Bye Bye Europe

I'm inclined to agree about the hull, not so sure about the rig - a bit squat for my taste - but there's not many of them around.  There are also quite a few faster boats at a lot less money that can be sailed by people of more normal strength and build.

I have sailed a Dutchman but prefer the 5o5 out of the conventionally rigged fast boats.

If you're talking normal strength and build, look at James Cole, ( several times FD champ crew) I think he's 6' 7" or so. I also hear they use such high rig tension at the top of the fleet that they don't last long, so you can get a cheap one, but you won't win. As the man said earlier, development in non-one design classes for the olympics makes them out of reach for normal people.

Shame about the Europe, it was originally a massive class on the continent, and a happy class in this country, I hope it survives.

"Romanis ite dominum"

I don't know where you got the Idea about FD's not lasting very long from. Mader boats are still going strong well into their second decade.

In Regards to crew size, yes there are big crews, James Cole being one, me another. There is also a ready supply of female helms sailing with average size men on the wire. There are also boats who sail with the girl on the wire. The technique is far more important than the size of the trapeze ape.

Just because a boat can carry weight doesn't mean that it has to,

It's quite extraordinary the number of myths that have grown up around the FD. Titanium centreboards?? Who? When? Don't last? Tell that to Ian McCrossin, whose boat was built in 1987 and who is almost always in the hunt at Worlds level. Any Mader FD built after about 1985 is still capable of winning at any level. As for the weight/size issue, I am 6ft and around 86 KG, and my helm is 5 ft 4in and 60 kg wringing wet. Jamie is 100% correct, if you're big enough for a Laser you could cope with crewing an FD. It's a fabulous boat, and in 15+ knots in a Solent chop it is as fast round a race course as most - if not all!

Neil