we sure as I don't know what discussed everything interesting that happened in the F18 class. So Aido by all means go ahead; no problem as long as the underlaying intent is honourable. And I'm sure in your case it is ! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Wouter