Testimony

This past long week end, Thursday night to Monday evening, I had a lot of sailing trying to make something out of nothing but at one point Sunday I went from trying to make something out of nothing to trying to make nothing out of something. I had been barely motivating but then the wind hit from the north of Lake Heron, 6000 acres, 7000 foot elevation and 12 east of the continental divide, New Mexico. After a bit I found I was having to shift my thinking to heavy weather sailing and making all the depowering adjustments: down haul pretty hard but I still had another inch, outhaul maxed, sheet was tight but not really flattened - the sail had a little twist, rotator zeroed – dead center on the tramp, traveler was more than half way to the end stop. Finally I realized I had to pull the boards up half way (or two thirds of the way down the cut out in the dagger board). The Starboard board was easy because I was sitting on it, but I could no way cross the tramp without capsizing in a big way so I waited for a lull enough to point her up into the wind and jumped across the tramp, raised the board, and back into the trapeze. That stabilized the boat. I thought it was blowing 35 MPH in the gusts but may be it wasn’t?. There were 2 or 3 TheMightyHobie18 with two people on board with well over 300 pounds of beef, and 3 or 4 H16 that also had two people on board who were double trapping and flying hull. One H16 was upside down two thirds of the way across the lake and the sailors, father and son, were on their first sail. The conditions were ferocious and one of the TheMightyHobie18 and I hovered around coaching the over turned sailors on how to use the righting line and then how to grab the dolphin striker support bar to keep the boat from rolling on over to a new capsize. I made a lot of tacks sailing just below them during the lulls, which were probably 15 to 20 knots. They eventually got back on board, and eventually managed a tach sailing back on down to our beach head. I stayed out with the others for perhaps an hour and a half until the thunder head passed by and the wind fell off to near zero.

The reason I want to say all this is because when I purchased my Blade I was hoping that I could depower it enough to survive in heavy air. And survive I did, I was comfortably tacking and sailing, sailing faster than the others who’s skipper and crew far exceeded my 150 pounds, and their boats far exceeded mine at 240 pounds. I don’t know about the rest of the F16s but my Blade can take it and sail aggressively all the while. I went to bed quite tired and quite pleased with my self and my boat.

I think we have found a nice summary of why the newer designs like the A's, F18's and F16's are becoming popular at the expense of golden oldies. Sailing technology has really advanced over the last 3 decades and it is just not as nice sailing a 1976 TheMightyHobie18 as it is to sail a 2006 F16 !

The golden oldies had their day but it is going (or is already gone). Sailing a new Nacra 500 and comparing it to a H16 (old or new) will result in a similar conclusion. The sail design is just so much better on the newer boats; expanding the range of comfortable sailing significantly.

Good report thanks Will !

Wouter

It's a combination of the newer, better sails, light wing mast that you can feather into the wind, max out the downhaul, pulling the boards up was a big part of it and traveler down. You can really flatten the sail out and keep it under control I have found, sailing alone in big wind from time to time. Great summation and good on you for standing by the H16 and helping them get upright.

I have been amazed at the wind I have been able to survive on my Blade, all the stuff you talked about is key though, and you really want to max out that downhaul if you are racing uwpind, I found a "new gear" when I really, really cranked it on.

I pulled with both hands and bent my knees and did a stand-up squat, until the battens went backwards, then backed it off just a smidge, but I had to release some more every time I tacked, as the mast wouldn't come over if I didn't!

Yeah, it was bent. Seriously bent. But that sail was FLAT! Ask Andi. ;^) I love that mast! And the boat too. I think I'll go wash it...again.

When we started back in 2001 I remember some of us (incl. myself) being a bit anxious about the superwing mast. We weren't really sure on how she would stand up under spinnaker loads or the generally larger loads an F16 sees compared to a Taipan 4.9. Afterall, the F16's are wider and were intended for a little more crew weight. Not to forget that the larger squaretops would require higher leech loads (sheet loads); it all adds up.

After having kept an eye on the mast for the last 8 years I can say that she has stood up marvelously under any and all abuse (Alter Cup 2007 ?) that we have put her through. I don't think we have broken a single mast yet while sailing under the F16 specs. I know of only 3 masts were damaged/broken with two of these while handling her on the beach and dropping her and the third when putting a F18 size spinnaker (reaching almost to the mast head) and accidently letting the traveller go while being double trapped. I don't count these cases as no F16 mast can be designed to be strong enough to guarantee surviving under that. Doing so would then also mean sailing with a telegraph pole.

Yeah, I think the superwing mast to be one of the great miracles of the F16 class. Without her the class would not have been were it is now. And I feel she will stay with us for quite a while longer.

Wouter