If you go to http://www.frappr.com/formula16classgroup then you can see where about halve of the class is located. We got a pretty good spread world wide for a class that is only 5 years old. Still there are a good number not "pinned' on our world map yet. For example ; there are about 25 boats at a single club in Singapore but they only have 1 pin on our world map. Something similar is the case with the UK. The Netherlands is so small that several pins fully overlap eachother.

I would say that roughly 150 F16 boats are sailing in the world now. In Europe the boats are mainly found in the north-western part. I know only of a couple of Bim 16's with spi in Spain, most of these measure in into F16 rules as these still have the old-style and shorter masts.





But indeed F16 is still very new to Spain. We don't have a local spanish dealer or agent as I'm sure Hobie does have. But these boats are available to Spanish buyers. We have shipped boats to far off places like Shanghai China and United Arab Emirates as well as Karachi Pakistan. Therefor I don't think shipping a boat to Spain will be difficult therefor.






It is very comparable to the Hobie FX-one at first glance, for example its mainsail area is almost exactly the same. However there are a few important differences :

The F16 boats are significantly lighter. I would say about 30 kg lighter. This is indeed significant when handling the boat on the beach.

The mast section, despite being aluminium, is lighter as well. When the masts were weight some 3 years ago we discovered the FX-one masts are 20.5 kg fully rigged while the alu F16 masts were 17 kg. Additionally the F16 class allows carbon masts. The stealth F16 has a carbon mast standard and that one weights overall only 14 kgs. It needs no further explanation that differences in mast weight can make a noticeable difference in the way a boat handles on the water.

The F16 class is a true formula class meaning that within a limited set of rules that control performance everything else is allowed. Currently there are 4 designs, by different builders, that adhere to this F16 rule set. Compare it to the F18 class. You are not forced to buy your replacement gear from a single supplier, You may do that but you may also shop around.

As a result of the formula setup and the allowance to replace parts by those made by other builders or suppliers the F16 designs see alot more development of their sails and fittings. This has lead to the situation where the complete rudder and daggerboard setup combined weigths only 7 kgs on F16's while the FX-one package is 12 kgs. Last weekend I had a Tiger sailor on my Taipan F16 and the thing he first commented on was how light and response my boat steered. That is the result of continuing development. The FX-one uses the Tiger rudder setup.





The F16 class features a 17.5 sq.mtr. asymmetric spinnaker, just like the FX-one. In principle the F16 comes standard as a doublehander while the FX-one comes standard as a doublehander. This means that the F16's are fitted with a selftacking rail and jib standard.

As far as I can tell, the F16's are (and have nearly always been) fitted with sails of well known brands. Think Ullman (UK / USA), Landenberger (Ger), Ashby (Aus) and Goodall (Aus). This is standard. Several other sailmakers have F16 designs because some sailors prefered to have sails made by them. Glaser sails (USA) is one of these, Redhead (Aus) and Irwin (Aus) are others. These sailmakers are in competition with eachother. Now you also know what is meant by development.

F16's allow a wide range of choices in the way of fabrication. You can choose to have an aluminium mast or a carbon mast. You can choose to have glass hulls, carbon hulls or Kevlar hulls. You can decide to have dacron sails, Pentex sails, Maxx sails or whatever cloth you want. Same for the spinnaker. You can have normal rudders or rudders with T-foils at the tips. You can have external or internal downhaul systems. And you can alter the control systems onboard as you see fit. All as long as you stay within the generally worded class rules that limit the boat performance to a equal level.

F16's and FX-one are the same overall width. The F16's are 5 mtr long while the FX-one is 5.22 mtr long. The mast height on both boats is the same at 8.5 mtr. The mainsail sizes are the same at 15 sq. mtr. The F16 jib is 3.70 sq. mtr. and I think the FX-one jib of the upgrade jib kit is 3.99 sq.mtr.

Under Texel and SCHRS (ISAF) the F16's are rated faster then the FX-one's by about 3% to 5%

The aluminium F16 masts are of the wingmast type (aerodynamically more efficient because of an eliptical front part), the FX-one masts are teardrop shaped in their crosssections (circular front parts).





Strangely enough several F16's are cheaper then the FX-one, despite usage of carbon and other more high tech materials and building methods.

F16's allow doublehanded and singlehanded racing in a single fleet. These two setups have proven over time to be very similar in all-out performance and hence race eachother first-in-wins in a single fleet.


Pretty much the FX-one is a good boat with the F16's being a little better in many respects. This situation will always be this way as the F16 class allows gradual development of the boat design while the FX-one is fixed in one particular state. I personally expect the gap to widen slowly over time. Personally I derive much sailing enjoyment because items are developped into better working versions. It is just very nice to sail a boat that is very responsive and accurate on its rudders and that for the same cost. This is the reason why 5 years ago I decided to go with the then infant F16's. I had test sailed the FX-one quite alot before that time as I was interested in that boat myself. Right now I feel the F16's are getting the upper hand. Their world wide spread is just better and like Rolf says it seems like the F16's are catching on now. AHPC is coming out with a totally new F16 design, while both Stealth and VectorWorks Marine are reporting increasing sales. I just welcomed two new F16's at my own club.

If class racing is really important to you and you buddies got FX-ones, then I would go that route. If you are looking for the next step up or are often sailing by yourself then I would advice you go for the best you can buy for the same amount of money.

If you have any specific question then ask them of us at the F16 forum at link :

http://www.catsailor.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=Fleet45

Good luck with your boat choice.

Wouter