Whats the difference, can the I17 be raced against the F16`s

Sure, but be prepared for criticism of the I17's D-Pn number. I, for one, think it is too soft.

Where are you located?

sherly you jest!!
Or do you mean apart from weight, length sail area and crew?

An I17 or F17 or N17 or what ever you want to call the Nacra 17 with spinnaker does not measure into the F16 rule if that is your question. You can always race them on handicap but as has been mentioned, the F17 number is suspect, as the F16 number has been lowered 3 times in 2 years (in the USA).

Timbo:

Is 360 lbs crew weight to much for a Blade or would a Nacra 20 be better. Female crew is inexperienced, so looking for best boat.

Doug

I've sailed both; I had an Inter 17 (EU spec) for 6 years - good boat, but VERY heavy to move around the boat park. The F16 (I have a stealth) is so much lighter it's a dream to move around.

Speed wise the F16 is a lot quicker, but compared with the US F17 there should be a lot less in it.

As others have said, the I17/F17/N17 rating is VERY suspect in the US.

I would LIKE to provide a SCHRS rating for it, but I have not been sent the data!

Just give them the F18 number and revise as results warrant.

I shouldn't get into it- especially since the original poster may be trolling... ("carbon fiber" I17 hulls? I think not...)
BUT, The N17 rating will never change because of who sits on the DPN committee. And others.. Ding... are happy to play along! (where are those area D numbers again?)
flame on!

AND BTW... who was making such a fuss about wanting the DPN for the F16 to go down? Now ya'll complaining about the N17 rating? What did you think would happen?

Simon,

The 1.067 number for Nacra Inter 17 (19m Spi), do you think it will be very different from what they are calling the F17?

Yes, VERY different.

From what I can gather (I still cannot get a measurement certificate for the boat, nearly 12 months after it raced at Carnac, I wonder why)!

My guesstimate is that the N17 in its current guise would rate around 1.02 on SCHRS (F18 is 1.005; Tornado 0.935).

THe N17 has larger sails and a longer mast than the EU inter 17 that the above rating comes from; we believe the hulls are lighter too.

But, without a measurement certificate, it's all guess work.

1.02 looks reasonable.

The USPN rating converts to about 1.07 I think. Why has the USPN not been updated?

Nacra 17
DESIGNER: Ross Guinea
BUILDERS: Brisbane Catamaran Centre
LENGTH: 5.3m (17’3”)
BEAM: 2.45m (8’)
DRAFT: n/a
DISPLACEMENT: 125kg (275lb)
SAIL AREA: 21sqm (226sqft)
SPINNAKER: 16sqm (172sqft) and 20sqm (215sqft) The Nacra 17 is by far the most advanced sports
catamaran in today's market. Its advanced hull
design and high aspect boards and rudders make it
a pleasure to sail. With a range of standard features
including: Self Tacking Jib, Mid Pole Snuffer System,
Square Top Mainsail and Kevlar/Carbon lay up. The
Nacra 17 has the ability to match the performance
of much larger cats. The Nacra 17 has been
designed for mid weight crews (120 - 155kg) and
with its pointing and tacking ability as well as ease of
spinnaker use, the Nacra 17 will be the spinnaker
catamaran of the future.

Mobile: +61 400 701 878 Ph: +61 (2) 9953 6697 Email: james@nacraxtreme.com Web: www.nacraxtreme.com

Devon,

Over the last 10 years we have seen no less then 8 different nacra 17 models reach the market place. The Carbon/Kevlar version was native to Australia and never made it to Europe or USA. In fact this is one of the rarest versions of the whole collection and out of
production for a long time as far I as can determine.

The specs given in your post are certainly NOT the ones that are applicable to the currently market Nacra I17R and F17's.

Wouter

Devon,

Go post your add and blatant phishing on the F17 forum.

Never Mind!!! You guys beat me to it.

Sorry guys, I have asked this same question on the 17 forum and couldnt get an answer. As I will race against a 16 I was curious to see how it will compare and if this is possible. I wasnt phishing, these boats are very rare and there is just so little information on them anywhere. Thanks to those who helped
Devon

The F16s are a lot lighter, that's all I know for sure. I've sailed against Bob Curry on his 17 and of course he won by a mile!

The 17 is fuller in the bows than the Blade. IMO it should be able to handle heavy air a little better. This comparison is probably not true of the Viper or Matt McDoalds's new boat.

In the end, performance is similar, results depend on the driver.

Doug, to reply to your question about crew wt. on the F16, if it's windy (15+) then 360 lbs. is not too heavy and may in fact help you go faster than the lighter crews depending on how much they have to depower the boat. I would not recomend the Inter 20 for an inexperienced female crew unless she loves pain, in which case, does she have a sister?

The one thing about the F16 as a class, you can race it solo if you can't find crew, or two up if you can. The Blade will easily handle 360 lbs. crew on board, you might not be as "fast" in light air as a lighter team, but you never know. In the end, it comes down to sailor skills, which is how it should be.

The Inter 20 is a great boat but you must race two up all the time so you lose the option of racing solo if your crew bails on you. And there is that moving it around the beach issue as well.

I think you have said your grand-daughter sails with you, well you two should be fine on any F16 platform, and then if she's not available, you can race solo as well.

Running the spinnaker on the F16 is of course easier than on the I20 just because the spinnaker is smaller so it takes less arm strength, but on a windy day, she will have both hands full, ask Gina!

In my experience on the F16 from 280-340 crew weight provides no difference in performance over pretty much the whole wind range. (Racing 5-20 knots A drifter is pot luck anyway ususally and +20 starts to become survivial for a lot of people) This is 2 up crew weight as that is typicaly how I sail and have run the full range of crew weight.

The boat looses some "feel" in responsiveness with more weight but finishes just fine. Over 340 you may suffer a little in the very light stuff and under 280 you can quickly become over powered. Anything within 20-25 lbs of the main range and performance is still within a range that the finishes will be dicatated by the skill of the crew.