Nacra F18 Evo @Murcia by Laurens Morel
All images by Laurens Morel / Nacra Sailing. Excellent shots by Launres of the new Nacra Evo F18 teams training sessions at Murcia, Spain, towards the 2020 season. We identify World Champ Stephan Dekker among the crews, the others are French sailors as the info we have.
Nacra has gone the Scorpion / Edge way in terms of looks and design ‘gadgets’ (looks like a merge of both indeed) and they also have maintained good overall hull volume. Which was one of the key aspects from the Infusion, a feature that can also can be backtracked to the Boulogne bros World Champ design, the original Cirrus.
What we’ve changed with the Scorpion is the hull volume actual distribution and bow shape. Going for a lower freeboard at the bow it might look that shape the Evo F18 also uses now might have a pitch tendency, but it is not the case in the Scorpion (and surely not on the Evo) as in contrast with say the Wildcat bow, it has much more height and overall volume thought its hull crossections just behind the bow, providing the needed margin to push in the breeze plus the added improved recovery and nose up again due to the reduced bow shape (less drag).
In terms of hull bottom the Evo has adopted a more square flatter transom shape, already featured on the Nacra F20FCS & N17. For the rest of the hull curves towards the bow we will need to see it live to identify if they’ve gone a flatter sections a la Phantom or more rounded as I went for the Scorpion. Seems the latter.
You can easily identify yourself which type for amidships to bow bottom section your F18 has, when you sail chop with a flatter bottom F18 hull , the bow bottom will splash harder making more noise, while a rounder bottom you will feel a softer ride.
Then for transom bottom shape, the theory it’s a flatter one might provide semi planning features, but then you follow Windrush Edge results, and her ‘V’ shape transom works pretty well too.
The other big change we already addressed for the Infusion MK3, is moving the daggercase in front of shrouds, the Evo keeps that MK3 feature, which is standard by now and first implemented by Guru Martin Fischer in the Hobie Wildcat.
On the Evo , Morrelli & Melvin has already delivered to Nacra sailors a 5 Times World Champ Design (2008, 2009, 2013, 2014 & 2015). The new Nacra Evo F18 has a strong winning heritage and will seek to keep the Infusion podium tradition in place.
2020 F18 Worlds will be held at Formia (South of Rome) , Italy , July 3 to 10th.
Early fee & Registration is Open: www.f18world2020.org/en/regatta/registration
