Nacra 20


The Nacra 20 is a catamaran sailing dinghy that was designed by Gino Morrelli and Pete Melvin as a one-design racer and first built in 1998.
The design is a development of the Nacra F18 Infusion, using the same rudders, mast, inter-hull beams and other small parts and fittings, but with new, longer hulls.
The design was originally marketed by the manufacturer as the Nacra Inter 20 and later as the Nacara 20, more recently it has been developed into the Nacara F20 Carbon and the hydrofoil-equipped Nacara F20 Carbon FCS.
The Nacara F20 Carbon is a recognized World Sailing international competition class.

Production

The design was initially built by Performance Catamarans in Santa Ana, California, United States, but that company is out of business. Since 2007 the design has been built by Nacra Sailing in Scheveningen, Netherlands, and it remains in production as the Nacara F20 Carbon and Nacara F20 Carbon FCS models.

Design

The Nacra 20 is a racing catamaran sailboat. All models have fractional sloop rigs with rotating masts, vertical transoms, transom-hung rudders controlled by a tiller and retractable daggerboards. They are normally sailed by a crew of two and the design is equipped with two trapezes for balance.

Variants

;Nacra 20
;Nacra F20 Carbon
;Nacra F20 Carbon FCS

Operational history

In a 2012 review of the Nacra 20 Carbon in Sail magazine, reviewer Jeremy Evans wrote, "the Nacra 20 Carbon is a spectacular new one-design that is very light—20 pounds lighter than the smaller Formula 18—very stiff and very powerful, with its all-carbon wave-piercing hulls and a superb carbon/Kevlar mainsail... Sailing in a light to moderate breeze, I found the boat to be stable, predictable and effortlessly quick.. All in all, this is a beautiful boat capable of blistering speed and a truly thrilling ride in a wide range of conditions."