When I first got my Taipan 4.9 (before Wouter, Phill and I devised the F16) I sailed in 2 regattas where I registered as a sloop with 2 crew but my crew (my son) only lasted through the first race before getting seasick/cold/tired so I DNS'ed a race and sailed to the beach and dropped he and jib off then continued regatta uni. Nobody complained because they used the "faster" sloop number since that is how I had registered. That "ability"- ie to sail sloop or uni by merely adding/dropping jib/crew with great performance either way is what drew me to the Taipan in the first place and what prompted us to dream up the class. Prior to that there were some boats you could sail either way (NACRA 5.5 for instance) but they had different masts/sails/etc. (although they were close) and they were too heavy for me to enjoy singlehanding. When we started the class we did not intend for people to "switch" in the middle of a regatta, let alone a single race, unless there was some extremely unusual situation and then only if no perceived advantage were gained. To me the advantage of the F16 over an "A" for instance is the spinnaker, the added durability and relative lifespan of the boats, and the ability to take another person with me when/if I want, although 90% of my sailing is uni.

Kirt