I'm not sure about the B&B represenation myself! It looks like they are pitching the F-18 as the "manly" boat and the F-16 as the "girly" boat... I still want one though! But it probably means you can scratch F-16 sales in Italy and France...

I can feel an OLYMPIC equipment nomination coming on....

Good sailors don't always make good salesmen, I hope they have some good business partners.

Agreed...

Seriously, you think the powers that be would choose two open classes as opposed to (SM)OD as Olympic? Wouldn't that be much too realistic for an Olympic committee?
If so it would be totally unprecedented AFAIK.
It would be really great, but I trust 'em as far as I can kick 'em, and I can almost feel my toes throbbing as I type...

I too don't believe that ISAF/IOC wiould choose non-SMOD designs. However that doesn't exclude the C2 and the Viper as both could easily become SMOD. The precedent is there with the Hobie Tiger.

No one wants us, particularly the IOC. Why don't we focus on improving the state of our art for and amongst ourselves?

As others have said; no chance of ISAF IOC choosing F18 for the boys and F16 for the girls; but they could; as John states choose SMODs derived from these rules.

I was wondering this during the bobsled competition... are all the bobsleds being used SMOD?

No way, every design is closely guarded since a win or lose can depend on a hundredths of a second.

well how can they get away with having different bobsleds and we can't have SLIGHTLY different boats?

Not single manufacturer, it looks like you have to get the runners from the same stock though.

US sleds are built by Geoff Bodine's NASCAR group:
http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/sports/olympic-bobsled-builder-leaving-conn

NBC's site talks abt min and max weight adn the origin of th runners:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/bobsled/insidethissport/equipment/newsid=257590.html

Get this straight, WE DON'T WANT formulas to go to the olympics. It would screw it up for the rest of us.

One Design it is and best for all.

Agreed.

Let's start a pool! When will the next cat be in the Olympics? I pick. . . never.

2016.

2015

The Viper certainly is not just a "girly" boat, I have been sailing it for the past 3 weeks and loving it. As stated on our website it is my boat of choice. But it is certainly the boat for the lighter crews that might struggle with the power of F18.

In chance you will get to the U.S? We're having our Nationals in about a month.

I think the answer to that is clear.

When the cat scene has a viable program that starts at the youth level and runs smoothly all the way up to the big boy classes. Such a program will allow the cat scene to build up volume and power/influence and then it is just a matter of "pressure and time"

Sort of like the line Laser radial, laser-1, 29-er to 49-er

For cats I'm thinking : Pacer Cat ( F12 ) to F16 to either F18 or A-cat and onto any olympic catamaran.


Wouter

People push the kinds of activities they like. Cat fanciers are not sufficiently active in USS or IOC; indeed we seem to be composed of non joiners. Imo, the Alter Cup qualifiers should be sell out regattas, instead they are poorly attended for whatever reason.

There just aren't enough activists to make your progression work.

No cats for the Olympics because there aren't enough cat fanciers interested.