That cuts both ways Ding.
For the sake of the Hobie 16 class, I sure hope it is not on the shortlist.
I am not certain if being compared to the laser is something positive or negative.

I'm a simple guy with simple needs, it was in no way a dig at either boat! Grew up sailing a Laser and may wrap things up in the masters Laser class.

I'm a bit of a fan of the Laser and I don't see how the Olympics has hurt the class.

as per the ioc request a few years back they want high speed and excitind "Visually appealing " cat class. to me that would have to be a f-18 i-20 f-16 style race od spin class.

"F" boats are out and if they go that way then they will simply keep the "T" which I wouldn't mind one bit.

Hobie 16 w/ spin in a breeze sailed by the best in the world... come on, you wouldn't watch that? Anything at Qingdao or a venue like Qingdao is going to be a yawn.

Hmmm... watch the races at Qingdao or watch my grass grow... tough call.

I'm still saying that with the number of people betting on light air...it's going to crank. That's how it works.

What's the over under?

That was what happened with the 1988 games in Korea. The sailing event at Pusan was really windy even if everybody had said it would be no wind. Conditions in Qingdao are different though, but one never knows <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

If there is a multihull in the 2016 games, I think it will be a one design based on an existing F18 model. Hobie Tiger, NACRA Infusion or similar. The H16 would be a tough sell, based on feelings not numbers or performance. The Tornado was dropped becouse of feelings, so I think that will be how it works out. If it works out.. The T is out for good with the way the selection process and the aftermath was handled.

I'll watch the Tornado footage anyway, as long as they are sailing. Dont expect to get much coverage so it will not be time consuming.

Why should we replace the Tornado with a slower boat that is heavier and "low tech"? The price of the boat is not that critical, it's the quality, reliability and how long you can race it before it gets "soft" that counts for an olympic campain.

They replaced the FD with the 49er (faster and more refined) but why should the multihull go the other way?


/hakan

I got around F-18's the other day. Some infusions, Inter 18's and Tigers. All of them were pretty well thought out rigs, but what surprised me first of all was the weight. I think they were around 420# A Tornado at minimun is 280# with being a larger, more stable platform. I am sure that the F-18 class has its own minimum wieght, but with the ability to produce boats that are strong yet light weight, this still surprises me. If there is an 11th event added to 2012, which is not all that probable, then the Tornado would probably be the boat. For 2016, I think you will see one SMOD or another. The NBC poll is at 86% right now to retain the Tornado for the next Olympics, not that it matters.

How about using a different catamaran at every Olympics? Take the top classes and use them.

Hakan,

unfortunately it is not the likes of you and me who makes the decisions. Who knows what arguments ISAF Executive Council listens to and what agendas are played out the next time over..

Personally I agree with others that Olympic selection of your class is bad for the class; that is untill ISAF/IOC get with the program and allow a full formula based multihull sailing event, not some SMOD derivative. But even then the benefits to a class could be a mixed bag.

I the world was perfect then I would like to see full F18 as the mens event, this is just by far the best class for 2-up multihull racing at this event with by far the best market penetration and even affordable to poorer nations.

For the women the F16 might well be a very good choice, surely better then the SL16 or Hobie 16. The women should have their own fully blown race boat and not be shoved aside with a H16 when the guys are doing F18. Having said this the F16 will not be selected because of political and financial entanglements inside ISAF with respect to H16 and SL16 and I don't believe the F16 class would be in favour of olympic selection either. I think the A-cat example (refusing to be selected) is well remembered in this class. I believe the A's refused because they didn't find the SMOD requirement compatible with their class philosophy and I fully agree on that. For example selecting the Hobie Tiger as the Olympic boat will be bad for the F18 class by absolutely favouring one builder over the others especially in sales (financial cloud); this inequality will empower Hobie cat to the point where it can dominate the class and in time they will start acting like the emporer. NOT GOOD ! No formula class can accept this and expect to come out undamaged. The achilles heel of formula classes is the balancing between builders. AFterall the tornado class was a multibuilder class till Marstrom became the favoured builder and killed all others.

Wouter