Wouter, thanks for all the research and the info, but really what you are comparing is the cost of -buying- the boats. The cost of -owning- is nearly the same after you've bought the boat. The add on parts and sail prices are nearly the same.

It's nice to know but if someone is going to lay out $16,000 for a new F16, the extra $2,000 isn't going to prevent them buying a F18 instead, especially if there is already an F18 fleet in their area.

The "selling point" for the F16 class (at least for me and many I have spoken to) is the Flexability it allows, to race Uni or Sloop, all in the same group, and no minimum crew weight.

You don't have that flexability in any other class of racing cats. Even though we could all race an F18 solo, their rules don't allow it so if you like the ability to still come out and race even if your crew bails on you at the last minute, your only option is the F16.

The "selling point" for the F18 class is; there are more of them out there, so they have more fleets, at more regattas, they also have a much larger Used Boat market for people to get into the class much cheaper than buying a new boat.

In time the F16 class will grow and also have more fleets at more regattas, but I am not interested in starting a turf war with the F18's, especially over price.

They have done a great job bringing the class to America and growing it here. If I had a regular, reliable crew I might be on one myself, but I don't, so the F16 suits me much better. I can't afford a new boat no matter which is cheaper.

$16000-$18,000 is a lot for a toy no matter who you are. It's a really tough sell to Mamma and the kiddies over here when for that amount you can buy 2 (or more) brand new Jet Ski's and a year's worth of gasoline and the whole 4 person family can go out together, no matter what the wind is. Zero learning curve, even Mamma and the kids can drive on day 1.

I understand in Europe things are quite different and sailing may be much more popular than Jet Skis, especially with them being banned in some areas, and the relatively high price of gasoline, etc. But over here, we fight that battle every day.

What we need to do is bring in new blood to the sport, not just converting F18 sailors to the F16, that really doesn't grow the sport, that's just playing musical chairs. I think right now our best bet is to show up in force at Monohull regattas and try to poach the kids off their Opti's, show them how much more fun trapping is than sitting on a Laser, and going 3x the speed of the Laser. Still, a kid can find a used Laser and go racing for about $1,000-3,000. Try finding any used F18 or F16 for even twice that amount. That is the other battle we fight, cheap, entry level cats are hard to find. I have been looking for a clean, ready to race, used Hobie 16 for my Doctor friend for months, but no luck so far. If I were king, gasoline would cost $5.00 a gallon (which is still cheaper than in Europe), we would all be driving electric cars and Jet Skis' would be banned for noise pollution alone.