Flying cat,

On the F16 webpage there is article dealing with the race results of the 2001 Australian Taipan Nationals.

Here the weights of all the participating (and measured) boats is given.

I will send you the link in the private messaging service provided by this forum. Reason, if I give the link in this post then 100's of readers will start clicking on this link and overload the allowed datatransfer limited. Causing our F16 webpage to go ofline. If anybody else is interesting in this data, it is available by following the "F16 articles" link on the F16 webpage and looking for the "optimal taipan crew weight" article. In this article a link is given in the header that will take you to the used data points. An option is to private message me and I will send you the direct link back.

Wait, let me try something else !



Worked ! So here you all have the measured data.



In summary :

The fleet contained 35 (measured) boats (all Taipan 4.9's) ranging from Aus007 (was then over 10 years old) to Aus230 (which was then 1 year old);

The average boat weight was 104 kg exactly, with a standard deviation measure of 2.3 kg's (for the mathematically educated people on this forum). For the less educated persons out here this means the average weight of all boats was 104 kg with 70 % of the other boats being within 2.3 kg of this value (both lighter or heavier). The lightest boats were 102 kg or less (4 boats) and had to carry lead to get up to 102 kg. The heaviest boat was AUS 015 and it weight 111.3 kg; it looks like this was a home-build ply-epoxy boat. Mind you the owners are allowed to change, add or replace items like ruddersetups themselfs on these boats, also these boat maybe home-made by an amateur so these things can quickly account for additional kg with respect to boats straight from the factory.

If only all catamaran classes would publicize their measured data in the same way, right ? Would make choosing the right boat a whole lot easier.


The current class minimum weight for the Taipan 4.9 is 102 kg in the sloop rigged, doublehanded setup. It is my experience that factory build boats, that are build after 2000, are between 102 and 104 kg. Often depending on which extra's you ordered with the boat. Independent handicap systems like Texel and SCHRS (ISAF) all measured these doublehanded/sloop rigged taipans to be between 102 and 105 kg of weight. Taipans that are singlehanded are always a little less in overall weight, typically about 2 kg's, because the jib and related hardware is not on the boats. Some taipans that are exclusively sailed singlehanded carry a different mast section which is lighter as well; these boats are often just below 100 kg (min class weight for these = 97 kg).

I don't think that the sailpower is very comparable between the two boats unless the Austalian nacra has increased its sail area from 13.68 sq. mtr. to 15 sq. mtr.

Wouter