Ok...wait a minute, the A Cats are 70lbs. (160) lighter than the F16's (230) and they have a taller mast, so of course they are going to go upwind better.
Weight is not everything and as hull dynamics in the water are improved, the heavier boat with much larger sail areas, can defy the predicted drag in the water. The SCHRS revision this year has begun to take this into consideration and has revised the way light boats are penalised.
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As far as putting the A Rig onto the F16, that would be very interesting to see. What is their total mainsail area vs. ours?
I've already run the A rig on Bitsa albiet with a different sail and it was a much nicer boat to sail. There's not much differnce in sail area 13.95 v 15 sqm
And adding the jib to the F16, sailed solo, is a lot of fun in light/medium air. That's how I sail it at home, not at a regatta of course. But not sure how it would be with more sail area up high, as with the A cat main. In light air it would be great, but how about in a good blow?
Theres not much difference in mast height 8.5m v 9.3 m and the F16 platform is wider and hulls heavier, so probably pretty even from a Uni point. The jibs power is much lower down and has less efect on RM but and the big but, gives much more drive over the lower part of the main.
Oh, and are you going to run your spinny off that A cat mast? I think if you keep the mainsheet tight, it might survive...or not!
Mmmm you might be right there but the early masts such as mine were much stiffer than the latest. If you find me crying over a broken mast then you can say "told yah so"
