The Nacra F18 Infusion was announced in 2006 and launched in January 2007 as a One Design

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 ...

conforming to the

Formula 18 The Formula 18 class, abbreviated F18, is a non-foiling, restricted development, formula-design sport catamaran class. It was started in the early 1990s and quickly grew getting class recognition by World Sailing, with large racing fleets all ov ...

class rules. It quickly developed into a class in its own right. The principle designer was

Morrelli & Melvin Pete Melvin (born January 11, 1962) is an American sailing (sport), sailor. He competed in the Sailing at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Tornado, Tornado event at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Melvin is also a noted yacht designer with his partner Gin ...

but also included significant input from Peter Vink (Performance Sails) and Gunnar Larsen (Nacra). The design takes its name from the vacuum infusion process used in its hull construction. The Nacra F18 Infusion has been a recognized

World Sailing World Sailing (WS) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). History The creation of the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) beg ...

as an international competition class since November 2010. The Nacra F18 Infusion design was later developed into the F18 Evolution and the

NACRA F20 Carbon The Nacra 20 is a catamaran sailing dinghy that was designed by Gino Morrelli and Pete Melvin 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 b ...

Design

The Nacra F18 Infusion is a racing

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 ...

, built in accordance with the

Class Rules and its own One Design construction manual. These rules dictate it is a 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 ...

rig with

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

spars. The boat is a sandwich construction with fibreglass skins made using

vinylester Vinyl ester resin, or often just vinyl ester, is a resin produced by the esterification of an epoxy resin with acrylic or methacrylic acids. The "vinyl" groups refer to these ester substituents, which are prone to polymerize and thus an inhibitor is ...

resin over a foam core. The Mk3 version uses

epoxy resin 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 ...

rather than vinylester resin which due to revised Formula 18 class rules permitting it to use.

Variants

The Nacra infusion is the third generation of Nacra

it started in 1996 with the launch of the Nacra Inter 18 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, this was followed in 2001 by the Nacra Inter 18 designed by Alain Comyn. ;Nacra F18 Infusion Mk1 :Announced in 2006 the design was launch with production beginning in 2007. ;Nacra F18 Infusion Mk2 :Launched in 2011 the boat was upgraded with new foils and a number of other updates. ;Nacra F18 Infusion Mk2.5 :Launched in 2014 the main update was a complete new sail design. But the rudder system was also significantly updates together with other small improvements. ;Nacra F18 Infusion Mk3 :Launched in 2018 with epoxy construction and a number of upgrades. ;Nacra F18 Infusion Mk3 with FCS (Flight Control System) :Launched in 2018 the FCS option was also made available alongside the standard boat this was updated daggerboard cases and rudder fixing to allow the installation of optional hydrofoils. These take the boat out of class but like the Nacra 20 FCS a fully foiling design. They utilise an L-shaped

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 ...

rudders and Z-shaped carbon fibre daggerboards. :With the introduction of the Evolution in 2019 the Infusion Mk3 made the modification standard in 2021. ;Nacra F18 Evolution :This model announced in 2019 and is a new design fitted out only for the Formula 18 class. The biggest change is the new hull design incorporates 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, horizontal

chines A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Isl ...

and a revised longitudinal connecting beam design and deck sweeping mainsail option. It won the

Formula 18 World Championship The Formula 18 World Championship and the Formula 18 Raid World Championship also known as the F18 World Championship and Raid F18 Worlds is an annual international sailing regatta for Formula 18, organized by the host club on behalf of the Int ...

at its second attempt finishing in the top 10 in 2021 and then winning the 2022.

Operational history

The Nacra infusion has won the

Formula 18 World Championships In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwee ...

five times 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015. In addition the class has held a One Design World Championships.

References

External links

Nacra F18 Infusion and Nacra F18 Infusion FCS official webpage

Nacra F18 Evolution official webpage

Video: Nacra F18 Infusion

Video: 2016/17 Nacra F18 Infusion Nationals
{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Dinghies Catamarans 2000s sailboat type designs 2010s sailboat type designs Sailboat type designs by Gino Morrelli Sailboat type designs by Pete Melvin Sailboat types built by Nacra Sailing