Hello Ken,

How are you, it has been a while since ...


I would consider 135-145 kg ideal = 300-320 lbs depending a little bit on the expected winds at the venue. Certainly not less then that.

I PERSONALLY would accept the range between 120 kg and 160 kg = 265 - 350 lbs

I seem to be very willing to sail heavy as it is my opinion that it is far better to have a heavier but skilled and agressive crew then a lightweight timid crew. Racing F16's hard in anything over 10 knots can be quite demanding. Both physically and mentally/technically. Quick hoists, extremely late drops amidst a flock of boats and a crew that is working the main upwind and the spinnaker downwind. Continiously working the sheets will wear one down so too the pressure and all the stuff that is going on. I therefor favour the heavier and stronger sailor of the team as crew and I don not favour teams whose major advantage is being lightweight.

Now I have to say that these numbers are for the Blade F16 design specifically and when the sails can be cut to suit the weight.

But as I understand it the Alter Cup boats must all use the same set of sails and so it dependent on what "average" crew weight is taken for the Alter cup sails. I don't know which "setup" is chosen. I do think it would be smart for VWM to decide on "average = 150 kg". It is always more easy to depower a rig.

I also do not think that the Blade F16 favours featherweight crews unless the sails are cut specifically for those weights. I really do believe that too many people believe F16 = favouring featherweights. This is really less so then what may appear at first glance.

If you are racing these boats hard in pretty much medium conditions and stronger then sailing these boats can be quite a sport. In wisper sailing the lightest crews will of course always be favoured.

There are several reports of 160-170 kg crews feeling very nimble on these boats. For some reason the Blade doesn't appear to be very sensitive to crew weight; certainly not in the magnitude as the Taipan is.

Ken, you are 80 kg's. Personally I would focus completely on finding a crew with good spinnaker experience (either as crew or skipper) and take the weight that comes with it. I really do believe that fast hoists and drops, good coordination and continious trimming are key aspects on these boats. Far more then being 10 kg lighter or heavier. If you don't thoroughly know what you are doing then you can easily throw tens of seconds out the door and it will be very difficult to win those back on better boat speed because you happen to be lighter then the rest. There is alot to do on board and therefor skilled crews are heavily favoured over lightweight crews.