| Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US?
[Re: seaspraySteve]
#67018 03/31/06 10:10 PM 03/31/06 10:10 PM |
Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 7 So. California, US seaspraySteve OP
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Posts: 7 So. California, US | F16's w/spin purchased in the US, not including crating/shipping, range from $13.4K (w/CF foils) to $15k. What if AO F14 could be purchased for, say $10.7K, plus shipping? Option 1: put together a multiple factory purchase which should also reduce shipping costs per boat. Option 2: have it built in the US. Talks are underway with possible domestic manufacturor, cost of materials suggests building multiple sets of hulls at a time. Alternative: finish it yourself F14 kits. Starter kit might be just the hulls, with everything else an option from same supplier or your choice of sources. Example, domestic sail lofts for sails & tramps (2 near me build A Class and Formula 16 sails). We would need a source for the masts/spars (A Class wing section, 25', boom, cross beams). Either solution begs the question, how many are ready to buy one of these fun boats we see flying on Darryl's DVDs?
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| | | Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US?
[Re: seaspraySteve]
#67019 04/05/06 07:42 PM 04/05/06 07:42 PM |
Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 7 So. California, US seaspraySteve OP
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Posts: 7 So. California, US | see my last post, is $10,800 USD, plus shipping, too much for a new AO F14? If yes, need domestic source for the 25' wing section mast (ref: A Class), Hall only makes the full sized version (30'), and blanks start at $2500.
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| | | Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US?
[Re: seaspraySteve]
#67020 04/05/06 11:01 PM 04/05/06 11:01 PM | Anonymous
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Unregistered | Question is what is shipping to the US and is there any duty or import tax? | | | Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US? really?
[Re: Seeker]
#67021 05/14/06 09:26 AM 05/14/06 09:26 AM |
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 337 Victoria, Australia C2 Mike
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Posts: 337 Victoria, Australia | We have been so conditioned to think bigger is better…but is it really? You know what they say…a boats frequency of use is inversely proportional to its size. In other words, the smaller it is the more it is used. Maybe we should be putting our energy into getting top performance out of the smallest possible package.
Regards, Seeker
Hi there, I agree with this to a point. As far as F14, 16 or 18 is the boat for you, it depends a lot on your local and individual conditions. For me and my area, my crew and I are around 165kg, sail in everything from dead flat drifters to 3m swell + a real ugly chop and 30+ kts and therefore an F18 is the boat for us. If I had a smaller crew and was sailing on a lake or some area with less chop maybe a F16 would be the go. On the other hand, if I lost 20kg and were sailing alone (once again on a lake or similar) it would be a difficult decision between the F14 & 16. I seriously doubt that there would be many differences between the three in number of sailing days per year. Just as a yardstick we have had around 80 sailing days this past 12 months on the Tiger. Reaper | | | Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US? really?
[Re: C2 Mike]
#67022 05/14/06 01:37 PM 05/14/06 01:37 PM |
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 461 Sydney Australia Berny
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Posts: 461 Sydney Australia | Thing is with the F14, it is the only spinnaker boat I can think of which can reasonably be campaigned by one person i.e., be loaded on and of the trailer, rigged, launched and retrieved, and in many cases, kept in the shed / garage / driveway at home, and there are no crew hassles. They are also somewhat easier and cheaper to tow on the road than are bigger boats. Biggest worry till now has been that 14ft cats have not been considered big enough to be taken seriously but with the much improved performance of the more recent boats, and their unique attraction as single handed boat with spinnaker, they are now a much more reasonable proposition.
Last edited by Berny; 05/14/06 03:42 PM.
| | | Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US? really?
[Re: Berny]
#67023 05/15/06 02:46 PM 05/15/06 02:46 PM |
Joined: Apr 2002 Posts: 695 Ft. Pierce, Fl. USA Seeker
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Posts: 695 Ft. Pierce, Fl. USA | “For me and my area, my crew and I are around 165kg, sail in everything from dead flat drifters to 3m swell + a real ugly chop and 30+ kts and therefore an F18 is the boat for us.”
If I had a smaller crew and was sailing on a lake or some area with less chop maybe a F16 would be the go.
On the other hand, if I lost 20kg and were sailing alone (once again on a lake or similar) it would be a difficult decision between the F14 & 16.”
>>>First of all I solute you if you can sail any beach cat in a true sustained 30+kts, with any degree of control or survival. 30+knts on a 7’-10” X 20” high wind sailboard is a handful (and fun) for the experienced…let alone a catamaran…maybe you exaggerated a bit…LOL…maybe more than a bit….LOL… If you are inclined to exaggerate as much as my windsurfing buddies 30 knts is usually read as 22-25 mph on the wind gauge….LOL and when it’s truly blowing 30 knots they swear up and down it’s 50 mph…LOL If you truly are that good, my apologies…
>>>It’s funny you and I are looking at the F-14 platform from opposite perspectives. …I personally would rather be on a smaller platform when in high winds, heavy seas, and on a larger one in lighter winds… I use to love riding, (and on rare occasions) jumping waves in the mouth of our inlet and offshore reefs with my Hobie 14…it was a drag when the wind was light…but once the wind came up it was a blast.
>>>I can see why you would like to share the experience with a crew if they were up to the task. I agree that your equipment of choice might increase your versatility.
>>>Personally I would rather be out with a couple of F-14’s, instead on one F-18. To me it would kind of be like surfing VS surfing tandem. It’s just more fun when you are on a platform that is lighter and more responsive.
>>>Of course I am talking about playing around in the swells (in the Atlantic Ocean in my case), not racing. To me “high performance playing around” is way under rated by the sailing community, and “racing” is way over rated. The impromptu racing that happens every time two boats meet on the water satisfies any racing needs I might have…LOL
>>>There is another potential here that hasn’t been touch upon…making an F-14 that can be quickly broken down and set up. With a Minimum weight of 60 kg, the parts could be easily shuttled to and from the beach and assembled by a single person. About the same as carrying two kayaks down to the beach. In essences, if you could windsurf a spot, you could sail it with your F-14. Two adults could carry the assembled hulls/deck beams /tramp/rudders in one trip. This could open up a lot of coast that is not currently open to Catamarans.
>>>This might not be a factor in your area, but where I live there is no way to Ocean launch from the beach because of Sea Turtle protection. If you can carry it down to the waters edge everything is fine…but there is no way to move a 400 lb assembled boat from the parking lot to the water (unless you are going to bring six people to carry it in the soft sand…no cat trax...and if you could find a place wide enough for it to pass thru.) The alternative is to sail it out the inlet which was fine years ago (like I did with my h-14)…but now when the fishing tournaments have as many as 400 boats (plus at least that many in normal traffic) it is hard to thread the needle with a power boat let alone a un-powered sailboat. Add to the mix trying to tack into the predominately on-shore wind, and tacking against a 5 mph tide when it is comming in. You soon come to the reality that there is no where to go in this constricted waterway.
>>>Regards, >>>Bob | | | Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US? really?
[Re: Seeker]
#67024 05/16/06 09:26 AM 05/16/06 09:26 AM |
Joined: Apr 2002 Posts: 591 Bradenton, FL Sycho15
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Posts: 591 Bradenton, FL | You shouldn't have to break an F14 apart much to carry it to the water. Two people could easily lift the assembled platform (likely a fully assembled boat) and walk it to the water.
We're only talking ~150lbs here. If it wasn't so large and awkward one person could just pick it up and walk it to the water.
G-Cat 5.7M #583 (sail # currently 100) in Bradenton, FL
Hobie 14T
| | | Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US? really?
[Re: Berny]
#67026 05/16/06 05:31 PM 05/16/06 05:31 PM |
Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 7 So. California, US seaspraySteve OP
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Posts: 7 So. California, US | Last I checked and the exchange rate was slightly better, a Darryl built AO F14 without sails was just under $11k USD, plus shipping. Got an estimate for main and spin from a local loft that makes A Class and Tornado sails...main $1200, spin $800 plus battens. This puts an AO F14 at about the starting price for a US built Blade F16. We need a US builder, I'm told Vectorworks declined, and the builder I'm working with in Calif is taking a long time to find small amounts of perishible materials (CF, Vynlester, etc). It would be easier if we could order 5-10 sets of hulls at a time. Will post again if/when I make progress.
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| | | Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US? really?
[Re: Berny]
#67029 05/17/06 03:57 PM 05/17/06 03:57 PM |
Joined: Apr 2002 Posts: 591 Bradenton, FL Sycho15
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Posts: 591 Bradenton, FL | One person carrying 150lbs any distance over sand????!!!! The 'Terminator' maybe. Not me though. I've carried two girls across the beach before, one under each arm. They weighed ~105lbs each. Of course, it was much less awkward than trying to carry a 14x8' boat.
G-Cat 5.7M #583 (sail # currently 100) in Bradenton, FL
Hobie 14T
| | | Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US? really?
[Re: Berny]
#67031 05/17/06 07:14 PM 05/17/06 07:14 PM |
Joined: Apr 2002 Posts: 591 Bradenton, FL Sycho15
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Posts: 591 Bradenton, FL | Not at all, I was ~ 18-19 years old and all of 150lbs. I had taken them out sailing and they didn't want to get their feet sandy before getting in their dad's (very expensive) car to go to the restaurant.
Now that I think about it, it may have been one over each shoulder, not under each arm... it was a while ago and my memory isn't as good on details as I wish it was. I do remember it tired me out some and it took me longer than usual to put the G-Cat on the Cat-Trax and wheel it up the beach to my tie-down.
G-Cat 5.7M #583 (sail # currently 100) in Bradenton, FL
Hobie 14T
| | | Re: how many would buy an F14 in the US? really?
[Re: Darryl_Barrett]
#67035 05/20/06 10:25 PM 05/20/06 10:25 PM |
Joined: Apr 2002 Posts: 591 Bradenton, FL Sycho15
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Posts: 591 Bradenton, FL | 36.38 pounds for the metrically challenged
G-Cat 5.7M #583 (sail # currently 100) in Bradenton, FL
Hobie 14T
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