It seem that all the ills of catamaran sailing could be overcome if all the designs would raise minimum weight and make them simple. Or so one would think from the many posts on the different Catsailor forums. If that would be the case then catamaran sailing should be thriving right now, as there is no shortage of overweight boats to choose from.

F14 needs to set it's self up as the destination, not a stepping stone to larger designs. Quit making it about how many feet you get for your buck. Make it about how much bang you get for your buck! Darrel is the only one to bring this subject up and back up his talk with a on the water "giant killer".

You said you will have to "save up" a couple of years to buy the 430...I dare say in a couple of years the A&O will still be a topic of conversation
in high performance circles...it remains to be seen if the same can be
said of the NACRA 430. Not at all dissing the NACRA, just that there is nothing particularly special about it, it's just another, of many, nice boats to train on in prep for something else, or take an afternoon cruise.

So again I say it is a perception problem going back to the mentality of "bigger is always better". That IMHO is what is holding back the f14...that and the availability of building plans of a cat capable of A&O performance.