The whole reason for the F18 to keep the weight at what was then common (180 kg's or above) was to start the class with the older grandfathered designs like Nacra 5.5 (176kg's w/o spi) and Hobie 18's (183 w/o spi) and Dart Hawks (180 kg's with spi.)
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<br>I'm sure that the organizers wanted a ligter class too, but they had already a big task in getting the formula principle of the ground and convince the public that equal racing in it was indeed possible.
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<br>I got lucky in the F16 due to the fact I could find a few lightweight grandfathered boats that I could use to get the class going. All grandfathered boat were near enough to the mathematical funny point of 100 kg's which really opens up up this class to all it flexibility.
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<br>The iF20 was faced with the same problems. When they started there were hardly any lightweight 20 footers. There still aren't. And I must admit that designs like the Taipan 5.7 weren't known at all in EU some 3 to 4 years ago.
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<br>So can we blame these "heavy" F18 and iF20 ? I don't think so. I think especially the F18 did great work on which the F16 can now expand. Without it the F16 class would have been doubtful at best.
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<br>I also think that F18 is misunderstood. The class is setup around 180 kg's and alu mast in order not make older 18 footers absolete overnight. Just convert your N5,5 and TheMightyHobie18 at a very acceptable price and you're in business. Once you start sailing in the top 1/3 of pack consistantly then you want to look around for a purpose build F18. This way the class did really think about all of us normal folk without big bucks and this should be recommended.
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<br>Is the time right to expand the formula to really more optimal designs ? I think so, as long as the formula of formula's (equal performance classes) is satisfied. Without this we'll end up with to many formula classes and will be faced with a splintered scene again. Is the 20 foot range a good starting point ? I fear not, for there aren't really any lightweight 20 footers in the US, so what will you grandfather in to start the class ? Shaving about 5 -10 kg's off doesn't really help.
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<br>There is also another issue you should look at here. When you commit yourself to a 20 ft. long platform than shaving of more than 35 kg's is actually bad designing. For you're wetted surface area won't really decrease and your finess ratio was already small on that 20 ft. platform. Ergo, you may invest alot of time and money in getting this weight reduction only to find that some other parameter is preventing you from really achieving performance gain.
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<br>So if any of you is contemplating a NEW F20 setup I advice you to familiarize yourself with the math and ratios behind the F16 HP class for this the fact that this platform is smaller was very helpfull in actually getting it up to speed with F18. So this being smaller isn't a drawback to had to be overcome but actually an active contributing component.
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<br>Like I said many times before, it is all in the balance between different parameters.
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<br>I suspect that the same principle are active in teh Mystere 4,3 and would make this boat a good choice.
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<br>Wouter
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