MultiFast -

stopped by to see you this past weekend. How are you doing with the refurb of my old trimaran? Hope you get it tuned up and ready for some summer action on the water. In the meantime, thought I would advise what is going on:

Not sure if any of you guys from the U.K. have noticed, but there is a move afoot to start a new class on an international basis - tentatively called the "1/10 Scale" class. Originally it is a French monohull class with most of the boats being scale of the VOR 60 and 70 monohull boats, or scale models of some of the newer crop of sportsboats like a Farr 40 - although in the rules we kind have informally agreed to, nothing prohibits a 1/10 scale of an existing trimaran or catamaran. We have confirmation of Canada, US, Aussie and perhaps a New Zealand building effort taking place. Thought I would get the word out to some who haven't heard about the class, boats, etc. and maybe tie in multihulls as well.

Basically, the rules "suggest" the class is for scale builders first, and racers secondary. Making the boat look like it's big brother or sister is the effort. Several 1/10 scale hardware suppliers are already on-board. Unfortunately ( or fortunately) I have decided on a VOR 60 for my initial build effort, which gives me an (arrgh) monohull boat of about 72 inches in length and having a beam of about 21 inches.

Perhaps there is one or more of you interested in doing an ORMA 60 (or bigger) scale of your favorite trimaran? Groupama seems to be often imitated, so at this size and scale, it would produce one huge and possibly beautiful model. This is not a class for everyone - in fact it may be a reserved class for experienced builders only, since these are all scratch-built boats.

Just thought those of you who love multihulls might have an interest in this class. Maximum size is limited to a scale model of a boat no larger than 100 feet (although there is an exception for a J Boat) and really no small end scale - except for what is practical. Perhaps the 40 foot in-shore cats from recent VOR race might make a good (and much smaller) choice. Or a scale model of the 60 foot catamaran, Stars & Stripes wingsail America's Cup defender? Nothing prohibits a Hobie 16 or a NACRA Formula 18 either. Just so they are 1/10 scale of the original boat. The idea is that boats in this class "LOOK" like a real boat - not a one-design looking IOM, so if interested, I invite you to consider.