Mid Winters

Mid Winters East, anyone planing to attend?

come on there has to be someone out there going to come. would be good practice for performance midwinters the following weekend in P~cola

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Is the Hobie Midwinters open to all the F18's or just the Tigers? I think there are a lot of F18's going to the Performance Midwinters since it is open to all F18's.

only Hobie Tigers,as per Hobie class rules

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Thats why so few are going, Hobie only per class rules.

Class racing, even in a developmental class is important. It is what keeps the class strong. Look to other strong class one designs that have allowed development. Thistle, Lightning, Tornado (b-class cat).

F-18 racing is great, but class racing will keep the Tiger around longer. If you own a Tiger, don't you want it that way?

I'm definitely going to MWE, and about 80% sure I'll bring the Tiger. After all, it's already on the trailer.

Trying to get John Bauldry (Tigerboy1) to committ to double stacking from Detroit, so we would have at least two boats.

I think capt Kirk may sail his tiger if its still around. So theres maybe 3....

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Hammond,

I think not having other F18's race with the Tiger will hert the Tiger class. I think the Tornado is made by different manufactures and the sails are all different as long as they fit the box rules. The F18 class has box rules that everyone has to follow and all the boats race boat for boat. Yes some have different hull, rudder, sail shapes but all fit under the rules and are very equal sailed by a good team. The Tiger only class is the same the boats all have little changes sails,rudders (I know the hull shape has not changed). How is that different than F18 class ? Oh I know you have to buy all your sails ,rudders, parts from Hobie. The Tiger class will get left behind if it does not keep up with the F 18 class. I have not seen many if any new Tigers on the east coast in 2006 where I saw a lot of Caps and Infusions. I would look for the Tiger to come out with new sails, jib with battens, wing mast, new daggers and new rudders are all ready being made. Why can't you guys just let the Tiger be what it wants to be an F18. How many Tigers were at the 2006 nationls? The F18 worlds had a limit of 160 boats in 2006. A lot of sailors can only afford to go to so many events and will chose the events with the most turnout. Why would I drive 13 hours to race with a few Tigers when I can make the same drive a few weeks latter and sail with over a dozen F18's.

Before the recent changes to the Tornado, it was just one of a class of boats that fit the "B" class catamaran open class. There were other designs in this developmental class. None are still here because the Tornado class racing replaced the "B" class catamarans. I would like to see the Tiger be the next Tornado. Some modifications allowed to keep the boat on the cutting edge, but controlled refinement to keep even the older boats competitive. If you think the Tornado class is one design, it really is not. Hulls vary, riggs, sail, and foils all vary not only by manufacture but with intent. The Tiger is one step better because the changes can be controlled to keep the class from becoming a money chase or a radical change that destroys the class. Keep the Tiger class racing strong, keep your boat values up, make the Tiger the next Tornado.

I agree with Hammond. Having class racing will assure that the Tiger stays around longer.
Here's why: I sell A-cats of several different varieties. It's an arms race much like F18 racing, though F18 is a bit less dramatic. One season a certain model is hot and sells the next season something else is hot and sells. What is the winning boat in the F18's right now? Tig, Cap, Inf I'm not sure. What I do know is that tooling up to change hull design costs a lot. And in my opinion that will be the next improvement in overall speed.
Here's what is happening in the Aclass world here in CA. The A2 was hot so people went out and bought them. Then the A3 came out and people were stoked and bought them. The delivery has been slow due to some issues. So several people went out and bought from AHPC (or what ever it is called now). And a few are looking at the TOOL. What manufacturer is next? Probably some cat from Europe. It's all well and good, but try getting dealer support for an out of vouge a-class or F-18 after the hull designs change. The same will be true for F-18, though it seems to move a bit slower.
Meanwhile, we'll be sailing division regattas, and fleet fun sails, and worlds, (hopefully some nationals, right guys?!).

I'm not knocking the F18 racing or Aclass racing, I think the developement is pretty neat, I'm just saying that it's a slim slice of a small pie here in the US. I'm also saying that it is difficult to run a boat dealership if your are chasing around the latest and greatest, especially if the manufacturer sells factory direct. Like many do.

If I were in Europe I would be singing a different song. To me these developemental classes are for people that like to tinker more than just hop on a boat and sail. And... the arms race costs a LOT of money, so that eliminates the guy on a tight budget. Different strokes and it's all good. I'm all for it.
I think we had about 90 Tigers at the SB Worlds, so the interest is definitely there for one design Tiger racing, that's where I'd put my effort.

And that's my essay on why the Tiger will be sailing competitively for much longer than any other single manufacturers F18 cat. Class racing.
But, you know what they say about opinions....

The bottom line is it's all about having a good time.

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Jeremy:

Will you be selliing this? Was told it good for lard asses!! (LOL) I am a 200-220 lbs. May be getting A in 2008.

http://www.a-cat.org/id102.htm

Doug

Hey Doug,
Maybe!
And BTW 200#'s is nothing!

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