Taipan F18

Does anybody own or have sailed a Taipan F18? I am not talking about the Capricorn but the winner boat of Texel 1998.

Any comments or further information on this boat is appreciated!

When my dad and I collected our Taipan 5.7 in Holland back in 2001, we stayed one night with Peter Saarberg and his wife. Peter is the Taipan dealer in Holland, and also the guy who sailed the Taipan F18 in the Texel. The boat was a customized and shortened verson of the T5.7, with added weight to fit the F18 rules. Peter said they went through all kind of troubles finding opportunities to add weight, ending up putting most of the additional 40 kilos in the beams. According to Peter, the F18 felt really slow and "tame" compared to the original Taipan 5.7, and it was obvious that Peter preferred the original Taipans over this one-off F18. Nevertheless, Peter with his son as crew, won the Texel. As Taipan owners ourselves, my dad and I consider this as a good example of the T5.7's capabilities. This despite the T5.7's poor ratings in Europe. In Australia, the T5.7 is rated just slower than the Tornado.

To be brief, the Taipan F18 was a one-off experiment, which I think surprised the Taipan designers almost as much as the other F18 designers when it won the Texel in 1999. I am not sure of how much this experiment meant for the later devolopment of the Capricorn, as the Capricorn has shown to be somewhat of a small revolution in terms of hull design and sail design.

I think you might be talking about the Taipan 5.7. This is an awesome boat - way ahead of its time. Unfortunatly for a number of reasons it doesn't comply with F18 class rules.

Michael

No Jimi is right - there was a Taipan F18, which was a modified 5.7. There are still some pictures of them on the F18 site. I think that the fact that the new Capricorn is faster than the 5.7 while being a 100 pounds heavier shows how innovative the design is. Imagine what a 275 pound Capricorn could do. BTW, are there Capricorns in the US yet? Attached is a picture of the Texel winning Taipan F18

100 pounds heavier
What have they done with the F18 class anyway?

Hi,

thanks for this reply. Jimi, are you sure that the additional weight is in the beams? I have heard that it was added by bars of lead in the hulls.

No, I am not sure, but I think they found that the beams were the easiest places on the boat to put additional weight. It is obviously important to keep the additional weight low in the boat, but is it not a bit weird to put lead bars in the hulls? They could have done both though..


Flying cat, the T5.7 is approx. 142 kilos "out-of-the-box". One therefore had to gain some 40 kilos to meet the F18 classrules, as the minimum weight for the F18s is 180 kilos.

Lance, how is your new T5.7 working for you? Done any upgrades (self-tacker, carbon mast etc)? It is a great boat is it not?:)
My dad has been mailing Goodall a bit, and Goodall claims the T5.7 to be a bit faster than the Capricorn in sub 10 knots conditions. After that, the C is faster.

oh nothing

they only made it the hottest up and coming catamaran class in the world.

I actually haven't sailed it yet. I have had some issues this year and haven't been able to bring it up from Rick's place yet. I should be getting it this weekend if all goes well. I plan to add the self-tacker and a snuffer system this year, probably the same pieces being used on the Capricorn. I am really, REALLY, looking forward to getting her tuned up and sailing. From all of the research I have done I think think this will be an awesome boat and I consider myself very fortunate to have gotten her.

In that case I can assure you that you are in for some great sailing the next couple of months! I do not know when the season ends (if it ends at all) where you are, but here in Norway the weather has been way too cold for a month now, so the boat is carefully stored in the back yard.

My dad chose to design the self-tacker on his own, and he has just finished a kevlar snuffer-mouth, but we have not been able to test it on the boat yet. We are now using a standard Hobie Tiger snuffer which works quite well, but weighs a ton! Looking back, I think he much rather would have preferred the snuffer system from AHPC...

I believe that those boats were illegal because the daggerboards were canted. According to Greg (the guy who designed/built them) by the time all the mods were made that would make them legal, the Capricorn was a much better concept.

I don't know if there are any Capricorns in the US yet but they are gaining popularity down here. I have sailed on them a few times and they are definatly a nice boat.

Michael

JIMI, It doesn't ever end.

Dave's right - there is no end to the sailing season down here in Florida, although you do need protective clothing during the colder months. I would like to have the upgrades done by May if all goes as planned.

By adding 100 lbs. of lead?

That was to make an otherwise non-f18 compliant boat, F18 compliant

Yea with lead.. Hopefully it's removable.

I'd like to try one (minus the lead).

I think you are a bit confused.

you should read bethwaites book..
After the second World war.. The northern hemisphere builders decided to go the "high" tech glass route.. While the Kiwi's and Aussies didnt have access to this new technology.. However what they did have was a strong home builder mentality and many were trained to make plywood mosquito fighter-bombers.. This technology was far lighter and stronger than the early full glass techniques..
Unfortunately half a century later most of the northern hemisphere builders havent caught up yet...

This is why the F18 is so heavy.. also why the Contender has to carry 30 kg of lead above its required weight.. The northern hemisphere boat builders could believe they could build a boat that light... So extra fat was added...

Along those lines, anyone want to suggest a good "beginners" book on how to home-build cats? not that I want to start a project right now, but a book that would give me a good idea of what I'd be getting into if I chose that route...

I've never worked much with wood, but it sounds a little cheaper to experiment with than CF and an autoclave...

Gougeon brothers on boatbuilding is the standard work. Not specifically on beachcats, but very informative and useful. One of the best structures is in fact carbon and wood laminates, mixing the best of the old and the new.
Wood is pretty "high tech", even today. It's better than glass in cyclic loading.