Taipan Catamaran

Taipan Catamarans are modern, high-performance sailing catamarans manufactured by Australian High Performance Catamarans (AHPC), located in Australia.

Taipan 4.9

Designed by Greg Goodall And Jim Boyer in the early 1980s the 4.9 meter Taipan was light years ahead of the beach catamaran standard, the Hobie 16, in hull design, sail plan, and overall weight. Rigged and ready to sail the 4.9 weighs only 231 lb (105 kg). Other features include a prowing mast, spinnaker, and the ability to sail the boat cat rigged (mainsail & spin only, for solo sailing) or sloop rigged (Main, Jib & spin for two up sailing). This model, with some modifications such as a wider beam and a self-tacking jib, has become one of the foundation boats for the Formula 16 racing class. Taipan 4.9 specs:

*Length 4.95 m (16 ft 2 in)
*Beam 2.34 m (7 ft 8 in)
*Mast (H) 8.5 m (27 ft 9 in)
*Weight Rigged 105 kg (231 lb)
*Sail Area – Main 1.4 m² (147 ft 5 in)
*Jib 4.2 m² (45 ft 2 in)
*Spinnaker 17.5 m² (188 ft 3 in)
*Crew 1 (cat rigged) or 2 (Sloop Rigged)

Note: F16 spec 4.9 has a 2.5 meter beam and a self tacking jib

Taipan 5.7

The "bigger brother" Taipan 5.7 was designed with the same principles as the 4.9 but made for a larger crew. A crew weight of 350-375 lb (160-170 kg)is the optimal weight for this 5.7 meter (18 ft 8 in) catamaran. With canted, Kevlar reinforced hulls, superwing mast, spinnaker, carbon daggerboards & rudders, this 275 lb (135 kg) rocket is competitive with any beach catamaran on the water. Production of the Taipan 5.7 model was discontinued in 2004 so the company could focus on their new F18 class Capricorn model.

Taipan 5.7 Specs:

*Length 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in)
*Beam 2.5 m (8 ft 2½ in)
*Mast (H) 9.5 m (31 ft 3 in)
*Total Sail Area 23.3 m² (251 in)
**with spinnaker 46.3 m² (498 in)
*Main 16.1 m² (173 in)
*Jib 5.3 m² (57 in)
*Spinnaker 23 m² (247½ in)
*Mast 1.9 m² (20½ in)
*Mast Dimensions 160 x 74 mm
*Approx Rigged Weight 135 kg (270 lb)
*Crew - Two

See also

*Sailing
*Sailboat
*multihull

External links

*http://www.ahpc.com.au/