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Originally posted by Guest#260 Raft racing is for people with no balance

Those comments are just cop out excusses for people who are too scared to try it or realise they just would not cut it in the cat fleets

Originally posted by BBSCFaithfull Originally posted by Tornado_ALIVE Originally posted by BBSCFaithfull 40sqm? How many meters roughly on the no1 rig of an 18ftooter?  They need more sail area because they are less efficient at turning it into forward drive No offence but an 18, however inefficent will ALWAYS be cooler than a tornado or any other cat. If i remember rightly they beat all the cats at the sydney flying squadron races didnt they?

Incorrect, the Super Taipan and A Class did all the damage and left 18 skiffs in their wake.  No Tornadoes at that event.  The first year the Brass Monkey was held, the A Class cleaned up there also.  Sadly no Tornadoes that year also. 

We out sailed 18s every time we came up against them as did many other AUS Tornado sailors.

Tornadoes.......  Very Cool

On a serious note, I have raced 18 Skiffs as well as Tornadoes and both at equally awesome to race.  The down side to 18s are that you do not attract any substantial fleet anywhere to race, even at a major event.  The Tornado in Australia shares a simular problem which is why I have moved into the Formula 18 Catamaran class.  In Europe however the Tornado does attract very healthy fleets at major regattas, however the F18 Class also does this and at local levels also……..for half the price of a Tornado, hence why the class continues to grow at a rapid rate.

For the mono equivalent of large fleet HP racing, I would compare them to the 12 Skiff and I14s for fleet numbers at major regattas.  The 16 foot skiff does likewise in AUS on a club level as well as a State level.

As far as monos go, the 18 is a great boat to sail, but I found the 12 Skiff to be a lot more enjoyable and much more challenging from my very limited experiences crewing on them.