Hi Dav -Hi Jake

may just sail to the regtta site ?

It should be a fun class ,and great fun to experiment a little with design ideas and concepts added.

The 18 sq meter class ,a few decades old with class specs.and rules of 18 ft L 193 sq ft sail -no min weight ,-and no max beam -,-was the only one with unlimited beam .

What some of the builders discovered in that size range was a point of diminishing returns . The added stress on the crossbeam -its connection ,-dolphin striker assembley - etc all had to be reinforced and extra weight added with increased beam .
Also the narrower beam cat designs generall 10 to 11 ft that flew a hull earlier were at a distict advantage in the mid range windspeed conditions the vast majority of races are held in as they flew a hull as the wide beams sat both hulls in being heavier to boot.
That places the 14 ft 8,5 beam spec in similar length to beam ratio ranges as the 18 sq s .
-Also ,as Phyc earlier noted ,-calculate the volume in the hull forward of the crossbeam { forces forward in downwind mode} as compared to the wide beam leverage and full volume and sailing forces in {upwind mode] --again a point of diminishing returns ,-a large rig and sailplan simply submerge the bows sooner ,evan though wide beam will carry it upwind.
The only option is a much lower total rig C E sail plan solution ,--2 masts per 60 parlier with larger beam to L ratio ,-but a whole series of other related problems like mast moment ,-racking stresses ,-rigging ,--taCking -gIbing the headsail etc become a problem .
cat ,http://www.parlier.org/site02/accueil/1024x768.html

The option of a lifting sailplan with lots of luff angle in extreme mast rake or like a lateen rig {sunfish } type main may potentially reduce the sail forces forwrd .
For the headsail an extended spin pole way ahead of bows for spin luff angle and lift ,--but then CE to CLR -balance and helm control becomes the main problem ,

A very wide flat planning type hull and bow sections are another solution ,-hull shapes could resemble a flat bottom skiff that has uniform hull width and no compound curves ,-it just uses a flat bottom radius forward of mid hull up to deck level at the bow ,--what could be easier to build from ply wd.
Just wanted to draw you out a little in the concept of a wide beam F-14 -beyond 8.6
Sounds like an interesting design , suggest a model first ,
best regards