I was just reading my new issue of Catamaran Sailor and the minutes of the US Sailing meeting, they list the Blade as the boat for the 2007 Alter Cup to be sailed at the Melborne (Florida) Yacht Club! Good on ya Matt! I volunteer to help out with race comittee duties.

There is also a great article by Phil Brander on building a Blade from Plywood. Good stuff Phil.

Missed that piece in there, Guess that will mean a few Demo Blades on the Market? Will be a Huge opportunity to jumpstart the class!
Smart Marketing Mr.McDonald
Hope all that pays off.
CARY

I guess we are talking about the Blade F16 here and not the Blade F18.

I still dare not believe it myself. If true this would be such good news. Will make the invested time and effort over the past few years all worth while !

I'm checking up on this claim, I sure need to know for certain.

But if so, then WOW !!!


Wouter

Wouter,
It was in the minutes from the US Sailing Multihull Council annual meeting that a bid has been received from Melbourne (Florida) Yacht Club to host the 2007 Alter Cup and that Vector Marine will supply 11 new Blade F16's.

It is hard to imagine that the bid will be turned down.

Will the Blades be for sale after the Alter Cup? Any idea on price if they are?

Generally the idea is that the boats ae sold as demos, sometimes several thousand dollars cheaper than buying a new one. In the past they have been under warranty but are in "as is" condition. I think the way it works is if you have pre-purchased one, you get "pick of the Litter" to some degree. If you show up on the spot, you may get a better deal but not the top boat selection. Just think of trying to deal with that inventory after an event. Can imagine trying to take 11 boats back to Vectorworks.
They did that with the Mystere 4.3's several years ago, a $4000 boat cost $2800 purchased ahead of time. Most all were spoken for. Don't know with all the difference in price it will be so easy for so many to shell out >10K. Lot easier to come up with $2800. We'll see how it turns out, there will be a lot more traffic and speculation on that as the event comes closer.
Great way to jump start a class, hope it all comes to pass. That will be the true beginning of the F-16 class in America. Most of the guys who qualify are the best of the best would sure kick the Portsmouths if all them bought into the class.
What I want to know is:
[color:"red"] [/color] WHY ONLY 11 BOATS?? [color:"black"] [/color] aren't there more participants than that??
CARY
WHY ONLY 11 BOATS?????