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 World Sailing (WS) is the world sport governing body, governing body for the sailing (sport), sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). History The creation of the Inter ...

, with large racing fleets all over the globe.

Design goals

The overall objective of the class is to offer popular, safe, exciting and fair racing in 18-foot catamarans. The F18 class is a "box rule" class, which means that any boat that adheres to the limited set of general design specifications may participate in all F18 races. This has led to a score of homebuilders and professional builders to design their own F18 boats and race them in this class. However, it is the mainstream production F18 designs that have dominated the top of the class. The presence of multiple boat builders and sailmakers in the class stimulates innovation and helps to limit costs to sailors. The F18 box rule allows limited development, striking a balance between the class remaining close to the front edge of multihull design and preserving capital invested in the fleet. Since its introduction, the F18 has seen a steady evolution in both hull and sail shapes, which has led to remarkably improved performance in terms of both handling and speed. The latest innovation adoption was the introduction of the mainsail "decksweeper" at the 2017 Worlds. Crewed by experienced teams F18s can reach speeds of over 13 knots upwind and more than 20 knots downwind. The relatively high boat weight facilitates robust construction and limits the benefits from fragile advanced construction techniques, keeping costs down and increasing longevity. It also supports adding interchangeable parts to the platform, for example for use of the platform as a foiling catamaran outside F18 racing. Moreover, the relatively high boat weight reduces the sensitivity of performance to crew weight. The F18 class also uses an equalizing system, with crew extra weights, to offer competitive racing for a larger crew weight range.

Class development

F18 Worlds 2015 - 14-07-2015 (Kiel - Germany)-0187

The Formula 18 was created in 1994 by Olivier Bovyn and Pierre-Charles Barraud to introduce first across the line / elapsed time (versus handicap / corrected time) competition to the sport catamaran sailing community at an affordable cost. The concept became popular very quickly and due to its fast growth, the F18 attained ISAF Recognised Class status already in 1996, within 18 months after its inception. Mainly a Europe-based class at the beginning, class membership eventually spread to Australia and the Americas and the F18 class currently has full racing circuits in many places around the globe. Several thousand boats have been sold over the years. The F18 attracts both female and male as well as mixed crews and it is particularly popular among teams with combined crew weights of approximately 140-170 kg. Its design and popularity has led the F18 to be the boat of choice for long-distance raid events such as the Stockholm Archipelago Raid, the Costarmoricaine, and the Worrell 1000. The boats are equipped with double trapezes and a

gennaker A gennaker is a sail that was developed around 1990. Used when sailing downwind, it is a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is not symmetric like a true spinnaker but is asymmetric like a genoa, but the gennaker is not attached to the f ...

, and as a result, they require a skilled and physically fit crew to be competitive. However, many crews also use this catamaran for purely recreational sailing. Over time the class has seen many talented sailors who also made their appearances in

Olympic sailing classes The Olympic sailing classes have been used in the sport of Sailing/Yachting during the Olympic Summer Games since 1896. Since then, 46 different classes have been used. History Over a period of more than 112 years, in a sport that uses complex te ...

, the

America’s Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

Jules Verne Trophy The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew provided the vessel has registered with the organization and paid an entry fee. A vessel holding th ...

and

Volvo Ocean Race The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Ra ...

, including Carolijn Brouwer, Glenn Ashby, Darren Bundock, Jimmy Spithill, Mitch Booth and

Franck Cammas Franck Cammas (born 22 December 1972 in Aix-en-Provence) is a French yachtsman. He has lived in Brittany since his victory in the Challenge Espoir Crédit Agricole in 1994. After completing a two-year maths course for the ‘Grandes écoles’, ...

. The Formula 18 class is governed by the International Formula 18 Class Association and is recognized as a World Sailing Multihull Class. The early success of the F18 class during the 1990s inspired the founding of the Formula 16 class. In addition, a number of Formula 18 designs have gone on to have competitive one-design racing including the Hobie Tiger, Hobie Wildcat and

Nacra Infusion The Nacra F18 Infusion was announced in 2006 and launched in January 2007 as a One-design racing, One Design catamaran conforming to the Formula 18 class rules. It quickly developed into a class in its own right. The principle designer was Mo ...

Events

World Championships

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Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered arou ...

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Yeppoon Yeppoon is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the seat of the ...

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References

{{Sailing dinghies and skiffs Classes of World Sailing Catamarans

Design goals

Class development

Events

World Championships

External links

References