You may find many of your questions answered on the following (archived) posts:

Post 1

Post2

You'll need 170 lbs (+/- 5 lbs depending on wind) to right the Blade. I'm just at 170 lbs and use Tom Shannon's ATRS (Alabama Trash Righting System....a large commercial trash bag) that I fill with water (several gallons or you risk bursting the bag) pulled onto your lap and Voila' ... a righted cat.

You can contact VectorWorks Marine, to inquire about current pricing ...321-269-8444. Ask for Matt McDonald.

For the Taipan you can contact Jill Nickerson, 727-734-0799, at Sun and Fun. They distribute the AHPC Taipan in N.A.

These are the two most popular F16's in the U.S.


If you live in FL, there is the Alter Area D qualifier this weekend in Gulfport (St. Petersburg) where several Blades and Taipans will be competing (F16 class) as well as other classes.

I was a previous H17 sailor and chose the F16 class based upon flexibility of sailing uni or sloop. In the US we use the same Portsmouth rating for both. In uni-mode we fly a main and spi', for sloop a main, jib and spi'.

There is no minimum crew weight:

1.9 Minimum weight of the crew


1.9.1 There will be no other restrictions on crew weight apart from the requirement that the crew weight must be sufficient to right the boat unaided under all encountered sailing conditions.


Others more experienced with wind conditions can best answer your questions about controlability of the boat.