Nacra F20 release in Australia

[cruiser]

http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=132752

[This message has been edited by cruiser (edited 13 March 2010).]

[cruiser]

Originally posted by cruiser:

[This message has been edited by cruiser (edited 13 March 2010).]

[cruiser]

[cruiser]

Report by Gunnar Larsen, Nacra Marketing Director and current 2009 North American F18 National Champion

"Yesterday we took the F20 Carbon out in 8 gusting 12 knots of wind. What a stunning experience.

I realize this boat is a team project and my thoughts are subjective, but what a truly awesome boat!

Upwind this boat is so much quicker than a F18 with truly stunning acceleration and huge momentum. Where the F18 would slow between gusts the F20 moves forward at a constant rate. The leeward foil produces a significant amount of lift. This translates into reduced wetted area and therefore more power and forward motion. I think as we adjust our technique to make the most of the lift, the power and speed will only increase! This is truly a massive step forward in cat sailing!

Downwind and the boat produces a massive amount of lift which again translates into reduced drag with huge amounts of power and forward momentum. The angles downwind are so different. It just sails so much deeper and faster than any other beach cat I have sailed before! Small differences in board heights have a big impact on the amount of lift created and therefore the amount of wetted area and performance. We will now be spending some time calibrating the board height to different wind and sea conditions to optimise the amount of lift produced. We really can't wait to get out on the water again and look forward to racing this awesome beast, despite the current 3 to 4 degree celsius temperature!"

[Crag]

I think its a shame that in a small population compared to America and Europe that there is another catamaran designs being introduced.

Personally I think Australia catamaran suppliers & manufactories should concentrate on just what is nessary to strenghten catamaran sailing, the F18 is stong and will get stronger, and along with Nacras 16sq and 5.8 they have there own strength, but with the emergence of F16 and AHPC Tiapan etc Australia has nothing to offer younger sailers to move to a catamaran, Nacra has smaller cats but there needs to be a one formula class not a one design like the 16sq or taipan etc even though these have helped many cat sailors over the years.

Truthfully let the manufacturies concentrate on the F18, and F16 as this class will grow just like the F18 did after same time and the F16 is sutable for one up and two and both younger and female sailors. And maybe the manufactories need to look at another formula like F14 for even young sailors, this will help strengthen catamaran sailors in Australia and not seperate them with each manufactories one class design.

[cruiser]

Crag, I can appreciate the concern that the classes have been somewhat diluted through wider choices, however, I think that the Nacra F20 being available in Australia is great!!

We do get left behind with so many other items available to the rest of the world and not Australia, due to trade restrictions or not enough market to warrant the importation.

They are not a broad range market with F20's, but the very top end performance market, I for one cannot afford an F20, but for those who can and want one, why should they be restricted to not having one?

I think it is great that Nacra offer most of what is available overseas, and I would love to see an F20 sail at our club.

To an extent I agree that there should be some common format like F14, F16, F18 & F20, even develop the F12s' to entice the juniors into multis before the tupperware dish (lasers) sailors infect thier brain with the old "training wheels" or "not true sailors" attitudes. I would actually go one step further and say dump the ISAF and have some form of World Multi-hull organisation that WONT vote against Tornadoes in the olympics, or try to put the AC34 back to the monoslugs.

Havingthe formulaes dominate will in effect kill 16sq, H16 & other non-conforming classes that are still enjoyed by lower budget sailors, so why would we penalise them like the ISAF did the Tornadoes, and on the other side of the coin, why penalise those who choose to go down the F20 nacra path. Boats are popular because of infinitely different reasons, F16 is popular in the south, Tornadoes are good in Darwin, Nacra is well liked in North Queensland, F 18 is popular everywhere, as is the A class.

To dismiss a class to funnel everyone into established classes, is not only selfish, but inconsiderate. One should be able to choose what to sail, and if they want to sail the most technologically advanced boats on the planet at the largest scale of "off the beach" cat that they can, great.

We need smaller cats to get the juniors interested to grow our fleets, which Nacra have addressed with the 430. Hobie have the wave, all be it a resort cat, but the juniors can still have a go, which I believe has been reasonably successful in NSW.

Instead of being minimal in our way of thinking, we have to look at the untapped markets and identify them, target them and encourage them. The more choice they have, the better off cat sailing will be. Market the crap out of it, make it grow, don't try and funnel what few there are into a few classes.

This country has the potential to be the premier cat sailing country in the world, unfortunately most people I talk to didn't even know the AC33 was on or that James Spithill was the Aussie skipper, Ohhh, I need another Rum...........