[quote=martin_langhoff]@Brad - drop by Miami, and gladly I'll take you out on my UFO. I will say it's 100 times more desirable than a Moth/Waszp because M&W are a pain in the neck to launch and manage when not foiling.
I already sail a foiling boat, and handle unstable skiff-like boats. Even then...my time on a Waszp was pure swimming. It's immensely frustrating to find yourself unable to leave the f'ing launching spot/bay/marina. M&W are boats I'd want to learn with a chase boat, get towed out, rescued, etc. The UFO is a safe and sound little boat at rest/slow speeds.
Performance-wise, it will prob be close to a Waszp (and that means a good % slower than a moth), however, on foilers, skill is the differentiator.
In other words, once you can get around a course -- tacking and gybing -- in full foiling, _then_ boat differences might factor in. That's a year or two of learning away for me, I suspect.
You can have a look at my sailing/foiling UFO videos on youtube. We have some wipeouts ;-)
I like the F101 (and I can vouch for its quality) but F101, Mothquito and a few others in the segment I think miss the mark, mainly because of price and complexity/brittleness. I think the UFO got it right. The easy foiler should be cheap and rugged. Once you've mastered, _then_ you get the carbon-fiber toy costing 3x ;-)
Beyond the UFO...
- Stunt S9 -- I've sailed it, it's a damn hoot! There's an S9 at an unbeatable price right now in TX, from wlrottge's friend (he had two S9s, and one UFO, I bought his UFO...)
- Whisper -- I own a Whisper, if I didn't... I'd get one. In that space, the Nacra line has put out I think a Nacra 16 with variants. You could buy it with extra foils and race it as an F16, then foil it solo or twin. The extra foils probably cost as much as a UFO, so ...
- TF-10, at half a million, is a bit over your budget, and you can't find anyone who'll insure it. But yeah. That one, beer crate, and friends.[/quote]
