**** the rudder upwards.
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<br>I personally liked the taipan positive lock on the tiller arms.
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<br>I sailed Jim Boyer's Taipan as a Uni rig and with the snuffer /chute (we just had to put it on the Taipan) I sailed this boat for about 40 minutes total.
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<br>The Bim has much more rocker then the Taipan and I think it tacks a little quicker.
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<br>The Bim because of the rocker will hobby horse when the breeze lightens up. There is no way to stop this action. I think the very tall rig (for a 16 foot boat contributes to the hobby horsing)
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<br>The Bim has a flatter underwater profile and the hulls resonate when you slap the waves going up wind. (This takes some getting used to.. The boat feels solid... the hulls are not flexing. The Taipan seems like a more solid platform.
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<br>I don't think the Bim mast would hold another crew member on a trapeze. All in all: I thought the Taipan would be a more durable and flexible boat. You could sail both boats as Uni's.. The Taipan could sail as a sloop rigged boat. The snuffer with chute and main was very nice on the taipan . The boat seemed to track well in this configuration. Jim and Lisa sailed the boat with Main Jib and chute. I know the deck was busy (Lisa was not thrilled with all the extra line) but I could easily do a distance race in this configuration.
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<br>Racing
<br>I missed racing the first day. I was sailing with the fleet though in light air as a unirig only. Wind was 4 to 6 knots 1 to 2 foot swells. My impression was that the boat was equal to the 5.5 and I17's. The 18 square was going deeper then I could though.
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<br>Saturday the wind's built from 7 to about 12 knots. in the morning. My starts were OK. I found that the boat had similar or slightly better speed upwind then did the 5.5's and I 17 R's. Downwind... I had a huge learning curve to climb. I was rolled several times by I 17's who could keep the boat hooked up. I don't want to talk about mark roundings other then to say.. thank god I got in and out of them. The single handed fleet in Michigan is very smooth. As the breeze built, I think the A cat rig was much faster up wind. I could climb higher and maintain speed. In the windiest race, the one I DSQ'd I was first to A mark (despite having to bear off around a capsized H16) I footed off through the lee of a 5.5 U and an I17R and then was able to climb back up to them.
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<br>Down wind... I started to hold my own. I did not pass anyone but at least I stopped getting rolled by the I17 R's. I was not able to fly a hull on the wire with the Bim chute. I don't know if that is fast or not.
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<br>I think the boat is slightly faster up wind then the uni's and I17's and probably the same speed down wind as the I17's. I was usually chasing one I 17 around the course. At least in one race the 5.5 uni's were first to finish. In light air... with big lumpy seas, I had a hard time making the boat go. I felt that I need more power out of the main ( or less weight to move around) I also went the wrong way and made several other major errors in that race.
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<br>The last race was a blast. The winds were 18 with gusts to 20 and 4 to 6 foot rollers. Having gotten to A mark first. I debated the sanity of pulling the chute. Eventually the No Guts no Glory credo won out. and I pulled the chute. I had some problems and wound up snuffing and rehoisting the sail. Looking backwards, I could not see ANY of the I17's launching theirs.... (I later found out that Les had dumped his boat within 30 seconds... the rest of the fleet took this lesson to heart... Jack Young launched his but he sailed VERY DEEP)
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<br>The boat was a blast surfing down waves but this required constant attention. I jibed with no problem and was sailing well again... but I did not have anyone to follow. So.... Looking for C mark is not fun when you have to pay attention to the waves. I stuffed that poor boat into the back of a wave and the race was over.... I could have been a contender though!!! Probably was a good thing that I dumped the boat. I had forgotten to get the course. (That is the crew's job usually)
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<br>I haven't looked at the corrected times yet. I am not convinced that the F16 configuration will be as fast as a Hobie 20 / F18/ Tiger. I read Woouter's calculations and models. I think that wind speed and wave action will be a huge factor in determining the speed of the boats. I also think that crew weights will be a huge factor in determing boat speed. I suggest the F16 group build in a period of boat for boat testing with the F18's...
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<br>In the US... Since we don't have either an F16 or F18 class now. My hunch is that couples would be better served with a light weight F16 boat rather then a F18. (Why carry around all that weight). On the other hand.... the 18 footers could well have a larger weight carrying range. I would certainly like to know more about this.
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<br>Well these are just my current thoughts, subject to change and based on a short sail on the Taipan.
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<br>I highly recomend the Bim and the Taipan to anyone looking for a high performance lightweight fun boat.
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<br>Personally, at 200 lbs. I would love a Taipan with a snuffer sailing one up.!
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<br>Take Care
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