Hi everyone,
I'm no boat builder or designer, hell I don't even sail a cat, yet!
I'm a 15 year old kid, I believe I would fit into your target market, I have read this topic and it's obvious you all put a lot of thought into this, but personally I think you need to choose between the F12 and F14.
Can you create an F14 with 3 different sail sizes, just like the laser, this will give parents the incentive to buy their kids the F14 knowing that they can be sailing it for years.
You need to give the option of either sailing it solo or with 2 on board.
The Mozzie has the option of the sloop rig and a spinnaker, as a kid sailing I have always been drawn to spinnaker boats due to the perception of speed, a trapeze just adds to the fun!
You need an entry level cat, which everyone can sail and everyone is on an equal platform.
I believe you need a 1 design, cheap cat, to attract parents and kids alike.
Forget about carbon, yes it's light, but it's not essential and it's bloody expensive, you're going to have more people coming into a cheap accessible class, not an expensive, elitist class.
The ideal price needs to be around $4,000 USD, and you need to ensure every club that sails cats either has one in their training fleet or has access to one.
You need kids going round showing them off, if that means sponsoring them, then do it!
You need to get a class which kids want to turn to!
Anyway I'm moving to Aus in a few months, where can I get one of these and how much is it going to cost me?