Tiger Spinnaker

I have question about the different spinnakers in the Hobie catalog.
There are several listed . My question is, are all the spinns in the catalog class legal?

I ask because the " Spinnaker Tiger Blue F18" is in the catalog and it says "F18" Are there more than one model of Blue spin. Or is this part number F18030295 also class legal.

There are some things in the catalog that are not class legal and I want to make sure I am buying a sail I can race at Hobie regattas.

Thanks for any help with this.
Mike

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Mike Hensel
'86 Hobie 18, '93 Hobie 14, '80 Hobie 14(restso in progress)
Wind in your sails, water in your shoes, great day!

Because the Tiger has it's own class, in addition to being an F-18, there are two sets of class rules.

The Tiger class rules tend to follow the F-18 rules, with a lag of about 6 months to a year.

For example, you could buy an F-18 legal STX main for your Tiger in early 2005, but it wasn't Tiger class legal until early 2006.

The spinnakers have been getting narrower in the F-18 class, and the narrow blue spinnakers were introduced last year. I believe they are all Tiger class legal now.

thanks I just wanted to make sure the Blue spinnaker was Hobie class legal before getting it. I hope to be doing some Formula 18 racing this year.
But I didnt want to get a spinn only good for F18 racing.
Thanks again,
Mike

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Mike Hensel
'86 Hobie 18, '93 Hobie 14, '80 Hobie 14(restso in progress)
Wind in your sails, water in your shoes, great day!

I agree with Matt on this one, however when you place your order with your dealer have them call the factoy, Greg will know for sure!

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Brad Stephens
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Can you get the small jib and small spin from Hobie? Has the HCA changed the weight rule for the Tiger to be more in line with the F18 class? The different weight rule in the F18 class seems to work good and open the boats up to different weight teams. It seems to me that would be better for the Tiger also. If I sail with my wife I would use the small sails and if I sail with a male friend I would use the large sails. If someone that sailed with the small sails only in the F18 class they would not have to buy the large sails to race in the Tiger only class.

The small sails are available. The Hobie class rules have not changed.

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Greg Thomas
Hobie Factory Team

Greg,
I am considering which spinn to get as a replacement.
Ussually I race Hobie regattas. But this year I may enter a few F18 events.
Is there any difference between the Red Spin and the Blue Spin, size shape etc?
In an earlier part of this post I mentioned about the part number and desciption of the Blue Spin (F18 etc)

Could I get some details on these?
Thanks
Mike

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Mike Hensel
'86 Hobie 18, '93 Hobie 14, '80 Hobie 14(restso in progress)
Wind in your sails, water in your shoes, great day!

Mike:

That cut you are talking about, mostly the blue color, were used at the Tiger Worlds last July. I am sure they are class legal.

What are they? They have a shorter foot making the spinnaker a slightly higher aspect ratio. There is a rule that the Girth of the spinnaker has to measure at least 75% (pretty sure that is right?) of the length of the foot for Formula 18 sailing. This is a very nice sail though it is a bit harder on the crew in my opinion. It takes more sheeting pressure to keep the shape in the sail. We sailed a similar sail in France and Eileen was really spent at the end of the week. She can fly the older cuts more easily. I had a Formula sail made for me by Glaser sails based on the older cut. It is nice to sail, though not Tiger Class legal, it is the one we prefer using for Formula racing. We also have a couple of Tiger class sails. One that I use for kicking around, pleasure sailng and one for Tiger Class racing. I am about the put my used white Tiger sail on the market and buy another Glaser sail. I will then make the older of the two Glaser sails the kickaround one.

The newer cut does not sheet to the boat at the same place. You will have to move your block forward to accomodate the new angle. I think I remember that you are planning on sailing with your son, so the strength issue should not come into it.

Later,
Dan

Hi Dan,
I actually sail with my daughter about half of the regattas and alot just around for fun.
The strenght part is an issue, although we have worked around alot of it.
I had not planned on the red sail, but will that sail sheet to the same location as the other sail that I have, 2002 yellow sail.
If I buy the Red sail is it the most current one used at Tiger regattas?

So I need to decide whether to get the Blue F18 Tiger sail and add an alternate sheeting spot on the hull, or the Red Tiger sail.
I hate to spend the money and not select the appropriate one.

Too many decisions for the end of the work week.

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Mike Hensel
'86 Hobie 18, '93 Hobie 14, '80 Hobie 14(restso in progress)
Wind in your sails, water in your shoes, great day!

Most of the sailors on the West Coast are sailing with the older cut in Hobie events. I think that is because they have not ponied up for another kite. The sailors that have the new Hobie cut are Mark Lewis, Tim Parsons, Jeff Collins (I think?), and Steve Leo. If you order a brand new chute I will bet that it will be the newer cut. You would have to specify getting one of the older cuts to be able to sheet to the same place you presently do. It is not too big a deal to change the placement though. You can easily access the hull to mount a padeye where it should go. If you do not already have a grommet at the right place it is really easy to install one. Then you will be ready for either chute on your boat.

My feeling is that the older cut is more forgiving, and sailed right the newer cut has a slight speed edge. You will give up that edge if you do not have a very fine feel for sailing the boat downwind.

Later,
Dan

Thanks for the info Dan. Do you know the exact placement of the pad eye for the new cut spinnaker?

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Mike Hensel
'86 Hobie 18, '93 Hobie 14, '80 Hobie 14(restso in progress)
Wind in your sails, water in your shoes, great day!

If you want the newest spinnaker, flatter cut, have your dealer make sure to highlight that on their order to us. In our description the newer cut is designated with the "F18".

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Greg Thomas
Hobie Factory Team