I'm not afraid to say that I feel the Spitfire is one of the better boats available on the market today. I really do put it above the nacra Inter-17 and Hobie FX-one. And I'm thrilled to see some of them come out to the F16 Global challenge in Singapore. These spitfire boats and crews are an excellent supplement to the event. They will certainly keep us all sharp, that is for sure.

This is what I think about the boat, even when in direct comparison I may favour different makes, I hope this prevents any misunderstanding between myself and Spitfire class. Hell, I'm actually one of the F16 class members (official) who actively campaigns for the Spitfire to remain included in the F16 format by maintaining its grandfather status.




Thanks, Dermot.

One more question if you will allow me that :

Which webpage is the most accurate ?

I see on the Irish webpage (dealer) that a spitfire incl. snuffer costs 12.700 Euro's while the Swell catamarans (builder) website quotes it at (boat + snuffer) = 8995 + 371 = 9366 pounds = 13.675 Euro's

Normally buying through a dealer is more expensive then buying factory direct.





The Stealth prices are quoted here http://www.geocities.com/stealthmarine2002/spec2006.html

You've seen those Dermot I know. I just would now like to justify my earlier quote of the Stealth F16 for the other readers.

In the left colom one can see the basic Stealth F16, which does come standard with stuff like a carbon mast, T-foil rudders, fibrefoam battens and pentex Ullman sails. This basic (sloop rigged) doublehander costs 7950 pounds = 11610 Euro's. However I want to compare apples with apples as best as I can so I added the upgrade of the spinnaker snuffer system = 275 pounds = 400 Euro's. This comes out at a total of 12010 Euro's. This amount I indeed rounded off to 12.000 Euro's, if you'll forgive me from neglecting 10 Euro's.

I do think it is really cheap as this setup features a full carbon mast and a overall boat weight that 95 % of all the other catamaran designs out there can only dream of. If I would buy a carbon mast for my Taipan I would have to shell out at least 1500 Euro's to get one. Of course the other boats, like the Spitfire and my Taipan don't have carbon masts but aluminium ones, and both are still more expensive then the Stealth F16. On this ground I call the Stealth excellently priced. I am truly impressed with that.

The "Le Race" version of the Stealth has carbon cloth in the hulls and Carbon is extremely hard to get current. It also has some extra carbon components on the boat like Carbon rudder stocks. Additionally it has a keel line of Kevlar cloth. I guess these are the reasons why the "Le Race" version is priced 1700 pounds = 2480 Euro's more expensive then the basic version. With this in mind I do feel it is unfair to compare these carbon/kevlar hulls with the core matt hulls of the Spitfire and the glass hulls of the basic Taipan and Blades. So that is why I used the basic Stealth price in my earlier post and not the "le Race". A note to the other readers outthere. Both the Taipan and Blade designs are available with full kevlar hull construction. I think with the Blade you only pay 400 Euro's more for that, which makes it a must-have upgrade in my eyes. Kevlar hulls are GOOD !

There is one thing I like to correct myself on. Apparently the Blade F16 and Spitfire are not priced the same. From the quotes I gether that the Blade F16 is 1000 Euro's more expensive then the Spitfire. The Blade will be delivered to the Netherlands for that price however. Round trip UK is about 500 Euro's from the Netherlands with gas and teh ferry. So overall the two boats do really approach eachother in the final cost new.

I hope I have done right by everybody now.





After 2 tries I still haven't sailed it for more then a minute. Bloody winds just doesn't want to cooperate ! But rest assured I will write down a full comparison between it and my own Taipan F16 when I do get to sail it for a reasonable amount of time. Going on the reports I'm in for a treat.

Best of luck in Ireland Dermot.


Wouter


P.S. you coming out to Singapore ?