Bill, Wouter and all,

Again, a nice thread.

Bill, thanks for the input, interesting.

C. Ogletree of Ulman designed a 'small' main for me a year ago, 150 sf instead of stock 160 sf., in the 16 + mph (plus 3 ft waves)range, the I-17 is very fast, powerful and stable.

So, for me, in this region, reducing sailplan was one of the keys.

And as Wouter, John of Stealth, the Aussie T4.9 sailors and the F 16 forum taught me,...those boards must be adjusted, as the wind increases, in conjunction with the mast rotation/travellor/downhaul....they taught me to consider all of these as a part of a formula and adjust them all until the boat gets 'happy'

..but those boards,...if they do not come up,...its up ,down,up,down,up,down, up, down, up, down,up....

I am a adjunct Professor at UVI for the last 5 years down here ( this way I can sail all the time) and I am very methodical about testing this stuff,.....there is alot of physics to these boats,.for sure!

So, you all keep posting the ideas, we will go out and test it!

Hey Les, did you part with the I-17? You are going to miss it!

regards,

Bruce