Ace11 is right here. In fact the iCat is more related to the F16's then the A-cats.

In fact the iCat is only F16 NON-compliant in its sailarea (1 sq. mtr to much) and its hull length (29 cm too much = less then a foot). All other specs are compliant. Of course we don't know about overall weight I really don't see the iCat go below 104 kg when rigged with a spinnaker as that would mean the "A-cat alike" basic platform would have to be below 100 kg ready to sail and that is a right proper challenge to achieve. Forget about bringing the weight down to A-cat level, that takes years of acquiring knowlegde and skills.

In the way of performance the iCat will be a lot closer matched to the F16's too. With respect to pricing it looks more like an A-cat however !

The glass/alu FX-one (it predessesor) was already 16.000 Euro ready to sail in 1-up mode (no jib kit, no spi) and the new carbon bits will not lower its price. I'm expecting it to come out around something like 20.000 Euro (incl EU VAT tax) for the 1-up iCat when fitted with a spi. About 5000 Euro more then a fully fitted race ready 2-up F16 (EU market). Basically some 1000 Euro cheaper then the Wildcat F18 because of having lost the jib setup.

For these reasons I tend to agree with Ace11 here that it stands a good change of becoming another orphaned class. The specs don't seem right, especially not for todays market with the economic meltdown. I both love and hate to say it but it is waaaay overpriced with respect to the F16's and it is waaaay underrepresented as a racing class with respect to the A's. I don't see it offering any benefit to either of these competitors, it basically combines the worst of both competitors in one illy timed new class. Why would a customer go for that ?

Wouter



P.S. I would have been so easy for them to have the iCat comply to the F16 class rules. A 12 inch shorter hull is really no biggy and the same applies for a 1/16th = 6.75% sail area reduction. They are not going to seriously outdesign the F16's in weight or performance anyway, so why not make use of the foundations already established for the F16's ? That would have made economic sense. Afterall, the Tiger was a winner for them as well. Why not repeat that trick with the F16 class ? The Tiger on its own would never have had the same succes. Basically they are now trying to create a mirror F16 class (but now as a OD class) without the design being different in any noticeable sense. Sometimes I wonder ....