Some argue the optimum for a 16 footer will be 260 ish... for obvious reasons the class would argue that the optimum is closer to 310. The jury is still out.
No Mark, it isn't.
One of the challenges with the F16 is that it seems to have a very large 'optimal' crew weight range. The optimal weight greatly depends on the conditions. The lighter the crew the sooner they're trapping and able to sail much higher and faster than the heavier teams. On the flip side, when the wind gets over 10kts the '260 teams' become at a disadvantage which only grows as the wind picks up. To some extent this applies to most cats, but it really seems magnified on the F16 due to the variations in speed it is capable of producing.
Glad to see the youth teams doing so well. They've been training a lot and it is definitely noticeable.
