CRAM's F17 Fleet has grown to 14 since the end of last season. Stimulation of the fleet can be credited to the addition of Matt Struble (3-time Alter Cup Champion) switching from the F18 Fleet, the close competition from last year between Mark Batchelor (NA Champion), Roger Cochran (also switching from the F18 in 2005) and Bill Gillespie, Roger edging out Bill in Season's Points for the fleet by 9 points, 4412 vs. 4403! The additions include two other converts from the F18 Class, Chad Schwall and Jimmy Cox, Jimmy coming back to the F17 after several seasons in the F18 Fleet. Also returning to the F17 Fleet are Andy Zitkus and me! The competition in the fleet seems to be what is making it grow so rapidly. The special pricing offered by our fellow fleet member and dealer must surely have helped with some of the growth also.

The fleet is talking about holding a debrief on Saturday evening after racing with the skippers sharing what went right and what went wrong out on the water, the objective being to make the whole fleet get better. With Matt Struble suggesting this, I think the fleet has a great deal to look forward to this season with everyone getting faster!

Soon to be sailing the F17 again...

Sparky
Good luck in the new fleet.
Do you know how many F17 are in the other Great Lakes States?
Are you going to keep the A2?
Fair Winds
Ted

I agree, this may be the perfect boat for someone looking for a single-handed high-performance spinnaker boat!

I have heard that this boat is also very fast with the jib kit. Tom, from Pensacola area, had shared some aswesome results from a race at the OSYC.

I am anxious to get my F17 down here to GA.

Ken

Sparky,

Will you guys be letting us folks in Florida in on the "know"?? We can share info too!

Bob

Your correct Les, The great competition in the midwest F17 fleet is going to fuel the growth even more. I'm looking forward to returning to the F17 fleet. Let's hope we get the Wisconsin guys on board before they miss the best sailing season ever for the F17.

Bob:

I may have the F17 in GA early summer.

I would like to join the FL guys and get some tips from YOU!

PM me sometime and let me know when you are going to race your F17! Give me a heads up on some of the popular events, you are only 6-7 hours away...

Thanks,

Ken

Bob,

We are trying to keep the F17 Tuning Guide up to date, so we will keep making updates as more information is being shared. Here is the link to where the Tuning Guide is.

http://www.cathouse1.com/F17.htm

Look at the bottom. You can see it there, however, it has not been updated yet. I am hoping to move it or copy it to the Nacra Class website:

http://www.nacraclass.com/F17.htm

Ted,

I love that picture!

Regarding other Great Lakes F17 sailors, we had a couple come to Catfight in Muskegon last year, both from Minnesota, I think. I heard rumor that a couple more have gone the other side of Lake Michigan, but I cannot confirm it.

I almost missed your question about selling the A2. My dealer is brokering the boat for me, so yes, I am selling it.

I love the boat (A2), but don't feel I can learn to do it justice in the absence of a fleet. We never had more than 2 A Class at any of our regattas last year and with the growth of the F17 Fleet and the quality of the competitors, I just couldn't pass it up. BTW, I loved the F17 I had before the A2, so I am not disappointed in the change. Something about the spinnaker...!

Yo Bob,

http://www.cathouse1.com/F17_tuning.html

This is the direct link to the Tuning Guide. We would sure appreciate your thoughts on what you see in there. We all heard (most of us saw) how fast you are on the F17 when you won North Americans in 2004, so your input would be extremely valuable. You can send it to me and I will share it with the others...well, maybe not . Seriously, I will include it in the Tuning Guide for everyone to use.

Bill told me he talked to you about the F17 Fleet while at Alter Cup and we are excited to hear you are committed to helping grow the Class! We are looking forward to your participation at this year's North Americans in Racine!

How much does it weigh?

I was going to ask the same question- and how easy is it for one person to right it?

Les:

What are you selling your A2 for? Man I wish I had the money. That will be my third boat when funds are there. We have a GREAT A cat fleet here.

Doug Snell
Hobie 17
Soon to be Mystere 4.3
www.tcdyc.com

Well, It's not easy. But do-able.
I could flip my old wooden A-cat with aluminum mast, right it and keep racing (less than a minute all together). Righting F17 takes time. Boat is heavy. Everything around this boat is a labor. It's labor to rig it. It's labor to launch it. It is a lot of work to sail it fast.
Don't take me wrong, boat is GOOD. You can have 4 people on it and it will float, relatively fast. Perfect boat for distance racing. Buoyant, great in rough stuff. Even better in flat waters. I didn’t check this year Portsmouth, but last year’s one was very favorable, in light to moderate wind you can easily give a hard time to F18. With addition of a jib, perfect family double-handler.
However, it’s a machine. Sailing A-cat, even an old one, is like having all your feeling extended. There is basically nothing between you, water and wind. Driving Mazda Miata.
Sailing Nacra F17 is driving machinery. Driving Ford Mustang.

We have growing class at SHBCC too. 6 Inters plus 2 Hobie FX1. We have more this year, I don’t know how many yet. It’s a reason I sail F17 now. However, I wouldn’t go this route if I had a chance to chase A-cat or two around race cource. Or, may be F16...:)

Vlad

Wooden A-cat - my favorite
Nacra F17 - my racing boat
Russian inflatable catamaran “Albatros” - my favorite for island hopping

Ted,

I can't believe I forgot to mention that there are also 3 F17s in Ohio! One of those sails in the Michigan fleet, now at 14 boats. The other two race in Ohio, one of which is my first F17. I ordered it yellow with yellow mast, daggerboards and rudders, and the spinnaker alternated between yellow and black. I will always love that boat!

Doug,




There is an ad in Catsailor on this website (shameless plug). I am letting the dealer do all the talking about the boat. He can tell you what you need to know about it. It comes with the measurement certificates and Pete Melvin's Tuning Guide, which I found very helpful.

PM'ed you...

Chrisun,

I got the PM. I think you got a response.

I think I remember you from the early 80's racing Division 10 and CRAM. As I recall, you sailed the TheMightyHobie18 very well in a terrifically competitive fleet. Am I wrong? At my age, I am suffering CRS (can't remember sh*t), so bear with me. Well, it used to be CRS, but now I think it has advanced to CRAFT!


(can't remember a f***ing thing)

Doesn't anyone who owns an F17 know what it weighs? I have never been able to get a straight answer, only "The new ones are lighter than the old ones..." Is there no class minimum boat weight? I have heard rumors the new ones weigh about 340? Can anyone confirm that? And I also heard the boat is actually about 17'9", which makes it more like an F18 minus jib and crew, with a carbon mast, is that right?

I'm not getting into this nest of wasps but I do know that Texel at this link gives the specs of an Inter-17R that was measured in late 2004.

http://www.watersportverbond.nl/data/DC9_numdet1_26-2-2006.pdf

Wouter

Here is some of my research on the Nacra F17
The boat is sold in North America, maybe special ordered in Europe, but there are no class legal F17s as yet.
Class Page
The Nacra F17 seems to be only sold in North America, with the carbon spar from Southern Spars of New Zealand.
carbon mast 30’ 4”
Main sail is 170 sq. ft
Spinnaker 15.5 sq. m.
Spinnaker 18 sq. m. ( Class Racing Crew 230lbs & Up)
Wgt. 320lbs. (Traverse City, MI. Digital scales 2005 boat complete)
Mid pole snuffing system

Both Nacra models (N17 and F17 were built as a true single handed cat, not to be confused with the Australian N17, that is a 17’ design as a sloop to replace the 5.2. There’s a nifty jib option for the North American 17s
But not legal for class racing.
Most popular region
Great Lakes appx 26 boats
New Jersey (East Coast) 10 boats
Florida (South East) 12 boats
Texas 5 boats
Clubs; with fleets
CRAM
Flt 250 Sandy Hook

Christopher H.