Hello Phill,
You asked for views from other F16 sailors. I am not, but maybe you find some interesting pointers.
Why am I (actually we) thinking about a F16 (to buy after next season)?
- We are fairly light for a F18 (about 130 kg), which will make it necessary to buy a separate set of sails (jib and spi) if we want to compete in F18 class events. This would also potentially put us at a disadvantage, especially in lighter winds; the F16 seems like a better fit for our crew weight.
- Also because we want to sail more with our kids (age 14 and 12) 2-up; F16 with less sail area (and weight).
- More options (1 up).
- Much lighter boat than a F18, we expect it to be much easier to handle onshore (sailing with one of the kids)
- We want to sail a fast, exiting and challenging cat, which is competitive (rating wise) – F16 meets this?
What is holding us back (so far)?
- We are not familiar with the class (but maybe we will be at the Zandvoort event next year); is it at least as exiting as the latest generation F18?
- Is it as competitive as has been claimed (e.g. I could not find a F16 which finished in the top of the Open Class in this year’s Round Texel and Tiengemeten)? It would help if the class can point at some compelling examples (in my neighbourhood / the Netherlands)
- Small fleet, while the F18 offers us lots of opportunity to sail in larger fleets, even at club event level (Muiderzand) and compare notes with fellow class sailors.
- Also (?) it seems like that F16 fleet is split up into two sub-fleets (1 / 2-up)?
- Risks regarding all-in costs, while I expect a full Carbon specs not to be much cheaper than a F18 (Carbon rig Blade goes for Euro 16.5 thousand), how well will the resell value of a F16 hold up?
- and yes, we want another year to discover the potential of our Capricorn….
Our profile: bought myself a 1-year old Capricorn F18 last year as I wanted to get more into competitive sailing. My previous old bird, a Nacra 5.5, did not give me a lot of hope and one (I) simply can not compare the joy of sailing a Capricorn with a 5.5 (which I had sailed for 4 years). This year my wife/partner joined me in sailing our cat, and after a great week at the Aruba Heineken Regatta, we now want to try to spend more time on the water, have fun, and become better/faster sailors. Our plan is to sail more races (both club events and larger ones like Round Texel and Round Tiengemeten) and see whether we can climb a bit on the rankings.
PS: great to see a forum with so many postings.
