Today I was talking to an older man that lives down the street. He is very intelligent and has really taken an interest in my catamaran. I regularly sit and talk for hours with him about ways to improve sailing and I must say that he has some pretty cool ideas.

But on the primary subject. Tonight when we were talking he said that he thinks that Hobie and the other catamaran companies are holding back on their designs.
His theory is that all of them have a faster catamaran on the drawing board somewhere but don't want to produce it because once they do they will have peaked and will not be able to make a faster boat, hence it would cause them to no longer be needed because a small company would be able to copy the design. He thinks that if they slowly work up towards the top of the line boat they will be able to sell alot more boats.

So what do you all think, are the companies holding back?? or are they doing everything they can to bring us sailors the fastest boat possible? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

This is going to start another long thread...but there is a bit to what he says. There's a thin line between being able to develop a boat and not obsoleting all the other boats you've already built. When your customers are focused on racing your product, there are varying degrees of change that people will accept. Hobie has been very focused on keeping things the same regardless of other developments available (I'm not saying this is a good or a bad thing). Some other manufacturers have been a little less focused on that and come out with models more frequently - but still try to walk a line of moderation between model changes and consistent racing classes.

The introduction and relatively recently popularity of the formula classes (F18, F16, etc) have ensured that the manufacturers are spending a little more time making sure they have a fast design since we have, for the first time, a class that pits manufacturer against manufacturer.

There's some truth in what your friend says but it is for a good reason in some cases. I think some of the appeal of the Formula classes is that we are, in fact, riding some of the quickest speedsters that fit the rules.

No to the first question. (The major manufacturers would not hold back if they saw a significant demand in some particular category.)

No to the second question. (There's no such thing as the "fastest boat possible," and the manufacturers cannot afford to get into a one-upsmanship war for something that only a few people both desire and can actually afford to buy.)

Also, no manufacturer is going to commission a design for a super-fast boat unless they are prepared to start building it right now. Things are changing too fast in the cat world, and designers are expensive. So it's not like you are going to pay for a design and "keep it on your drawing board" for a year or two and then build it when the time is right. Last year's design may be obsolete this year.

I think the Formula 18 class is probably the best thing that has happened for the catamaran manufacturers since the 1970's.

OK, since Jake said this would be a long post...maybe the holiday got in the way.

Is it so much design or is it manufacture method that may have "stalled" new cats? And I'm talking, from my perception, of the large builders (Hobie, AHPC, Performance). Other than minor tweaking of existing designs, no new complete platform.

Roto boats, from a durability standpoint, was a good move for the entry level. Living up to the speed and excitement of the cats before them, from a weight standpoint, they're a dissapointment.

Enter BIC, and O'pen. Read that this boat, and their kayaks, are made from thermoformed polyethylene using a "twin sheet" technology resulting in a stronger and lighter product than rotomolded. The polyethylene is etiher inherently or impregnated with UV resistance.

Their (BIC) propoganda states that the O'pen fills a junior sailing void between the Opti and Laser. Are they a cantidate for a F12? Freestanding rig available? check Boat building experience? check Potential funds for development? check

Probably wishfull thinking on my part, but would like to see something new, other than roto, at the entry level, that won't obselete existing boats and leads or feeds the Formula class/es. I'm guessing there's potential for lighter and faster beach cats to break away from "conventional" construction methods, but who has the money to develop it?

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I gotta agree with Dingram here...nuff said.

Mary, I agree with the first part as everthing has to justified first with sales.

The sailing community is a strange medium. The 1 design mentalaity is very strong and is opposite most other industries where a new model is needed every year.

The Formula concept is great for sailing as it allows to some extent the even up competition inherant in 1 design and combines it with the new model tweeking that a lot of other people enjoy as well. It is not good for the catamaran companies though unless it really sparks a huge increase in participation. Designs, tooling and continuing development are very expensive. To stay in business you do what you have to do, but the cost per boat has gone way up relative to producing 1 of something the same way for 30 years.

Matt