Anybody with a rudimentary knowledge of engineering will tell you that you can't compare the bow deflection of an A Class with an F18, a Tornado, and an F16.
I teach engineering for a living mate, what's your excuse ?
I guess you also think that a wave treats a F18 bow that flexes 40 mm downward differently then a F16 bow that flexes 10 mm downward. Afterall, the wave is concious and knows that this is caused by the difference in beam length and overall weight, thus forcing him to behave differently.
I say the measurements are surprisingly to the point. A 140 kg F18 platform flexes more in the test then a 70 kg F16 platform, that is true, but its 340 kg displacement (compared to 250 kg or less for F16) will very much put it under higher loads while sailing too. The same in reverse when comparing to A-cats. Such opposing phenomena go a very long way in compensating for eachother, making the test dependable again.
Besides, the whole idea of stiffness in both cycling and sailboat design is to reduce the amount of energy that is "wasted" in flexing the platform. A F16 with 10 mm flex while sailing leaks less energy that way then a F18 that flexes 40 mm; the causes that result in this difference are of no importance what so ever to the wave.
Wouter
