T_A

no denying there is a difference. I wanted to quantify how large the difference is, and the SCHRS numbers suggests that in this specific case the difference in speed is very small? Perhaps even negligible?
By all means, I think Ausstricker should widen the boat if the lack of 16cm beam bothers him, but buying a set of new sails and rigging a selftacker sounds to me like a better investment if he wants to go F16 racing.

My personal pet theory is that a lot of people let things like percieved disadvantages on their gear get in the way of their performance on the water. Playing the game of 'blaming' like "My boat have 16 cm less beam than everybody elses, so of course we were last in heavy wind" and all sort of other 'plausible reasons' to excuse their lack of performance. I even think this can drab very experienced racers as well, making them perform less than their potential or sub-par to their skills. In in this context, 16cm can make a world of difference on the water, but only until some new excuse to blame can be thought up, and we sailors are very creative when it comes to thinking up excuses. Not directed towards you T_A, just an explanation on my standpoint to the question starting this thread.
It is all in our heads!