Wally,

What would you estimate to be the average wind speed that you sail in? Do you sail in the mountains? you've mentioned that some of the lakes are pretty small. Is that normal? I'm trying to get an idea of the conditions under which you developed this boat.

Thanks

I get a lot of sailing days at a "tiny" lake near Georgetown Colorado. If youve driven from Denver to the ski resorts, youve gone by it. Its about 1/3 of a mile long by about 1/8 of a mile wide and winds over 20 mph are very common and winds over 40 mph probably occur at least several days a week. This lake never gets real smooth but its relibable and on the windy days, its very intense because you can hit big speeds (Ive hit over 60 mph there) and the shore comes up lightning fast. Sailing this lake is "brutal" on the equipement and you need something built well or it will get busted. This lake is somewhat the "home" of ice flyer and this boat is particularly well suited for sailing there because it handles big and wildly varying winds and can make the turns before running into shore.

I also sail a fair amount in the Denver lakes which are usually much lighter wind and in contrast to Georgetown, were trying to see who can sail in the lightest conditions. During the season, we see every sort of ice imaginable.

In the spring, I put the wheels on and usually make some landsailing trips to New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada, California sailing on dry lake beds from about 1800 ft el to 7000 ft.

I supose there is a difference in sail size between sailing at 8000 ft or 1800 ft for a given wind but I personally cant really tell that much. In light winds, I use my 9.0 m**2 mostly and occasionally a 6.7 m**2 at either elevation and they seems to perform about the same.

So basically Ive sailed in a huge variety of conditions and also have had the oportunity to get in a lot of test time year around and I think this has had some influence on the versatility of the boat.