Here's my prediction;

The 'Olympic 18'

A simple 18' cat built with cost effective materials [Polyester/aluminium]

One design licensed to various builders around the world

Stupid amount of sail area - tricky to sail in a blow [Crash and burn]


Remember where you read it first folks!

ah... I think this is where we differ.... I believe that there is no next step into the room.... no move to men's and women's multihull. We will be consigned to this backwater of a social sport... just like mixed doubles. even worse... our junior events would also have to go to a mixed doubles format.

I could accept Open Multihull and Open 470... (and just pick cat equipment that is biased to light teams).

Men's Cats and Women's 470's also works
to go along with
M and W Keelboats, Boards, Lasers and Skiffs

Kris... ISAF international class is not the same as Olympic Class

ISAF approval means that your class rules, measurement rules and standards, Championship rules are approved and mandated by ISAF and can't be changed by a local organization. (Carbon Tornado masts had to meet some ISO 2000 standard coming out of the factory) Your class pays a builders fee for this seal of approval. You get to host a world championship since they own the trademark and you buy into the program with your boat button.

The latest proposal is for ISAF to take over the world championships of the Olympic classes and package them into enormous mega regattas that they (ISAF) can promote.

Obviously, a successful international class would not want to hand the keys over to ISAF. In particular, a catamran class will be the red headed step child in this unholy mix.... For example... in Miami... the Tornado's had to sail 14 miles out to their race course for the OCR regatta ... sometimes... they got a 9 mile away race course... Would things be better under the NEW ISAF..... yeah... right......

Seems to me, the causal observer. The prefect platform, at least for the men exists already. Tornado. It's developed which means we'll have a skill race not a equipment race or the BS involved with picking another boat. And isn't that what it's all about really.......or it should be.

I think you will all agree that when it was racing no one was complaining about it except for one or two SMOD manufacturers that wanted their boat in. IOC politics aside.

The new Olympic multihull will be the Moth with larger floats on the wings

I'm with Paul: if choosing one of the existing classes is complicated, a new one design multihull could be the answer.

49er is a multi-smod design. Monkey owns the master plug. He then has a few molds popped from the master.. One is shipped to a few "partner" companies. These then follow a script to make hulls.
All sails are cut in one factory. Then shipped to the partner companies and sold.. Masts are also made as a batch.

So like i was saying we really havent got a sutiable cat that will suffice for the next olympics the way that the ISAF is wanting, and they dam well know this, what i propose is that the multihull association dictate to the ISAF what they are prepared to allow them to have as a cat for the olympics, and the ISAF will have NO choise but to go with that or the IOC will remove more of their 10 events, or is the WMO going to do to the multihull sailers what the ISAF have done already! I really hope the WMC dont allow the ISAF to again nail multihullers by us compremising our existing fleets sailed and built up by sailers and families like yours and mine! As cat sailers we know what will happen to a good fleet such as the F18 F16 etc
and I cant believe that anyone will abandon weekend nationals, fleet racing, etc day in day out to sail a cat that was not designed and built such as the tornado was for the olympics, and sail an olympic class of cat that will be out matched by that same class developing further outside of the olympics, for instance the F16/18 class will continue to develop and grow but what about the F16/18 olympic class, truly like the tornado a new type of cat has to be designed and built specificaly for the olympics to be sucessful not try to adapt what we already have, and I would suggest that the nacra C20 fits this bill and there is no reason why even 2 makers can not build to same box rule such as hobie allowing for minor class developments or facelifts with agreeance, this will build other smaller class cats as stepping stones to the 20 footers, starting with cats like the windrush etc for younger sailers...
There I feel better now..

I personally think the hobie 16 will be the next Olympic cat......

Let me get my beer and popcorn. This is going to be good . . .

Well....... The Laser got selected LOL

What about the Nacra Inter 17Nacra
Sniggers at Engi


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 Fax: +61 (2) 9953 6697 Email: james@nacraxtreme.com Web: www.nacraxtreme.com

Now I know you that haven't really looked closely at the specs of boats or the gained experience with each so far.

First your write :



And then make a complete 180 and write :




So you really believe that 0.25 mtr or 10 inches hull length makes a world of difference (never mind the F16 rating is much lower/faster then the F17 even when sailed heavy)

Then the (overweight) 17 footer (measured to be 150 kg despite what the brochures claims) can easily carry 155 kg of crewweight but the 110 kg 16 footer is only suited to all (petite) girl teams and Asians. Seems to me that the difference in platform weight alone would already account for 40 kg heavier crews on the F16's in comparison. Last time I checked the F17 wasn't foiling either (and has much strickter rules on such things as well)

Then to top it off you implicetly claim that the 17 footer could be an all male boat where the (much lighter but with same sail area and faster) F16's could not provide an exiting platform for spectacular racing.

Have you ever sailed on (modern) F16 ?

I think it is high time you did; you will instantly understand that your opinions of it are incredibally far of the mark. And no the Taipan 4.9/F16 is no longer state of the art (and I have one myself)

Personally I favour the Volvo extreme 20 over the foiling Nacra20 and please leave all the carbon BS aside. The VE20, A-cats, F16's and what not have been running with carbon for many years now and therefore the New Nacra is not something special.

Wouter

It makes perfect sense. He works for NACRA.

If the tornado can get booted, Finns AND Lasers get selected, the next thing to do is bring the H16 in.
It ticks all the boxes, can easily do mixed crews, nice and colourful on the water for camera appeal and like the Finn and Laser, has been around for aeons....
plus it'll get hobie backing, there are already 150000 of them been sold around the world.
I don't really agree with it, but it seems like what they want to do.

boring...

wouter, the Nacra Inter 17 is not the same boat as the Nacra F17, the F17 has simular shape hulls, but not carbon kevlar and a totally different platform. the specs that I put up are from the Nacra website, I didnt write them, they were copy and paste...and yes due to the lighter weight of women on average they will be faster on a F16 platform than 2 heavier guys of same experience, but thats just logic,but i cant see lightweight women handling a larger sail plan as well as men can, so making the larger sailplans will be more sutiable for men, the Inter 17 has a 20sq mtr spinaker the F16 has 17.5 sq mtr / the Inter main and jib totalls 21sq mts not including winged mast the F16 is 18.7 including mast, Im not saying that F16`s are girlie boats I am making facts, so according to the experts, designers etc the extra 10inches does make a difference along with the different hull shape, to clear my point i dont believe that a F16 footer mixed is the way to go at the next olympics, as i posted previously it is a development class, the Inter 17 isnt, it wouldnt interfere with any other classes, just like the tornado, the reason i higlighted the carbon kevlar was because of the huge weight reduction and extra stiffness of the I17 over the F17, are you suggesting that the F16 should be put up to the ISAF as the next mixed olympic catamaran? Do you feel that the F16 will be more spectacular to the general public than a tornado?
I gotta say I also prefer the x40 `s but thats not going to happen (sigh)

No i dont work for nacra, but i give them shitloads of my hard earnt money

****-up of the selection....

Do you sail a T Stewart?

How can a Tornado be much more expensive to campaign than a Hobie 16? Have you seen what they charge for a sail? How long a hull stays competative? Is it a modern look? Is it suitable for lighter weight nationalities? The T is perfect two lighter Asians have the leveredge to hold down the T what are they going to do on a Hobie 16. Wait a minute that means the Hobie 16 will definately get in with the USA's sportsmanlike 3 votes