Eric,

Yes, the price is very important for almost all of us. Unfortunately, often the best cats have to be shipped half-way around the earth to get to us.

Maybe one should learn from some dinghy designers who have been successful in promoting their classes by letting builders on other continents take care of production.

And, yes the Taipan 5.7 is extremely nice to sail. It shows that expert design + craftmanship result in a super fast boat at a reasonable price. We found it was almost the same price as a Hobie Tiger F18 when we bought it in Europe (Holland). Maybe the US dealer did a lousy job at the time?

A problem for the 5.7 was the Australian class assoc, who did not welcome necessary developments like self-tacking jib etc.

Stein