Hi All

The Taipan Catamaran Association of Australian, last year proposed a new mainsail design to be voted on, the vote had been extended to the 1st of March 2007, requiring a 55% majority of vote recieved to pass the proposal.

A short note from Greg Goodall reads;

Reasons for the proposed change.
1. The current sail plan now looks dated against the latest boat designs. The new sail addresses this problem.
2. The larger head gives all round better performance.
3. It makes the Wild Thing a real possibility for the cat rigged boats. This gives a further dimension to boat performance and boat handling for cat rigged sailors. It also expands the range the Wild Thing can used on the sloop rigged boats.
4. In mixed fleet racing it will keep the Taipan 4.9 at the front of the fleet for to come.

Reasons against the proposed change.
1. The Taipan 4.9 is a one design class boat and the racing within the class only requires that all the boats fit the class restriction.
2. Changes to one design classes are rarely painless. Changing the mainsail may have a negative effect on the numbers attending National and States Titles while any changes are implemented.

Regards,
Greg Goodall

The new sail would not be formally available for championship racing until the Nationals 2009, this would ensure that those with newer sails would still get reasonable usage from their sails.

Development of the new sail designs would be undertaken during this grandfather period.

The result of the ballot will be published as soon as practical after the 1st March 2007.

I have spoken to a few friends which I also spoke to earlier on when the proposal was first introduced. It would seem the proposal, has a lot more support now than then, I think mainly because there had been more time to consider the pros and cons of the changes, people have had the opportunity to try the sail. I have been listening to all the information I can extract from people inside and outside of the class.

Anyway, I'm about to turn all this information into a vote, and let you know what happens.

Regards

I've sailed my Taipan with the one design sail and a larger fat head sail; the larger head is much more interesting. Now that's just from a performance point of view. I realize there are other considerations for the Aussie Class Association. I would bet, though, that after a brief dip in participation and a bit of grumbling the class would bounce back as popular as ever. In other words, I believe any negative short term effect will be outweighed by the long term benefits. The change might even generate some new interest in the class.

Good luck with the debate.

Hi All

The vote has been decided, with almost an 80% majority the members of the Taipan and Capricorn Association of Australia have voted in favor of the proposed changes to the Taipan 4.9 sail plan (big head mainsail) Approx 15% voted against, and about 5% of the votes could not be included.

So there it is, the change is going ahead, hopefully even more exciting times ahead of a fantastic class.

By the way, 83 voting forms were sent out to members and I think 53 were returned.

Regards

Well done! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Is there an F16 Class Association in Australia yet, or is it just one-design class associations for the Taipans and the Capricorns?

There is an Aussie F16 association , although it is structured loosely as most F16 associations are. I think the US F16 association is now the most formal in its structure. They had to be with respect to the Alter Cup event next month, using the Blade F16.

Personally I feel it is very good news that the Taipan class has now approved the "new" mainsail. From now on the Taipan and the F16 mainsail design will be very similar. Comparison on the water (with a spi fitted to the Taipan) will now once again be close.

Woter

So on what date does this become a class rule?

Hi

The mainsail cannot be used for championship events, i.e nationals and state titles until the 2009 nationals, this will allow members to get the most out of their current sails. This will allow time for development of the new sails also.

Regards

Development of sails will only start in earnest when they can be used in (championship) racing. What is the point of paying for sail development when you can't use it ? More over what development can be done when you don't have others (with development programs) to compare yourself against.

I think this claim is a little bit of a stretch.

Wouter

Well I'm not stretching the claim for starters, I don't think everyone will be waiting until the 2009 Nationals to buy a new main, people will want to practice using the sails and get use to them, I'm not saying they will buy one tomorrow, but I think its quite reasonable that they get a bit time on the water.

The sails will need development, I think thats a completely reasonable claim, perhaps a few of the top guys will use them, report back to their chosen sailmakers, make changes as necessary to suit the Taipan. Theres one sail available to members at the moment, and I'm sure it wasn't just thrown together, but I'm sure that there will be adjustments made over the next couple of years.

Like all changes they suit some and not others. I will have a new taipan on the water in a matter of weeks so do i purchase the new profile and get excluded from all titles or do i get the original sail? I no what the sailmakers would like, like i said will suit some and not others also just come over from f18 so been through this already they should pick a date and from that date we use new sail none of this pussy footing around. thanks

Hi All

I can understand where you're coming from, and that is a hard one.

The only thing I can think of in your situation would be to try and find a good secondhand sail, which I have done also (they are out there)

Is your new boat brand new?

If I was forced to buy a new main now and had to decide which one, I'd probably still buy the original main, we would still get a couple of years use out of it, not ideal I know, and I realise I'm not in your situation either, so its easier for me to say that.

Regards

My boat is a timber boat thats ready for paint and assembly im here in adelaide. My brother has a taipan as well so he is in the same boat what to do? Have been thinking that i mite get an f16 sail for a while till they sort it out thanks danny

That new Taipan mainsail is to a large extend the same to the newest goodall F16 sail, if they are not identical (which I believe to be the case). So in effect you can buy "both" by just purchasing the new model.

In time the two will start to diverge again as the F16 rules only limit the area and luff length while Taipan class rules specify some more measurements. But I don't expect them to diverge far from eachother or even to do so quickly.

Wouter