Well, not that much different. Also the real weight savings typically come from improved building techniques and design, not so much from replacing glass and aluminium by carbon cloth.

Hobie cat needs to traverse that development curve first before being able to attempt building an A-cat and I too don't believe they are near yet. Not beat my own drum but we were lucky to have direct access to A-cat building experience in our class and even then the F16 minimum weight was a hotly discussed topic and it took a while for the builders to get down there. Going for the A-cat level of refinement is another very large step up.


But there is another issue as well; one that we faced as well (F16 class). The A-cat owners are somewhat different from the targeted owners of the Hobie products (or F16's). The first accept owning a boat that is on the edge and may break a big component when hitting a bouy or something (see the other thread. The latter group expects and also demands a robust boat that will take the occasional mishap. You'll be surprised how much time is invested to get some of the customers to treat their boats properly on land even. In more then one occasion owners risked trailering their boats on H16 trailers without any scales to protect the flat keellines of the F16's; despite being strongly adviced not to do that. Also look at the 2007 Alter Cup event and how far the mainsails were sheeted out under spinnaker. The masts made all kinds of large bends and thankfully survived. That is an added expectation of a boat comming from Nacra or Hobie that is very hard to achieve on an A-cat; even for the best of A-cat builders. There is simply not alot of margin in a 18ft/150lbs catamaran design.






Well I wouldn't call you a dummy !

And I'm not beating my own drum here. It is just that F16 concept is so extremely close to the iCat that it makes the F16's they ideal comparison for that design.

I would say getting your head around a 17ft/220 lbs (no jib, no spi) boat is as good as the same as getting it around a 16ft/220lbs F16 without a jib or spi. Hull length is not unimportant but it is also not THAT important.

But you touch on one aspect that I overlooked in my earlier post. Some customers will simply buy it because it is a Hobie. Meaning that for some the brand name of a given setup is important. They will not step into the A-class of F16-class unless it is Hobie who makes an design fitting to that rule even if they had lusted over the class specs.

But best of Luck Karl ! And lots of enjoyment with your FX !


Wouter