Rules for the Open 20 Class:
1 October 2011

The OPEN 20 is Box Rule Set designed to foster the development and progression of the 20 foot racing catamaran fleet by permitting manufacturers and owners to institute improvements within existing fleets and encouraging development and innovation within the parameters of the Class.

1. Intent and Objective

1.1. The intent of the OPEN 20 Class is to open the platform and sail plan to improvements by providing maximum and minimum parameters for the class to develop within. It is specifically the intent of the class to permit any modifications that are not specifically prohibited by these rules within the spirit of the class.
1.2. The OPEN 20 Class is open to any two-hulled sailing boat with essentially duplicate or mirror image hulls, fixed in parallel or near parallel positions.

2. Overall Length
2.1. Any new OPEN 20 build shall comply with a 20 foot overall length requirement. The length shall be measured between perpendiculars to the extremities of the hulls with the catamaran in her normal trim. The measurement shall be taken parallel to the centerline of the craft and shall exclude rudder hangings.

2.1 “Grandfather”—Any legacy “20 ft.” catamaran, defined as a catamaran >=19 feet and <=20’6”, built on or before the adoption of this Class shall be permitted in the OPEN 20 Class provided that it otherwise meets the Class requirements.

3. The sail plan shall consist of 1 mainsail, 1 jib and 1 spinnaker that shall be carried aboard.
3.1 Sails may be manufactured by any sail maker and will be measured in accordance with the F16 sail measurement guidelines

3.2 A measurer recognized by the OPEN 20 class shall certify all sails.

3.3 Each sail maker shall present a certification of the sail’s measurements.

3.4 No sail shall be replaced during a regatta, except when a sail has been lost or damaged, then only with permission of the Race Committee.

3.5 Total sail area of the 3 sails and mast shall not be more than 50 sq. meters (538 sq. ft.). The jib is required to be at least 9.5% the area of the main sail. The total sail area can be no greater than 50 sq/meter.

3.6 Once measured and certified, the sq. foot/meter measurement of each sail shall be indelibly marked near the tack point of the sail for future verification.

4. Mast—The mast may be built from any materials and may be any length provided that the total sail area limit is not exceeded.

5. The beam of the catamaran shall not exceed 8 feet 6 inches.

6. The minimum weight of the boat in full trim shall not be less than 350 lbs.

7. Crew Sailing Weight: Minimum crew sailing weight is 325lbs. If you require corrector weights to meet the 325 lbs minimum they will be attached to the main beam or placed in the hulls evenly distributed side to side. They may not be moved during the racing.

8. Team size: 2

9. Rule Development-As a developing class, registered member suggestions and discussions will drive change.
9.1. After the first year re-address rules 9.2. Thereafter, every 3 years re-address rules


Capt Cardiac
Ocean Springs Yacht Club
Sailor
Nacra20 - Flight of Ideas #5