
amFast
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Hey amFast, my caution regarding the J/111 is based on my own experience moving from a J29 to a Mumm 30 some 15 years ago. My J29 program was tops on the West Coast for a couple of years. We won most of the main OD races and eventually wanted something faster and more challenging. I looked at faster J boats (J35, 105, and 109) but concluded that they were just too similar to the J29. In the end my overblown ego pointed me to the Farr (Mumm) 30 class. What I didn't count on was just how much better the guys in that class were. Most owners were very experienced racers and with budgets to load their boats with at least one paid pro. As a result, we were rarely competitive and finished more than one regatta not knowing what we did wrong. The other issue with the Mumm, and I suspect you'd have a similar issue with a 111, is that while the boat was a blast to sail with a good crew, taking another non-sailing couple out was much less fun, quite a bit of work, and could get downright hairy pretty quickly. Again, you can do it, but don't expect a casual wine and cheese experience.
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Hi Pokey, Thanks for sharing your experience. I think its notable that you were building from an already successful program and still ran up against those challenges. In contrast, I will be building from scratch, so I'm sure the challenges will be even more acute.
Of course, the point of racing to begin with is for the challenge, but I don't want to end up in a situation like you describe where everyone else is playing a different game and my budget makes it so I can't compete.
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