Timbo you are pretty right in what you say, the best skipper will win regardless of the barge he / she is sailing. I can spend 1 1/2 hours trying to pass 4 Mustoo skiffs that have got the best start, these guys are top ten in the world and I'm probably bottom ten, tactics and knowledge often far surpass the power and speed of the boat.

This thread for me was an academic excercise to just confirm whether I was thinking along the right lines, the poll seems to confirm that there is quite a differnce in racing speeds between the solos and duals.

How the class deals with that can only be by class members approval, as my boat no longer truely conforms to F16 rules and I feel it is a better boat to play with than a production boat set up for dual crew, then I guess it will have to be without me.

Its also a bit academic in a way as the 5 year rule ( class rules can only be changed every 5 years ) will prevent any quick changes.