WOW, Wouter---thank you, thank you, thank you, for the very detailed description of the Taipan & the Spitfire!

Thanks for taking the time to explain in such detail, me & my partner REALLY appreciate all the time you put into this. It will take us a while to digest it all and weigh the pros & cons of the different models/classes.

Now I'm leaning towards a Taipan F16--I've always had an affinity for the Aussies and their long-standing success with building great cats.

Since we will use the boat exclusively for recreational purposes (no racing, no resale considerations), it's not really that important to us whether it has the latest ultimate snarky tech details, or whether it is just that nanosecond faster than another boat brand of the same class model. Of course, we'd want a self-tacking jib etc., but we don't need that carbon mast or the split dagger boards to make it a few kilos lighter.

Since we are a relatively lightweight crew, we are not looking for a F-18 (we are still very, very happy with our 10-year old Nacra 5.8na)but a smaller, more manageable and fun F-16. The Spitfire would also really be fine for our purposes. Let's face it, most of the year the boat will be unused and disassembled in my garage near Frankfurt , Germany. We will use it on occasion when we are in Europe on vacation, trailering it on the Autobahn either north (in your direction to Holland or N. Germany) or Bavaria/Austria to some of the lakes there.Maybe we will head over in your direction next year.We have friends in Belgium (Flemish) who are also cat sailors, so we have planned a joint sailing vacation for 2007.Maybe we can learn something from experts like you!

As to the price, I would imagine that the Blade is probably more expensive in Europe, then again it might not, considering the ever declining dollar vis-a-vis the Euro...who knows? I probably am inclined to get a boat that is more readily available in Europe where the F-16 class has been established longer than here in the U.S., right?

Anyway, we will mull over your suggestions and probably start contacting some of the Euro dealers to seee what deal we can get.

Many thanks again!!