Hello Andreas,


Hope all is well with you ?




I'm not so sure if anybody said that the 18HT was a misconception. There was indeed alot of talk about bad political moves by some class officials in the US and issues with the specific jav-2 design and US 18HT class but no mention of the 18HT class being a misconception.

The only comment that would approach such a "misconception" would by my own comments about the 10.5 mtr mast and you in fact have just confirmed this but stating the most F18HT are now sailing with shorter masts. But that is about it.

We maybe arguing something here that is not in conflict.






I sort of feel that this describtion is accurate of any catamaran out there. All catamarans are in principle overpowered and lightweight when viewed in the general sailboat sense. Even a laser 1 dinghy is about 100 kg in ready to sail weight and how small is that boat ? Then of course the 18HT are not really THAT lightweight when compared to other cats. Also any catamaran is alot more managable then a skiff, that is because skiffs are notoriously hard to handle. Maybe an 18HT has more power, but that doesn't say much, as the bench mark is speed not power. An F18 has significantly more power then an F16 but they are still about the same in speed. Then about the 18HT being easy to right, well it is pretty well known that you'll 2 persons on the righting line to do it. And which beach cat can't be righted with 2 on the line ? That is just normal, not really anything special. And on which 2-person beach cat is capsizing a problem ? Seems to me that this qualifies all beach catamarans as being able to be sailed at full risk while having loads of fun.

Seriously how do these characteristics of the 18HT set it apart from most other beach cats out there ? On these points I don't really see it as different.






Please note that 130 kg is equal to 287 lbs and not to 260 lbs (=118 kg).

And you did very well at Texel, I'll certainly give you that, but halve the F18 fleet was still in front of you on elapsed time. Arguably any catamaran is managable in high winds. Just depower it like nobodies business or point above )or below) the optimal course and forget about sailing really fast (= racing). I think that that is not the issue here. The issue is wether the design is still a good racer in these conditions. I'm sorry to say that both reports and the results show that other designs are alot better in the rough stuff and that includes the F18's. Just as the 18HT is simply noticeably faster in the really light stuff. I really don't think that anybody is in real doubt about this anymore. Of course when racing One-design then these differences don't really matter as all crews have the same issues, BUT in open class racing it is a serious issue. Especially in some major races that are nearly always held in big winds. Texel, Carnac, Worrell/Tybee, Round Isle of White, Sidney Harbour etc.


Regards,

Wouter