Hello everyone!

First, I would like to personally thank the small core group for taking the time and effort to come up with the class rules!!

Attached below are the rules for the Formula 14 Class! They are for the most part open with a few restrictions. Like my previous post on another thread, we have to start somwhere and take small steps. This forum allows us to communicate where and when we can get together as a group. I look forward to having a lot of fun with you! Please forward your questions/clarifications and I will try my best to answer each in a timely manner. Let's go sail and have fun!!

Respectfully,

Bob Curry
Formula 14 Class Director
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FORMULA 14 ASSOCIATION CLASS RULES

Mission Statement: “Promote fun sailing for all ages!!”

Safety: Wearing a life jacket/PFD is recommended. Any type of righting device, anti-turtleling device is legal. It is the responsibility of the skipper to conform to all national safety rules.

Rules

1. Maximums:
Boat Length: 14’ 3”.
Beam: 7’ 8”.
Mast Length: 23’ 6”.
Sail Area (main or main/jib): 160 sqft

2. Minimums:
Boat Weight: 240lbs.
Skipper Weight: 150 lbs.
Corrector weights may be added and attached in any fashion.

3. Boat Components: Hulls, mast, beams, rudder system, sails, rigging,
sheeting systems, trampolines, battens, booms, boomless sails, downhaul,
outhaul, mast rotation systems, tiller extensions are open and can be made of any material. Components can be hand built or purchased from any manufacturer.

4. Sails: Pinhead, elliptical, or squaretop mainsails. Headsails/jibs may be
rollerfurled. Headsails/jibs may be mounted on short/long bridles, foils, or on
pole systems.

5. Single trapeze or hiking rack system is legal.

6. Singlehanding is the method of sailing in the class. However, in the case of a very light skipper, additional crew may be added to conform to the minimum weight.

The intent of these rules is to be a work in progress. As the class grows, additional refinements of these rules may become necessary.

Annual review date: February 8, 2005.

great...Im in.....im getting my boat ready now!!!.thanks bob

I'm having problems interpreting the rules with regards to wing-sails. Will a cat with a wing sail be allowed to race ?

I dont think anybody will come to a regatta with it, but if I was tinkering with a 14 footer I sure would have considered building a wing.

The minimum weight is a 'good thing' in my opinion. This is the reason for the long life of the current Tornadoes. They could be buildt a lot lighter, but would not last as long..

Now I'm just wondering how long it takes before we will see a F-14 event in Europe!

Rolf,

A wing would fit the box rule!!

Bob

Should we not just say Sail Area and delete (main or main/jib)?
By using the word jib one conjures up a protest that a jib has to be attached to a forestay. And with a Wave that would be a joke.., if anyone has ever bought the jib kit from Hobie. Heck the forestay is only inches from the mast.
My present setup is with a bow sprit with a roller furling Hooter (basically, it is a full jib) but is too large for the 160' So, I plan on making a high-aspect Hooter and sheet from the main beam.

Does this question make sense?
Rick

Thanks Bob

This looks great ,-it seems to be met with great positive enthusiasm already ,--really nice to see .

I,m already out cutting off 9 inches of the stern on the 15 as I type this ,-- to comply with the 14,3 max length .

A question ,-the Mystere 4,3 and think some other 14s have spinakkers and snuffers , and thought headsails of any type INC{HOOTER TYPE} would be part of the F-14 class.

Could not find it in the proposed rules outline,

The one area you,ll get the most controversy in is weight,--
crew weight and boat weight .
Smaller youth sailors can double up to meet the 150 Lb min , but should they have to ?.Also the average female weighs 120 ,--some less ,--for safety reasons should they be required to carry an extra 40 Lbs .-
Maybe exceptions per age --gender could be considered or the min crew weight eliminated and just state that all be able to right the boat and be able to demonstrate that if in question by RC . The idea being to encourage as many different sailors as possible .

The min boat weight seems fine , but the F-14 class will consist of all types of platforms with boat weight all over the board . Sails gear etc are easy to change , the one thing that can not be easily modified is boat weight as built.
One suggestion for heavier boats to compensate is allowing a larger jib or sail area per boat weight to equalize there speed potential .

Hopefully helpfull constructive suggestions for consideration .

Looking forward to seeing this F-14 class in action soon and getting my boys interested as well.

[color:"red"]First, I would like to ask who was this small core and how were the below conditions decided upon? I sure don't remember voting on or having a back-and-forth debate on each aspect of the F14 restrictions. A lot of what I see below does not seem to go along with what sparked interest in the original thread on the Open Forum. What I see below looks just like someone wants to sail a H14 and not get beat.[/color]


[color:"red"]How about "14' maximum for all new boats, while grandfathering in all older models advertised at "14s".[/color]


[color:"red"]What is the point in having a boat that is less than the legal US road limit width? It doesn't make them faster, it doesn't make them more stable, and it sure doesn't make them easier to sail.[/color]



[color:"red"]This is the first time I've seen this particular length mentioned. It seems that almost everyone on the original F14 thread was shooting for an even 24' (which should be the actual extrusion- not the endcaps)[/color]


[color:"red"]How was this area derived? If an otherwise standard Wave with 187sq.ft. of sail (Rick's Wave) isn't overpowering in 12knot winds but keeps pace with H16s, why go for less area on boats that could be build wider and will have someone trapezing?(Hobie Wave having only a 20' mast) I'd lean more towards 200sq.ft. of sail area, by running a square-top main on a 24' mast and sending the rest to a roller-furling jib on a pole.[/color]


[color:"red"]Let's see...the Cheshire Cat is advertised as weighing 170lbs all-up. The Quattro 14 is advertised as weighing 80kg (176lbs), and the minimum weight for the Hobie 14 is... 240lbs! Let me reiterate what I'm trying to get across: I don't want to sail on '50s-60s technology and limits. Small boat- YES! Slow, heavy hunk of crap- NO! I'm sure women and children would appreciate 70lbs less boat to drag across the beach. I'd suggest a 150lb minimum, which could possibly be attainable by home-builders. That's only 20lbs less than the Cheshire or Quattro, and I'm sure crew weights will vary by much more than that.[/color]



[color:"red"]I don't think this is going to get women and children into the sport! Not many athletic (or at least semi-athletic) women/children weigh 150lbs. I'm 5'10" and athletic- I spend most of my sailing time soloing an 18' catamaran, and until recently I only weighed 145lbs. How about "if you can right your boat you can race your boat"? That sort of encompasses a greater spectrum of potential F14 sailors.[/color]



[color:"red"]I'm not trying to bash and flame, just debate. However the set of rules listed above does not seem to have been very thought-out, and certainly not as "all-encompassing" and semi-performance directed as the original F14 thread. I don't want to build a 100lb all-carbon boat that costs more than my truck, but I don't want to neuter the potential of future boats by making them conform to archaic standards. This is, after all, the formation of the FORMULA 14 class, not the CLASSIC 14 class[/color]

Hey Carl,

Thanks for your thoughts!! For clarification sake, here's the take on the headsail/jib:
--------------------------------------------------------
A question ,-the Mystere 4,3 and think some other 14s have spinakkers and snuffers , and thought headsails of any type INC{HOOTER TYPE} would be part of the F-14 class.

Could not find it in the proposed rules outline,
------------------------------------------------------------
4. Sails: Pinhead, elliptical, or squaretop mainsails. Headsails/jibs may be
rollerfurled. Headsails/jibs may be mounted on short/long bridles, foils, or
on pole systems.

This means a headsail/jib can use the above systems to attach to. Like Rick is doing, he is reducing his Hooter/jib sail size to meet the maximum sail area requirement. We have to start with small steps and simplicity with the idea to make it fun for everybody. We will look at other rule changes (reachers-spinnakers) down the road as we evolve. I'm personally looking at a derivitive of the 19MX pole for the jib to maximize sail area down low!

Hope this helps!

Bob

Who the heck set the "RULES" and why wasn't anyone that was interested asked or consulted about the rules.

I can't afford to spend 3000$ on a used wave, but I can afford to build a pair of hulls and piece together a rig.
Why don't we have a total all up weight instead of a boat and then skipper weight.

The reason I ask is because I tip the scales at 225. If there was an overall weight instead of the way it was(is?) set, it would appeal to me (and others) a lot more.

I am told the weight of the boat is "all up," including all components of the boat itself; and not including crew weight, of course.

Very good post B

Also think the proposed F-14 class rules are too narrow and handicap or exclude other weight sailors ,--and numerous potential types of 14 ft boats .

The class goal should be to include as many people and boats as possible within very general open rules outline
----THEN add more rules if needed .

Suggest proposing an alternate set with no min crew weight rule that would allow female and youth sailors not to have to carry weight ,--WHY handicap them further as opposed to a very capable 150 Lb male skipper.??

Also propose 2 boat weight categories with coresponding sail area to boat weight ratios based on existing boats .
That would encourage numerous other boats mentioned including Carl B -the newer 14 ft boats listed and home built 14s to get involved and race within the F-14 class. It may triple the potential size of a future 14 class .

Add per Myster 4.3 and others the option of an added spin or headsail , have a spin and non spin designation ,--race all together as a F-14 class ,just give a seperate trophy in spin and non-spin category . Again this simply includes more sailors and creates added interest .
I,ve often sailed Interlakes in spin and non spin fleets
no biggy and often beat the spin boats with a rented non spin I L .
This is also the great equalizer for heavier boat weights, a larger headsail and the preference of heavier crew to carry a spin or larger hooter. The Mystere 4.3 is pretty slick .

The wider beam makes perfect sence also -

Suggest some type of interested member class vote or poll on these aspects of the rule ,--think many more will get involved this way

Having a strict narrower class rule has good intent but in this L category of 14s no one is really going to be that obcessed ,--hopefully ,--about some variations of boat weight and coresponding sail area ,or a spin -non spin option for any sailor ,----Include and accomodate as many 14 sailors of all sizes and weights and as many varied boat types as possible ,--then use sub categories as numbers increase as or if needed .

Hey Bob,
Have never met you but can tell you know what you are doing when it comes to singehanding.
I think the Cheshire is alot heavier than 170 lbs will give you a better figure after talking to manufacturer tommorrow. Am very much interested in racing can't make it from North Carolina to Mississippi but could make it to Spring Fever. Want to make Cheshire one design a legal class have you ever encountered one before? Want to make sure I can race before hooking up the trailer. I wouldn't worry about me my 225lb butt and a case of beer and lunch won't upset the guidelines.
Here is the Cheshire website. I'm the guy on the Isotope Shark boat.
http://www.intl-fiberglass.com/cheshire.html

Take Care J.P. the Terrible