Allow me to second that.

My other posts may be misunderstood as basking the Viper, but I too feel the Viper is an very nice boat. In fact, I like it alot. I really like the layout and how tidy it is. It also appears to be the perfect hullshape for the rough conditions we get here on the North sea. It has ample freeboard and it is very capable in the severe chop we get over here. That I know from a direct comparison between diffent F16's made by I person I trust alot. Additionally, I've seen it go (just as the Aussie Blade) at the GC 2007 and it looked like it handled the chop very well indeed.

In fact, I would very seriously consider it as my next boat if it would come in below 120 kg when in sloop 2-up attire with alu mast. Of course I would prefer it around 110 kg but feel that any overweightness that is less then 13 kg is very acceptable indeed. The F16's simply carry weight that well in a competitive fashion.

Why this limit ? Because I have to handle my boat singlehandedly on the beach and trailer. Even when I had a crew, I was always the one doing the lifting and transporting by myself. You often get that with female crews. Now my nephew and niece are growing up, but I don't expect them to out lift me for another 15 years.

Currently I can just walk up my F16 against the (soft) sandy incline leading up to my club's harbour. An additionally 20 kg would probably break my back and I'm not getting any younger either.

Wouter