While it is true that you can put a spinnaker on just about any boat that you may have, that does mean that each of these boats is going to have the same benefit from the spinnaker or that the spinnaker will be as easy/fun to use on all of the boats.<br><br>I had a reacher/hooter installed on my previous Prindle 19, and the useability and extra performance were not nearly as large as the spinnaker on the I20, simply because the I20 was designed from the start to carry a spinnaker. The P19+reacher did not steer that well (lots of lee helm) with the reacher out. Since it wasn't designed for the reacher, the boards/rudders were not in the best position for sailing with a reacher, which consequently made it tough to steer. <br><br>On the I20, since it was designed for the spinnaker, all of the other components of the boat have been designed with this in mind. For example, the I20 has a smaller jib and larger main than the P19. This is because, on non-spinnaker boats, the jib has to act like a crude spinnaker going downwind. For the reason, the Hobie 20 and Nacra 6.0 have even larger jibs than the P19. However, it is more efficient to have area in the main than the jib when going upwind (look at the A-class). Since the I20 has a spinnaker, it doesn't need for the jib to act like a crude spinnaker downwind - the chute is there! Therefore, the jib/main can be sized for primarily upwind efficiency, knowing that the spinnaker will help out (quite a bit!) during downwind sailing.<br><br>An added consequence of the small jib/large main is that the main beam of the I20 is about a foot (maybe more) farther forward than the P19. This makes the tramp much bigger, and also provides a nice sheeting point for the jib (the I20 jib blocks are on the main beam). The P19/H20, with large jibs, have to put the jib blocks on the middle of the tramp, where they are always gouging your knees and legs. Another difference is that, since the I20 is designed for a spinnaker, the size and position of the daggerboards/rudders is designed to work with the spinnaker, so that the helm is completely neutral going either upwind or downwind (the size of the spinnaker and length of the spinnaker pole also affect this and must also be balanced against the other boat design characteristics). On a boat not originally designed for a spinnaker, the size of the main/jib, the position of the main beam/rudders/daggerboards will not be as well balanced as on a boat designed with the extra headsail in mind.<br><br>Also, even if you do add a spinnaker to an existing boat, you should be sure to get the E/O Snuffer system that the Inter has. This makes spinnakers much easier to launch/retrieve, even singlehanded, compared to having a spinnaker bag on the tramp. If you try it, you'll be convinced. Even the Hobie Fox has copied the E/O Snuffer system from the Inter's.<br><br>Anyway, I just wanted to point that you don't get the same result from adding a spinnaker to any existing boat. I highly suggest that you test-sail an I20 before you try to "build-your-own". If you give it a try I'm sure you'll be convinced like I was.<br><br>Alan Thompson<br>I20 - San Diego<br><br>