Joe,




Take one thing in serious consideration. None of the (spinnakerless) A's will hold their rating in an open class windward-leeward racing fleet with predominantly capable crews on spinnaker boats.

Many will now interupt with cries of Ashby, Lars Guck and Ogletree providing proof to the contrary but YOU won't be able to reproduce these results. Simply because it is not the boat that propels these people to such results but their exceptional sailing skills.

Now the A-cat is indeed widely accepted as pure sailing joy and the A-cat racing fleet (if present) is a well respected entity. But if you don't have such a fleet nearby then you really must value the joy of sailing an A in sufficiently large quantities to justify getting one. Because in your situation there simply won't be another reason that favours the A over the spinnaker (formula) boats.

Add to this that over the last decade the spinnaker boats, mostly the formula ones, have noticeably improved their setups and feel, thus making the lead the A's used to have in this area smaller and smaller. This trend has not ended yet in my personal opinion.





Forget this limitation. Once you start sailing with a spinnaker you'll be quickly learning to use it in 10 to 20 knots as well. At least that is what I did and many other I know. At first it will seem daunting but you'll quickly learn that it'll actually make the boat better behaved and faster around the course in any condition.

The only exception to this rule is the really light winds were you can't fill the spinnaker properly. Here having the spi on board is a disadvantage as you can't use it. In any other wind you'll be faster with it deployed on the downwind legs. Trust me, I tried it all over the last 5 years. And I'm talking about singlehanding here (solo sailing) as you would with the A+spi.

Wouter

Wouter....thanks for your input. To clarify though, first of all I currently race a N20, and occasionally race F18 as well, so I am well aware of the added dimension the spinaker brings to the picture. In fact, that has been one of the reasons I have up to now steered away from A-class. However, as I stated when I started this thread, I frequently tire of finding good crew, and therefor am considering a singlehander as my "second" cat. I have honed in on the A specifically due to the growing and very competitive nature of the A-class fleet, which is to say that I would likely travel to a handful of A-class events every year. Secondly I am attracted to the A-cat due to the platform's extreme level of feedback in the hopes that it would help to make me a better sailor over time with practice.

Thanks again for your input.

Hey move to South FL, crew issues resolved <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Maybe you can take my F16 out for a spin. Take it uni-rigged and hoist the spinnaker and have fun. I am sure its the closest you will get to an A cat with spin. Not quite an A cat but close enough.

C U in April Buddy. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Hey Robi...Just curious buddy....would I have to take a mandatory course in shameless self promotion (of the F16 class) before I would be allowed to purchase an F16?? Or do they serve ém up with a large glass of kool-aid!?!? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Just yankin' yer chain man!!

I preffered sweetend lemon ice tea. Dunno what you prefer, but im sure anything is doable. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Since when has Robi been a pooh-bah damnit?

Hi All

Just in case thats a dig at me, I did say they 'were' working on 'the tool'

Jim will still do boat repairs by arrangement.

Regards