Another age-related thread

on a similar topic to the last thread "age and gender of F16 owners"
on reading some of the posts contained in that thread, I was given the impression that the majority of F16 owners and sailors are in their early 30's and beyond.
first of all, does this mean that the F16 class is severely lacking a youth sailing scene?
and second of all, correct me if I'm wrong, but does this make me (at 15) and my skipper (17) the youngest taipan/(nearly)F16 owner/sailors around?

I'm posting because I'm interested in what the views of some of the younger sailors are our there, and am therefore not hoping to begin radical younger vs older sailor arguments.

anyone who is younger than us, or knows taipan/spitfire/F16 sailors who are relatively young feel free to post, as we are genuinely interested in the aims/views of those sailing craft similar to ours, at a similar age.
not really looking at hobie sailors here because they really have nothing on F16's.
Thanks,
Alex Millington

Our cloning people will be visiting you soon. Relax. We just need some spit.

My son crewed for me from the age of 9 (30 kg) until he got too big at age 16. We did a few nationals and state titles and survived many heavy wind races. There were quite a few father/son crews on 4.9's back then.

back then being...
from way earlier posts on this forum I kinda got the impression that that arrangement (father/son) was fairly common, but nonetheless a temporary arrangement ending up with the father having to sell said (beloved, I'm sure) taipan/f16 in order to finance mono's, like lasers and 29ers. (or, as in your case, they got too big...)
can anyone suggest reasons for this? seems odd that after sailing F16's for a bit, judging by the general feel of the people posting here, that anyone could ditch the class in favour of slower mnohulls (or, bigger cats..)

somebody please tell me whether i'm kinda on the right track here...

ALL outdoor activities are declining. The list is pretty inclusive: from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, to attendance at National Parks. Even golf club membership is down.

This definitely includes traditional yacht club membership.

It seems more and more people are choosing to vegetate.

On the bright side, it's less crowded on the water! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Pete,
if you are concerned with the crowdness there, come visit Romania (Constanta), pretty much nothing on the water.
All the space you need. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Sailing season opening soon, that means a few 420 and 470, and maybe a couple of bathtub boats.
We also have some fine drinks and cuisine here you can enjoy other than sailing. And guess what George W. Bush is here now.

Okay, this is just one opinion and Matt might disagree as might you all. As a mother of 2 young children, Riley 11 (60 lbs.)and Peyt 8 (52 lbs.), I think a lot has to do with being able to afford an F-16 or any boat for that matter. Breaks can be expensive as is travel/transportation of boat and I just can't see my children being able to do this without our physical and financial help. We can certainly double stack, but not many families are willing to do this. I know the kids will sail with Matt or I, but having their own boat might not be practical. Also, our children are into other sports as we do not have a youth sailing program in this part of FL. I do know there is a program for high school aged children. Our children enjoy sailing the Blade with us and the adrenaline high that goes along with that. We'll just have to see. And you know, there will always be different reasons/excuses for different families living in different communities.
I think it is wonderful that you are out there racing and we really hope our children will enjoy it as much as we all do.
- Gina (41)

Alex,

I think most of the F16 owners are older because of the investment (even second hand). I think even a lot of parents would not allow youngster to buy a boat.... unless the parents love sailing too.

I'm very happy my dad loves catsailing and that we bought our Blade together otherwise it would have been difficult also....
Unfortunately old inter 18 are way cheaper than F16 but with time and older used boats that will change...

Gill

Alex,

My kids are very jealous of you. I think the biggest reason more youth do not sail in the US is access. There is basically none unless you belong to one of the very few yacht clubs and then most of them are very anti-multihull.

We have a Wave for the kids and they would use it, but that then requires dad to hook it up to the car and drive to the site for them to play. They go sailing when we go and like it. If we lived where a boat could be set up and they could get there themselves, I have no doubt that they would use it.

Right now I am lucky if I get to sail more than 1 time a month and that is only because of scheduled events. Time and logistics are definitely not in favor of a sailing lifestyle for me at this point in my life. It does not matter how little you pay for a boat, if you do not use it, you paid too much.

Matt

I think the BIG problem for cats are the price. Very few clubs will invest that much money in a boat for kids.
And cats are overpriced, you can build the hulls for a Blade to about the same price you have to pay for the the foils and the rudders.

So you are about to enter the market with a much less expensive Blade? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Nope, working for the kids on the DS12. Just hope that the dads will let room for the kids <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

well, thanks for the info guys.
does anyone happen to know (or know of) any aussie kids that are sailing F16/taipan?