There are a number of us in the UK moving to A-Classes from double-handers, but we lack collective knowledge about the various options available. For example there seem to be various mast/sail options. Could somebody summarise or point at a summary... I'm 80Kg.

why A class when there are more established fleets (allbeit not at mumbles) ?

There is a huge, popular European website in any European language you choose, and many sailors all over.
There is a USACA website with lots of information, but it is written in American. Australian websites exist too.

Hi Colin,
Having been at the top of the Irish F18 scene for the last few years, Rob Doyle from Cork has moved to an A Class. He did a lot of research before buying on the Continent.
Contact me if you want his number or email address.
Dermot.

What about a Shadow, then you have the spinnaker option. Talk to Tim Swinburn.

Colin,

Don't forget to support your local builder and go with a stealth, they are built in Pembrokeshire!.

Get in contact with John from stealth marine he should be able to give you some advice.

http://www.stealthmarine.co.uk

Gareth

edit
Sorry dumb post, stealth build f16 not A class, I guess there is a difference.

Hi Gareth, have been talking to JP... it's a possibility...

I want a non-spinnaker light single-hander that compares to F18 over the water. Will not be travelling often.

Thanks Dermot; will email you...

Well then it really is an A then, and you should do more than compete, you should be ahead !

>>edit
>>Sorry dumb post, stealth build f16 not A class, I guess there is a difference.


Stealth marine is offering an A-cat as well, so you post was actually far closer to the mark then you initially thought.

Wouter

>>I want a non-spinnaker light single-hander that compares to F18 over the water. Will not be travelling often.


This is going to be a difficult criterium to satisfy. Even the A-cat is not really well suited to this even though it is the fastest non-spinnaker singlehander.

Problem area's :

-1- No spi, you are (very) likely to loose more on the downwind legs than you can win upwind.
-2- Narrow width. In double trapeze conditions you will have significantly more problems staying ahead on the upwind as well.

At least those are the experiences while racing in my neck of the woods but we arguable have a significant amount of 10-15 knots wind days which is rather ideal for F18's

But sure the A is very fast and with a capable sailor you can stay ahead of most. Just take note that the Texel and ISAF rating are (very) skewed when comparing doublehander spi boats with singlehander spinnakerless boats. This comparison is the most skewed you can find. Under handicap you'll be struggling.

Wouter

Hi Wouter,

We have over 10 F18s sailing locally now (including me) hence the desire to be 'as fast as them' when I move to a single hander. I don't really mind if I'm always the last boat as long as I can mix it at some stage of the race. A lot of my sailing will be done alone during the week - hence the boat change...

>>We have over 10 F18s sailing locally now (including me) hence the desire to be 'as fast as them' when I move to a single hander. I don't really mind if I'm always the last boat as long as I can mix it at some stage of the race. A lot of my sailing will be done alone during the week - hence the boat change...

You'll be ahead from time to time. The thing we would locally here is that we can predict when the A-cat is very likely to will win and when the F18 will win. The two boat react differently to the conditions and their individual peaks are found when the other have a dip.

The sailing will be alot of fun but the racing will be a bit on-off.

Wouter

What is the difference between an A class and an F16, is it just the rig set up?

Totally different - the A-class is 18 feet long whereas the F16 is 16 feet long. A-class minimum boat weight (someone correct me) I think is measly 185lbs...F16 is more. There are not many similarities in construction.

Jake answered it partly right :

here the specs of each boat to show you the differences ;

A-cat
Weight 75 kg = 165,5 lbs
Length = 5.49 mtr = 18 foot
Width = 2.30 mtr = 7 ft 7 inches
Mainsail = 13.86 sq.mtr. (150 sq. ft.) including the mast on a (on average) 9 mtr mast (29' 7")
No jib
No spinnaker
Typically carbon beams and mast and all kinds of other HT stuff
Rating Texel = 99 (F18 is 102)
Strongpoint : upwind work in 3-14 knots


F16 (singlehanded)
Weight 104 kg = 229.5 lbs
Length = 5.00 mtr = 16 foot 5 inches
Width = 2.50 mtr = 8 ft 2 inches
Mainsail = 14.85 sq.mtr. including the mast on a 8.5 mtr mast = 161 sq. ft on 28 ft mast
Jib sail (only in doublehanded mode) = 3.65 sq. mtr. by 5.5 mtr luff = 39 sq.ft. on 18 ft luff
Spinnaker = 17.5 sq. mtr. = 188 sq.ft.
Typically less HT gear. mostly stuff that does the trick for an acceptable price
Rating Texel = 102 (F18 is 102)
Strongpoint : Downwind work under spinnaker and upwind work in 10-20 knots (Applies to both doublehanded and singlehanded setups.


Wouter

Colin,
I sail a Boyer Mark 4 with a Hall Mast and Goodall sail in Bristol RI, USA. I am very new to the A-class so my opinions are a bit suspect but here goes.

Platform: The Flyer platform seems to be the most popular and successful around here. I think all of them are Boyer manufactured Flyers. Locally we have Flyers, a Melvin A2, Several Boyer Mark 4’s and a Mark 3 and a Bimarre XJ nearby. Most of the better sailors have opted for the Flyer. I am incredibly impressed with the build quality of the Boyer boats

Rigs: Because Hall Spars is very close and Ben hall sails here, Hall masts predominate in this area. The build quality of these masts seems to be excellent. The masts come in several stiffness levels depending on skipper’s weight. Most people are using proctor spreaders; a few have custom carbon stuff.

Sails are a mixture. Goodall, Smyth, Ulman, Irwin, Ashby are represented here. My observation is that the Goodall is flatter on top then most of the other sails. It seems very fast upwind when the wind is up, not so good in lighter stuff. I weigh 75 kilo’s.

If I had the cash to buy a new boat today, here is what it would be:

Boyer Flyer Platform, mast and rigging from Hall Spars built for my weight, and an Ashby Mainsail.

Good Luck whatever you buy, a cats are awesome machines and a true joy to sail.

Eric Anderson
US 128

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the info; the more I look at the A-Class the more I think it's the boat for me; I can't wait to get my hands on one... just have to sell the F18, which is proving harder then I imagined...

CJ

I did a quick calculation for ISAF (at 75Kg boat weight) and came up with 0.97 (F18 = 1.01) - Ouch...

CJ