Hi All

I think the that fact that Jim is not selling the Taipan moulds says a little more than what you might believe. The fact that there are three builders willing to produce the hulls for the Australian market says a fair bit. I realise that it doesn't look as good internationally, unless there is an order for three boats at any one time.

The fact that the tornado, mosquito, foils and some of the a class moulds are the ones being sold, may reflect this.

I know some would like to see the Taipan fade out, and internationally it may very well do that. But as has been pointed out on both the F16 and open forums, the Australian market, the place of conception if you will, continues to support a fantastic, modern (and it still is), Australian design.

I believe that you have to look at the broader picture, the Taipan OD, doesn't have to and hasn't hung its hopes on the F16 Class, in order to survive. In many ways it similiar to the Mosquito, not really a international class, although I am fully aware of its strength in South Africa, but the class is cruising along nicely at the moment, and not just because of the introduction of spinnakers to a number of its members.

As with Blade, Taipan, Mosquito and several other classes, you will always be able to build the boats with plans, this in itself will keep classes alive, now when you build a boat at home you can be as competitive as the next person, and for many years, which makes homebuilding in my opinion a more attractive proposition for the future.

Anyway I'm not taking anything away from F16 or the new Viper 16, just a little reminder that classes like the TaipanOD and a long way off dying out, if that were the case there wouldn't be any TaipanF16 sailing around either, the owners would have moved on to the newer designs.

Now I realise I haven't always seen eye to eye F16 wise, however I do support what you're trying to achieve, building up numbers for the class, and introducing new designs to keep the F16 at the forefront. But it sometimes, just a little bit, every now and then, surprises me of the members who contribute to the possibility of a class going under, when they themselves competitively sail the designs in question, even if they do differ in terms of rig and setup. At the end of the day, and whether its seen this way or not, we are both sitting on the windward taipan hull.

If the TaipanOD, decides in the future that F16 is the way to go, then it will have my full support, but at the moment, the class is happy and healthy, and we will continue to have fun, race competitively, and enjoy our sailing.

Regards