Devotti Single Hander

£10k for a singlehander is a lot of money - for that I would want top quality international competion, not just UK based.  And it seems that such a high quality boat would be competing against the established trapeze singlehanders 700/MPS/F16/A Class/Canoe (honorary trapeze boat!) etc.

So I would rather see something a bit more moderate and cheaper - the Vareo appears a good concept but doesn't seem to have quite hit the nail on the head - perhaps a little too dumbed down?

I think I would be looking for such a boat to perform similarly to a RS400 upwind and down, so a PY of around 950.  Any slower and the performance advantage over the Phantom, Laser, 300, Blaze etc would be too small to warrant the extra expense and hassle of the kite.  And at 950ish, you can race the 400's, Fireballs, 500's, 29ers etc more closely over the water.  Any faster and you risk raising the required skill/dedication level above the mainstream.

Personally I believe that if the hull is long enough and the rig adjustable enough, performance equalisation is not necessary, but it probably doesn't do any harm to design in such a system.  Again, my personal preference would be for short (approx 40-50cm) trampoline wings - a sort of dumbed sown Moth look.    

Daggerboards v centreboard - I prefer a dagger myself (if only because it means no annual change of the slot gaskets!), but understand that they aren't ideal in some locations.

Shroud v free standing.  The 300 rig is aesthetically beautiful, but I can't imagine something similar with a kite.  So I would go for shrouds and forestay with the forestay on a short base a la 700.

Finally, I have a pet hate of metal on boats.  I would want as little metal on the boat as possible (carbon spars, rope attachements etc).

Of course, rather than a kite you could always go with a swing rigged jib...

Oh, and I reserve the right to change my mind on these answers on a whim.

Toby (formerly Chew my RS, but lost my log in!)