Productive update report Nacra17

Please find a Productive update report Nacra 17 2015 what contains the changes that have been done on the Nacra 17 after its introduction as the new Olympic multihull class. These updates have been discussed with ISAF and The Class Technical Committee.

After the introduction of the Nacra 17 as the new Olympic multihull class, changes have been made to the Nacra 17 to strengthen it for new sailing styles and to improve quality and consistency in production. However, there is a limit to the number of changes that can be made before performance is affected.

The Hall spars carbon mast is one particular area where strengthening is not possible without affecting performance. Any increase in strength of the mast can affect performance. The Nacra mast is produced to the highest manufacturing standard. Even with this high standard it is possible, when sailing, to stress the mast beyond its yield point which can cause permanent damage or even breakage. Some of the biggest causes of damaging the mast is sailing with a lot of Cunningham and not enough mast rotation offwind, and losing control of the boat at high speed with capsizing as a result. Recognising these causes tells us that it is very important to release Cunningham and open mast rotation before sailing offwind, ideally just before you round windward mark. In strong winds, this will reduce the risk of damaging the mast. It is also advised to keep the mainsheet tensioned when sailing offwind.

Rudder systems like everything else are not indestructible. On the occasions that we have seen damages to the rudder system as well as damages to the rudder fittings on the stern, was caused by wrong settings. When the system is not set up correctly it will cause serious fatigue when steering. Please look at the manual for correct settings.

The Nacra 17 Class will publish this productive update document on the Nacra 17 class web. This document contains the changes that have been done on the Nacra 17 after its introduction as the new Olympic multihull class. These updates have been discussed with ISAF and The Class Technical Committee. These publications are only the changes on the product and not the tools for production.

Kind regards,

Peter Vink,