Hey Andreas -

The Mystere 4.3, which fits the new box rule without modification, was designed and built as a youth trainer boat. Most of the folks that bought one got it as a second boat to sail with their kids. Two years ago, it was selected for the Multihull Youth Nationals, and the factory sent brand new boats for the event. The 4.3 carries 282 sq ft or so of sail area, and the kids had no trouble with it at all - of course, we sail in Beaufort 2-3 range for just about every event. What the adults found was that when the wind really piped up, the 4.3 (as an intentionally underpowered platform) was a lot more fun to sail than their 20-footers, so they started racing them, too.

Nobody's kids in the 4.3 fleet are getting any less time on the boat - in fact, Jamie Diamond is chartering a second 4.3 to bring to Spring Fever so that he and his wife can both compete, giving their son Joey (who got an Opti for Christmas!) the option of jumping on either boat.

It's a great kids' boat - I think the other F-14s would be just as kid-friendly. What you are seeing on this board is, as usual, a bunch of race junkies talking about the basis of a new class so we agree on the basics before we all get together and race. Maybe the sail area would be tough to handle in Oz’s better breezes, but here in NA, the platform only rarely becomes unmanageable. The boats that ISAF just finished evaluating for the future sanctioned Youth boat are all bigger (around 16 feet) and have more sail area than what’s been proposed here.

Incidentally, I got one, not because I have a kid who’s ready to learn to sail, but because at 5’4” and 130 lbs., this is the boat that fits me best.