The Nacra 20 is a

catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...

sailing dinghy that was designed by

Gino Morrelli Gino may refer to: * Gino (given name) * Gino (surname) * ''Gino'' (film), a 1993 Australian film * '' Gino the Chicken'', Italian TV series See also * *Geno (disambiguation) * Gino's (disambiguation), various restaurants and fast-food chains ...

and

Pete Melvin Pete Melvin (born January 11, 1962) is an American sailor. He competed in the Tornado event at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Melvin is also a noted yacht designer with his partner Gino Morrelli as Morrelli and Melvin. Biography Melvin was born in ...

as a one-design racer and first built in 1998. The design is a development of the Nacra F18 Infusion, using the same rudders, mast, inter-hull beams and other small parts and fittings, but with new, longer hulls. The design was originally marketed by the manufacturer as the Nacra Inter 20 and later as the Nacra 20, more recently it has been developed into the Nacra F20 Carbon and the

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...

-equipped Nacra F20 Carbon FCS. The Nacra F20 Carbon is a recognized World Sailing international competition class.

Production

The design was initially built by Performance Catamarans in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

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, but that company is out of business. Since 2007 the design has been built by

Nacra Sailing Nacra Sailing is a Dutch company that manufactures a line of small catamaran sailboats, or beachcats. NACRA was founded in 1975 to tap into the market created by Hobie Alter the founder of Hobie Cat, and several other companies offering small f ...

Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and it remains in production as the Nacra F20 Carbon and Nacra F20 Carbon FCS models.

Design

The Nacra 20 is a racing catamaran

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

. All models have fractional

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

rigs with rotating masts, vertical transoms, transom-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

s controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

and retractable

daggerboard A daggerboard is a retractable centreboard used by various sailing craft. While other types of centreboard may pivot to retract, a daggerboard slides in a casing. The shape of the daggerboard converts the forward motion into a windward lift, cou ...

s. They are normally sailed by a crew of two and the design is equipped with two trapezes for balance.

Variants

;Nacra 20 :This model was introduced in 1998 as the Nacra Inter 20 and later called the Nacra 20. Production of this model ended after three years, in 2001. The hulls are built from a fibreglass foam sandwich. It has a length overall of , a beam of and displaces . The hulls have

plumb stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

s and a draft of with the daggerboards extended and with them retracted, allowing beaching or ground transportation on a trailer. ;Nacra F20 Carbon :The hulls on this model are built predominantly from a carbon fibre foam sandwich with

epoxy Epoxy is the family of basic components or cured end products of epoxy resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide functional group is also coll ...

resin. It has a length overall of , a beam of and displaces . The hulls have reverse

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

s and the rudders are a "kick-up" design. The rudders and daggerboards are made from pre-preg carbon fibre. The spinnaker is made from

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

. ;Nacra F20 Carbon FCS (Flight Control System) :This

sailing hydrofoil A sailing hydrofoil, hydrofoil sailboat, or hydrosail is a sailboat with wing-like foils mounted under the hull. As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils lift the hull up and out of the water, greatly reducing wetted area, resulting in de ...

model commenced production in 2014. It shares most of its parts with the Nacra F20 Carbon, including hulls built predominantly from a carbon fibre foam sandwich with epoxy resin. It has a length overall of , a beam of and displaces . The hulls have reverse raked stems. The pre-preg carbon fibre hydrofoil daggerboards and rudders are unique to this model. The daggerboards are "L"-shaped and the rudders "T"-shaped. The spinnaker is made from

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

Operational history

In a 2012 review of the Nacra 20 Carbon in ''Sail magazine'', reviewer Jeremy Evans wrote, "the Nacra 20 Carbon is a spectacular new one-design that is very light—20 pounds lighter than the smaller Formula 18—very stiff and very powerful, with its all-carbon wave-piercing hulls and a superb carbon/Kevlar mainsail ... Sailing in a light to moderate breeze, I found the boat to be stable, predictable and effortlessly quick .. All in all, this is a beautiful boat capable of blistering speed and a truly thrilling ride in a wide range of conditions."

References

External links

Official F20 Carbon websiteFormer website archives
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Dinghies Catamarans 1990s sailboat type designs Hydrofoil catamarans Sailboat type designs by Gino Morrelli Sailboat type designs by Pete Melvin Sailboat types built by Nacra Sailing Sailboat types built by Performance Catamarans