Hi all,
long time no F16 post. Somebody mentioned I might find this post of interest, Deja-Vu perhaps
. Interesting to see many of the same old crew still here
.
What is the best design for F16 one up?
Mosquito if you are 75kg or less
But seriously, despite what the manafacturers might say, I believe to have a chance of beating 2 up F16s in a variety of conditions, a optimised platform is neccessary
, something like a short 'A' but fatter, or a skinny Blade etc. and minimum weight hulls and mast is essential.
The fastest F16 I have sailed upwind was "Altered" with minimal volume it cut through waves and a minimum weight mast it didn't hobby horse upwind
, which I found a problem on the Blade with the Superwing mast, the bow rose over the waves and started the rocking motion, which the mast continued
. Downwind on "Altered" it was a different matter, with the lack of volume leading to nosediving and beam slapping in waves
. But the Blades volume at the front can cause trouble down wind as well, again rising over waves and setting up a rocking motion that caused rear beam slapping, that threw the bow down into the troughs causing nose diving
.
So my theory is the happy medium has to be somewhere in between, with plenty of freeboard and clearance under the beams, as it is hard for one person to move around quickly and change the trim, when they are steering and sheeting the spinnaker. Hopefully we will see it one day, but not for me, I am too light and too old
. But seriously a one up F16 has to be a big mans boat, I found F16 one up most succesful when I was 90kg plus.
On the subject of Pole length, I reckon up to .5m less than max is ok, thats what I had on "Altered" and it balanced really well. My theory is the two up needs longer pole partly to keep more spinnaker clear of the jib.
Thats my thoughts anyway, now I will just crawl back under my Mosquito rock
.
