Knowing Marc (as I do), his comment was never meant to be unfriendly - more a humorous observation on how much a fancy new boat costs relative to the old wrecks many of us sail.

Please don't be offended.

Chris.

The only boat that more or less fits your decribtion is the Taipan 5.7

It is 135 kg (300 lbs) unlike any other boat of this 18 by 8,6 size, many will tell you their boat is 300 lbs but it isn;t. You have to read the fine print guys. Example

--name removed-- Uni Rig
Minimum Weight: 285 lbs. (129.27 kg)*

Then we read the *

* Weights do not include sails or spinnaker rigging

Then we look at :

--name removed-- Sloop Rig
Minimum Weight: 300 lbs. (136.08 kg)*


Huhh. Jib setup weights in at 7 kg 's = 15 ?

Anyway add at least 7 kg for the mainsail with battens and 5 kg for the spinnaker and you get = 142,27 kg = 314 lbs There goes you 300 lbs limit

Taipan 5.9 weights sloop rigged no spi 136 kg's (independent Texel measurement); leave the jib and put a spi on you arrive at some 138 kg's. If the quote of 7 kg's has any truth in it than the Taipan 5.7 will even come out at 134 kg = 296 lbs .

Besides 17.2 sq. mtr. main = 185 sq. ft. is already to much for a singlehander at 8'6" anyway.

Come to think of it there is one other boat that really would fit your bill ; the 18 squares !

18 foot 10 ft wide (you can make this less if your want but you'll like it in anything above windforce 3) 18 sq. mtr of mainsail. Takes a spi well according to some here who have tried it and if you are willing to pay the money then a 100 kg ex spi platform kan be had (= 221 lbs ex spi). The thing will definately be faster than the FX-one and I-17.

It will be a one of 18 sq though as nacra builds them at 350 lbs I believe.

Apart from that any smaller doublehander will take your weight well; best would be one with enough sailarea in the mainsail.

M20 or something like it alone ? I wouldn't do it. To expensive and when alone on the wire you be surprised how much speed you lose in the stronger winds (4 and higher). When you sail on a lake with no wind that you could sail playstation singlehandedly, so sailarea (High aspected one) is king there. So their no point in favouring one designed singlehander there as they mostly have the same mastheigts anyway. I-17 and A-cat at 9 mtr and all others FX-one, Taipan, F16, ARC-17 have 8.5 mtr.

Wouter

Hi Conrad,
Just so you know: Most Olympic classes allow variations in sail cut to accomodate variations in sailor's weight. As we all know "people are not one design". It has been proven in many different classes for at least 50 years that allowing the sailors to tailor the sail cut to their weight results in tighter competition and is totally consistent with the intent of one design sailboat racing. Forcing all sailors to use the same sail cut and mast stiffness allows variations in sailor's weight to have a greater effect on race outcome and it also makes more money for the boat company. How to handle this question depends on your goal, more money for one company or better racing.
Bill

NACRA had put out the 5.5 uni "Max" not too long ago for just such a purpose I believe. Don't know if they ever sold any, odd given that there would seem to be a market... I remember seeing that it was dropped from the lineup.

The 18 Squares are interesting, but you've got that whole "wide boat" thing to deal with.

Thanks to Richard Lemke I've got a sales sheet on one of the few factory 18 squares, the NACRA 5.5, I think this is the one Keith referred to as the Max.
NACRA 5.5, factory 18 Square

I don't believe the Max was for the 18 sq formula, and it was actually a fairly recent (within the last couple of years) model. I thought it was only fairly recently that I had heard about it being discontinued - although again I don't know if they actually sold one. For a little while I think there was even a PN assigned to it.

well, then why cannot marc post an appology or rebuttal.....

probably because the original post was never meant in malice.

Want to sail a boat with no weight penalty? Try an International Canoe. World champ Steve Clark tips scales at around 245; Number two at worlds Anders Petersson is a buck fifty dripping wet, gear and all. And a decent one won't cost you 15K (good used boats go for more like 6K), although you could certainly spend 15K on a fancy one if it's important to you! Cheers -

Hobie 18SX: now there was a trip. These were sent out brand new from the factory for 1988 Nationals at Lake Erie without their wings. After the windstorm on the first practice day...there were no battens either! The sails had been built with flimsy Windsurfer straps for batten adjusters. With the taller masts and more sail area, they pitchpoled and/or capsized much more easily. The bottom of the bay must have looked like a fiberglass forest! They leaked excessively too, which took days to fix. Did their ratings ever get lower than the Hobie 18? Taller mast and more sail area does not always make a better sailboat.

The H18SX without a spinnaker rates the same as a regular TheMightyHobie18 Magnum - making it fun for untalented folk like me to sail in portsmouth class distance races. The boat seems to go faster than a regular TheMightyHobie18 to me.

Funnily enough mine leaked when I first got it second hand (virtually new). The deck to hull seam was separating (not enough resin I guess). Seems to hold up OK now....

Chris.