They are are pretty creative with the naming scheme. I saw an "A" class group on ISAF's website, but nothing on the others. Obviously, the designations refer to box rules/formula rules. Is there a short answer to how the classes differ?

Thanks, Dermot.

Hey, I actually wrote that for Wikipedia ! There wasn't a A-cat entry there yet, A-cat sailors were probably busy doing other stuff, so I decided to make it for them. It is quite a write-up as well, if I say so myself.

You see, I'm not such a bad guy afterall.

Wouter

Some of the dimensions are given here:
http://tornado.aussailing.com.au/history.htm

Wouter, You're the best
I wish I had your energy

You know what they say.

"Even pigs will fly...

...if provided enough thrust."

Do it. Nothing will make you a better all around sailor than racing against a large competitive fleet of equal boats. It's hard to beat the 16 for that.

At the same time as the Hobie MWW was on there was a regatta in Australia that attracted 35+ hobie 16,s.Along with one in South Africa, and the weekend before a major hobie 16 regatta in the Philippines,which attracted a international field of 25+ boats.Not too many designs (beside the Laser)could span the globe like that on a given weekend.

When I started in 79 we use
to have 35 boat starts in C fleet !!

Doug Snell
Hobie 17
Soon to be Nacra A2
www.tcdyc.com

Doug:

My thoughts exactly!

PpS you are absolutely right when you say:

< I suspect most of these new builders are not going to make it >.

Only in the last few years I am aware of 3 well known catamaran builders which did not make through into the A class market:
a) both the Italian Mattia&Cecco (now MattiaSport) and the Swiss Ventilo had an A class design in their range of boats just for one year (perhaps they were able to sell 3-4 boats each);
b) the English Stealthmarine announced in 2004 the launch of a new A class cat fitted with a revolutionary canting rig; the result evidently came short of expectations since the info was cancelled from Stealthmarine's web site. I suspect that only the prototype was built.

Also the BIG players in the A class market, traditionally BIMARE and Boyer Fibrecraft, could not avoid to do (quite) BIG mistakes:
the production of the Bimare Javelin A and of the Boyer MkV was discontinued respectively after 2 and 3 years. However, thanks to their name and reputation, both boatyards could sell anyway quite a few of them.
Also the Flyer is going to undergo the same fate:
as anticipated Boyer Fibrecraft is developing a new Martin Fisher's project and Gel-Tech, (and supposedly Aicher & Egner for Europe), have started building the Flyer Mark 2, again a Peter Egner design, the second itineration of the most winning A class design in history.

Stealth have a set of A class Moulds. I don't know if a prototype was built or not.

I may be using them for my New boat when I get the finance in place.