Taipan 4.9 Summary
Taipan 4.9
The Taipan 4.9 was designed to take advantage of our extensive experience in the A Class and Tornado fleets. The aim being to produce a small catamaran, which was practical to own and sail, yet offere d the sheer performance of these pure breeds. This craft was to be light enough to be handled on shore by two people, be able to carry a large range of crew weights and have outstanding performance in all conditions. Importantly we wanted to give you the flexibility to sail either cat rig one up, or sloop rig with a crew.
Sailing the Taipan 4.9
Your first impression of the Taipan is acceleration. The Taipan truly has a beautiful feel about her. The helm is well balanced and gives you instant response. The Taipan quietly and surely surges forward with each wind gust. Sailed one up the Taipan has a lovely smooth feel and sparkling performance. Put up the jib, and sail two up, you will share exhilaration that only those who have sailed a Taipan can fully appreciate.
From your first sail you will notice a response and feel not present in other catamarans. The purebred racing parentage shows through as brilliant gust response and a feel through the helm that lets you know precisely how the boat is sailing. The fine bows easily pierce waves and excess water easily rolls off the rounded decks. You drive the Taipan hard enough and eventually it will submerge a bow, a slight easing of sheet pressure and the Taipan blasts out of the wave and surges forward. The response from the advanced design wingmast rig is amazing, with strong and noticeable acceleration in gusts that has you leaning forward to counter its force. Finding the 'groove' is a simple matter with such a responsive rig, the boat truly comes alive with the correct settings. As any owner will testify the Taipan 4.9 is a sheer pleasure to sail.
Performance
The Taipan 4.9 has such a high performance level that in clubs and regattas it is grouped with the over 5.5m division. The brilliance of both its upwind and downwind performance puts the Taipan 4.9 in front of its bigger competitors.