When we envisioned this class and began it my objective was a light (since I'm getting old and too many years of dragging 300+ lb boats up beaches, raising heavy masts, trying to right heavy NACRAS/Hobies, took it's toll on my back), high performance small cat that could be sailed/raced by one crew or two by just slightly changing sail plan. I used to sail NACRA 18sqs and they are certainly a fast single hander but heavy, hard to move around, heavy mast, almost impossible to right, etc. I bought an old "woody" A cat- ~200 lbs. and took it to sail with my old 18sq buddies- amazingly to about everyone it was just as fast around a W-L course as the bigger, wider, much more sail area squares- but the trailering, launching, righting, sheet loads etc. were so much lower I could see sailing/living with this boat into "old age". Since I had kids the option to carry them with me occasionally was something I really wanted to. It was at the "A" cat worlds talking to Jim and Greg when I found out about the Taipan- which was being built and sold at the current F16 weight and met my "ideal requirements" quite closely. So I got the first one in the US, and with some other international Taipan enthusiasts, we looked at the success and model of the F18 class and designed ours around a simple concept: a light, 16 foot catamaran with relatively high performance at a relatively economical price that could be sailed either one or two up "heads up" that could be built by anyone who chose to meet the "box rules". BIM was building the BIM 16 at the time and the hope was this would provide another production boat to get the class off the ground, but it was up to the Taipan to do that alone- and it was obviously up to the task.
I agree with Bundy that there is more to speed than (boat) weight- I raced for years on a 365 lb. NACRA 5.0 (not knowing it was that heavy until we finally weighed all the boats a Nationals!) and did very well against lighter boats- certain conditions can even give a heavier boat an advantage IMO. But unfortunately dragging/trailering/loading/righting that boat by myself was a killer compared to my 220 lb Taipan or 165 lb "A" cat.
The beauty of a box rule is everybody who meets the min/maxs of the rule can play and can design a boat that meets their specific needs. I for one would rather spend another several hundred dollars or Euros for a lighter boat not because it might be marginally faster but for all the other reasons. When we first started this class many of the "originals" had some physical "issues"- bad back for me, several with severe arm injuries, desire to sail with a small child/crew, etc.
This group has always been about being a little "different"- and that's fine with me- and I think everyone is entitled to their opinion and we should respect that as long as they are not trying to force it on the rest of us.
I am just thrilled that 10 years after envisioning this class we have had multiple manufacturers of great products support our class and design/build boats to our rule. I think that is enough of a testament as to the validity of the original concept of the class. Macca, Brett, Mike, Bundy, Wouter, etc. all have some good points- let's focus on the positive and let people design/build/sail the F16 they want.
I personally am off to sail my old original Taipan!
Kirt
