I'm planning to buy a new F18. The Infusion and the Capricorn are on my wishlist. The Capricorn is performing very well and the Infusion seems to improve rapidly now (the Infusion score very well during the Dutch F18 nationals). Unfortunately i have not had the chance to sail one of them.

Can anybode tell me their experiences sailing these F18's?

If you have no other deciding factors, buy whichever is cheapest or has the best dealer support in your area. They're all the same speed.

Or alternately just put a new infusion mast on your Nacra and keep some money in the bank for a new fully battened jib next year.

Have sailed the Capricorn on more than a few occasions and odviously the Tiger too. Never seen an infusion beyond the photos.

From my experience the Cap was a tad quicker in the light (1 on wire) wind ranges but the Tiger beats it about in the heavier conditions. Overall the quality of the sailor is the biggest determining factor on both boats.

In making a choice I would probably go with the one that had the biggest fleets in my area. (and a nearby dealer for parts). Early indications seem promising for the NACRA but for me I'd wait for a season or so more development before I bought one.

Tiger Mike

That is something I'm considering but, I'm concerned about the jib and the spreaders. Since I won't be able to move the bridle attachments I'm wondering if the jib could be trimmed properly since it appears you don't rotate the super wing mast as much as the traditional mast.

Anyone have some insite to this?

Dave

Dave:

I would encourage you to think about the expense of this before you went on. A friend was thinking about doing this as well until he put some numbers together and figured out the first part of the cost. He sold the F18 and is standing by for his Infusion now.

Imagine that your boat is worth $11,000, change that mast $1,200, and a new sail at about $1,800. These are guesses but probably close. Your boat is now a $14,000 boat and you are only about $1,000 to $1,500 off of buying a new boat. The boat you are fixing up is older and depreciating more rapidly. You are not allowing a fairly inexpensive boat to be recycled into that fleet allowing us to increase the numbers in our class.

If you feel my numbers are not accurate at least figure out what you think the difference is in buying the new boat as opposed to reengineering the older boat. Keep in mind that the rigging may have to change as well.

iMax:

The Infusion was designed after the Capricorn was. Morrelli and Melvin looked at all the designs, of Formula 18s, on the market and especially closely at the Capricorn. I think that Peter Vink has put a ton of time into how the rigging is setup and is a very good sail maker. For the bigger teams the hulls float higher as they are quite a bit wider on the water. It sails very well in lots of conditions and it is a local manufacturer. A friend of mine in Australia just sold his Capricorn and is waiting delivery on his Infusion.

I sail a Tiger and like the way it sails. I have put some time into making it right for me and you will for any boat. I am convinced that the Tiger is still a competitive boat. You can get the rudders working exactly right with just a bit of time in them. I think we will see a newer rudder for the Tiger soon, which will make it even better. The rig on the Tiger may be the best as it has benefited from lots of years and great sailors on the boat. For me it is still between the Tiger and Infusion.

TigerMike:

The biggest fleets in the U.S. are Formula 18s. I have heard that there are still pockets of Tiger only regattas in Australia as there are in the U.S. In general terms though, the Formula 18 gets the best numbers so the boat you choose is not the big deal.

Hope this helps,
Dan