A new week, another interview with one of the F18 sponsors. This time we spoke with Brett Goodall, General Manager at Goodall Design. Last year they had a rebranding and changed their name and logos from AHPC (Australian High Performance Catamarans) into Goodall Design. This year they will show their new design on the water during the F18 Worlds in Ireland.
First we are curious why Goodall Design directly said yes to sponsoring the International F18 Catamaran Association. “The F18 Class is been the largest and far reaching catamaran class for the last 10-15 years. They have provided us and many other manufactures, a strong market to provide boats and product info. The least we can do is give back when the class needs us. In the last few years the class has seen some difficult times, but we believe the class has a lot to offer the catamaran sailing community and with united front and clear organization the F18 will forge strongly into the future.”
But how does Goodall Design see the future of F18 sailing? “There are a number of challenges and threats to the F18 that the class need to acknowledge and create action plans around. Some of these are technical advancements in catamaran sailing and others are new classes such as the Olympic Catamaran. It is important that the class management works with manufactures and sailors to create clear, transparent long term plans consistent with growing the class. If this is done then sailors confidence will grow and will continue to invest in the class.”
What will be the focus of Goodall Design on F18 sailing in 2014? “Historically we have been a very “advancement” based brand… always looking to do our product better. While this is still the case, we are focusing a lot more this year on sailor engagement at all levels. We want our customers to enjoy their sailing as much as we do. Buying an F18 is not like buying a coffee table from Ikea, you want to know setup, maintenance and most of all the little tricks the top guys do that normally doesn’t make it to the club sailors. We are working on a number of media to bring this information to sailors.
We have a new YouTube channel with a lot of tips & tricks, an owner’s corner on our website and we are setting up new dealers around on a regular basis with the best training on our products to help customers with any questions they may have.”
Charter C2s at the Worlds?“Right now we are in the process of organizing a container of charter C2s for the F18 World Championships in Ireland. There’s a lot of interest because this will allow sailors from other continents and regions to attend World Championships who may not have been able to without this service. The only way this type of service is possible is with local support from our dealer network and the ability to liquidate the boats after the event. We are offering an amazing deal on post worlds C2s available through Goodall Design Ireland.”
Are there new F18 developments at your company? “We are extremely happy with the performance of the C2. We believe it is the fastest and best packaged F18 on the market. Aside from the incremental changes we make every year, we have no intention of releasing a “new” F18. The class needs stability from manufactures and the last thing sailors want to see is a new design, just for the sake of a new design. There are a number of good F18 products on the market for sailors to choose from and it’s time for the manufactures to allow the market to stabilize.”
Last but not least, we’re hear some rumours about a ‘special team’ at the F18 Worlds in Ireland. Any chance you can give us an update about that? “No sorry, not yet. You’ll have to be patient.”
For more information about Goodall Design please visit their website