Hi Folks,
I am thinking about getting an f18, but have not yet because of the crew weight. Its very difficult to find crew less than 150 lbs, and I weight 220..Currently I sail a Nacra 6.0na for that very reason.. ok, ok, I could slim down to 200, but still, that puts us at 350+gear (and thats IF I get a "light" 150lb crew). Realistically we would be 370-390lbs. Typical wind conditions here are anywhere from 5-10knots, with a few 10-15 days in the spring/fall.

Would we be at all competitive, or should I just forget it and get a Nacra20?
Dave

Hey Dave -

At 130 pounds, I'm plenty strong enough to deal with the Nacra 20, but don't weigh enough for any of the skippers around here. Guys like me and a lot of girlfriends and wives are glad to see the F18s growing. The F18 has a more manageable spinnaker for the fairer sex, too. Surely there are some women up there that would crew for you - or find some of those guys from up your way that I used to race on 5.5s back in the day. They were all less than 150, I think...

They need to do an advert like -

F18 - putting the women back into regatta parties for spinnaker fleets everywhere.

Hi Dave,

I use to race T's and have now bought a Capricorn F-18.

My crew and I will be racing with 407 lbs crew weight. Winter was unkind to us and are back in training and should get down to 365 lbs.

In the past on the T, we suffered a bit in the light stuff. But in a breeze and particularly on fresh downwinds.... We went like stink.

If you get down to 200, you should be able to find someone capable at 150 to 155 and be very competitive weight. Best to get the 200 on the wire hanging of the back in a downwind blow though.

Cheers

Dave,

I can speak from experience as Chris and I constantly crew my F18 at about 395 lbs. In 5knots or less, we can be competitive. In 5 to 10 knots we get murdered - when other teams start to fly a hull or get one person on the trapeze we really start to go in reverse. We've been working on our downwind technique in the lightish breeze and aren't loosing quite as much downwind in this stuff but upwind continues to be frustrating. That being said, Chris and I have had some great successes. We qualified for the Alter Cup last year on the F18 and we tied for first last weekend (but lost the tie breaker) with a competitive fleet of 6 boats. Unfortunately for us, the majority of the Alter Cup was sailed in 10knots or less and although we had terrific starts and were in the top three at most first A mark roundings, we would constantly slide backwards through each race. If the conditions are right, we can do very well. However, if we are going to continue to try and be competitive, we are going to sail the Nacra 20 more in the future - Chris just bought one David Mosley and I sailed the F18 North Americans together at a crew weight of 345lbs - and we were the 4th heaviest team out of 39 boats! Even then we felt at a little disadvantage in 5 to 10 knots which might actually indicate that there is some room for improvement in my boat setup for this wind strength.

The growth and competition within the F18 class is certainly inticing and I would really like to see you guys in it. However, if I were in your shoes and choosing between a Nacra 20 and F18 and with the likelyhood of constantly crewing the boat in excess of 350lbs (more like 370), I would lean heavily (pun intended) toward the Nacra 20.

I'm in complete agreement with Jake. In light air it's no big deal. In heavy air you can go just as fast but if the wind gets to 5-12 you are hosed. They fly a hull before you. They get single trapped while you sit on the hull. Then they get double trapped while you are single trapped. If you are going to race with a crew weight at or above 350 you need to sail a Nacra 20. 350 is the perfect weight for a Nacra 20. Plus you can sail the Nacra 20 with up to about 400 lbs and not be able to notice a disadvantage.

This is coming from a guy that owns a Hobie Tiger and a Nacra 20.

Mike Hill

Yep, I'm with Mike and Jake on this. I sail consistently between 345 and 355 and Mike and Jake are spot on. I also have a N20 and a F18.

Dave

This is, apparently, the ultimate combination!

H-16, F-18, N-20 Oh yeah & a F31R

seriously the boys Mike, Jake & Dave Are RIGHT ON!!!!

Okay I FINALLY have to call a BS on this quote. To say the front of an F18 is easier than the N20 is just rubbish!

The part that kicks your butt is the set and take down. In my opinion the effort required to do this on the 20 and 18 is the same. Sure you get a slight break trimming but it aint enough to say it's easier!

If you're deciding between these two boats do not think for a second that your crew is going to get a break on the F18 compared to the N20. Now, if you use this as an arguement (it's easier) to get sweetness on the front of the boat then you are on your own!

Dingram

Best strategy to date: Put sweetness on the tiller, and YOU pull the strings. Someone said in an earlier post that you need to put the WEIGHT on the wire. Besides, you could flex like ARNOLD while barking directions to your skipper...

So, always pick a crew that outweighs you, and determine which boat you need on that presumption!

If I keep eating, I'm going to need a Formula 40 in no time!

You mean like this !




Might be a mighty big step for most men.

Wouter

Why in the HELL would I want to pull the strings... that job SUCKS! I currently do the least amount of work and get the most credit when things go right, and everyone knows if you aren't fast it's the fault of the crew.

Again, why would I want to be crew again?

Becouse every good skipper know that a boat isn't fast unless the crew works as a team? Without a good "string-puller", you are definately going to be slow anyway..

In fact, the longer I sail two up, the more I appreciate the teamwork element of sailing a boat together. As it is, I dont care much wether I helm or run the sails, both are fun, but trimming sails are definately more physical.


When Elvstrøm sailed the olympics on the Tornado with his daughter, he steered from the trapeze while Trine trimmed sails. This was before the T's had a double trapezee, so it made sense for him to put as much weight out there as possible. I guess they did something funky with the sheets, to help Trine sheet in while sitting in there.

I have sailed the Tornado in a regatta with my sister once. She was 68kg's at the time, and super-fit (world class female wrestler). She required some help to sheet the spi, but did the main alone. Loads are not that much lighter on a F-18 (and isn't purchase on sheets regulated?) so I imagine the regular female would make the team faster if put on the helm instead of pushing her trough "the workout from hell" every time you go out in a breeze?

There are some mixed Tornado teams in Europe now. One of the better one's are former dutch Europe class sailor Carolijn Brouwer and Sebastien Godefroid. Guess what the former Europe class sailor does onboard?

HAHAAH - that was a good laugh!

yeah, I know. The post was meant as a joke.

But... I'm still not getting on the front of the boat.

Ding's right

I QUIT!
:P

I'm a whore. I don't care where I am on the boat or who's boat it is - I just wanna sail.

Dave - nothing against you or your wife, bud, but until the F18 came along, every Nacra regatta party I went to was a dick forest. Now we have more than one chick boat racing, and several husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend teams. Do the math - agree on the difference in effort or not, there ain't no arguing with the numbers.

ah... to be young dumb and full of ...

A wife named bud? Must live in Lake County. Shirley, you must be kidding.