wow...that is an interesting design. I'm not sure about "wrong" though. Obviously, they are trying to achieve a hull that will plane but with some rocker in it to handle chop. I can't imagine the price on the thing though.
The daggerboard wells appear to be pretty far forward from the current line of designs and the shrouds are WAY forward.
The bottom shape of the boat looks similar to the new A-Class design, "The Tool". It is a u-shape rather than a semi-circular shape which has been the standard underwater shape for the last 15 years in the A-class. The goal is try to get a planing shape to work that is still low drag in lighter air. I think the jury is still out.
Pete Melvin brought a new A2 to the NA's in Bristol that had forward beam, daggerboard wells, and shrouds moved further aft. We really did not see any performance difference (positive or negative) in the light to moderate air of the event and Lars Guck was obviously not slow on the older A2 design. The placement of shrouds and daggerboards on the Nikita F-18 looks similar to the A2 but I believe it's hard to tell in a photo like this in a comparative sense to other boats.
Bob Hodges
