Also, weren't some talking about the boat being cartoppable?
Yes, isn't this far more determine by platform weight then length ?
Currently the platform (now rig and rudders etc) is 40 kg with stirdy hulls. Again a optimist hull is 35 kg and alot of parent car top that.
I think there is a major disconnect here between the concept of Formula 12 and the concept of designing a new boat for young kids.
Please elaborate.
But also note that from the beginning a large part of the group didn't specify YOUNG children as the target group while another part did. Personally I don't see much point at all in having YOUNG children (6-11) singlehanding a sailboat. I think they much rather sail doublehanded and even a much smaller boat like the optimist isn't very suited to them. And then to top things off they grow into full sized (thrill seeking) teenagers in the span of only a few years.
If the F12 is aimed (solely) at young kids then it will be a bad feeder into larger cat classes as they will come off it at age 12 and 50 kg which is too young and light for the larger cat classes like the Hobie 16 etc.
Even you yourself wanted to sail an F12 to catch up with the kids on their waves. That is impossible if the F12 is optimized for 6-11 year olds. You will need a powerboat to catch up with them then.
All that for only 10 inches difference in hull length. I'm not sure if that is a wise decision.
Wouter
