I am considering purchase of nacra 20 and need advice on single handing. Is this feasible? ...both from a setup/launch and sailing standpoint? My previous experience was years ago on a nacra 5.0 which I remember being heavy and a handful even for two. I'm a big guy, but concerned about righting boat by myself. Boat I'm looking at appears to have aluminum mast/boom. Intended use: mostly recreational, single or with 1-2 crew, do not want a twitchy boat or one that will pitch pole. Will a n20 disappoint?

Is this a Nacra 6.0 or a Nacra Inter 20? Sounds like it's a 6.0 which had a little less volume in the bows than the Inter 20. I could right my Inter 20 alone ( at 190lbs.) as long as there was enough wind to get under the mast and help lift the sail up, say 8+ knots, but that was with a carbon mast. Don't know about the aluminum one.

Oh, and you can pitch pole just about anything if you try hard enough, but the 20 foot boats have a bit more resistance than the 16 foot 5.0, as they have the much longer bows.

Boat is '02 Nacra I-20, which some have suggested is more forgiving than F18 and price is right for intended use.

'02 I-20 should have a carbon mast. It is painted, which may make you think it's metal. All of that is of course, assuming that the mast was not replaced. Boom is aluminum.

I-20 is very pitch pole resistant - extreme buoyancy in the bows. You can pitch anything, but you need to work harder to pitch these.

Weight is comparable to a 6.0, ~400 lbs. The carbon mast is nice to handle, boat rights fairly easily in anything you're likely to capsize in.

I've single handed ours, not a big deal. Choose your conditions to get used to it. John McLaughlin single handed an I-20 for a whole C-100, kicked all of our butts, but then that's John!

I find the original gen 1 rudders to give the boat a very responsive, almost twitchy feel. If you don't like that, the newest generation rudders give the boat a more settled feel. There are three rudder versions available, folks have their preference.

Overall great boat, they seem to stand up extremely well, so just look for the normal wear and tear items.

The 20 is a little less pitchpole prone than any of the F18's but it is a monster of a boat. I have single handed them periodically but not while being serious about it. It's a big powerful boat meant for two grown people. It's not practical to move it around on the wheels by yourself either. All I20's should have a carbon mast unless someone did something funny with it.

In the next 45 days, a lot of N20s, A-Cats, and F-16s will be rigging for the season at WRSC. Probably will be able to get first hand experience with rigging and sailing each platform. If interested, we can get you in contact with the club members. BTW, there is also an N20 for sale there.

But where is the WRSC?

WRSC: West River Sailing Center ... it is located on the West River which is located south of Annapolis Md on the Chesapeake Bay on the western shore. (approx 6-8 miles below Annapolis)

"Lucky Duck/Ed, John McLaughlin and two or three other F16's sail/race on the West River also.

HarryMurphey

I have to agree that if singlehanding is your thing, then the F16 is the boat for you.

I've single handed mine many times. Light to medium air. Even to Catalina Island once or twice by myself. It really is a pretty forgiving boat but can get overpowered quickly. If it's a great deal, get it.

Sorry but this is wishful/ dangerous thinking. Sure under the right conditions you could right a forty footer! But in reality you will need to be rescued 99.999% of the time.

Well, you can actually singlehand a 70 footer even, (vendee globe) but I wouldn't recommend this to mere mortals.

Regulary singlehanding an I-20 seems a bit of a stretch to me, especially in any gusty or stong conditions. I remember depowering the fricking sh!t out of the rig in 20 knots conditions with 2 80-90 kg guys hanging off the side (400 lbs total).

I break my back only thinking about putting it on its road trailer, beach dolly, in its birth or on its side singlehandedly. My experience is that the less appealing these activities are, the less inclined you are to go sailing.

But really your own statement provides the answer you are looking for; you wrote :"My previous experience was years ago on a nacra 5.0 which I remember being heavy and a handful even for two"

If you think the Nacra 5.00 was too much then their is absolutely no reason to expect any improvement on these point when buying a I-20. It is both significantly heavier and requires alot more skill to depower or handle in challenging conditions, ESPECIALLY when singlehanding it. I personally feel the Nacra 5.0 is actually one of the best designs for the usage you state. I.e. : "...mostly recreational, single or with 1-2 crew, do not want a twitchy boat or one that will pitch pole."

Basically the only lesser point of the nacra 5.0 is maybe its somewhat more pronounced diving tendency, but this is one of the lesser problems of all problems you can encounter on a highly tuned up racing boat.

What is the reason you are getting rid of the Nacra 5.0 ?

Wouter

<quote>
I break my back only thinking about putting it on its road trailer, beach dolly, in its birth or on its side singlehandedly. My experience is that the less appealing these activities are, the less inclined you are to go sailing.
</quote>
Chairperson, I second the above statement.

I have owned a Nacra 5.2 since last year and it has given me lots of aches, bruises, some cuts and a busted shoulder (awful!). Not once because of the on-the water handling which is simply excellent, but from dragging it back up the beach after hours of fun sailing.
I have to motivate myself to go out because of the terrible on the beach handling and I need to co-ordinate my return at all times so that I can get help and don't need to wait for high tide to beach the boat after 18:00 hrs... (kinda s_cks to explain to the wife I came home so late because the tide was out!) (it s_cks worse to have to come in early!)

My next cat will probably be an F-16, but first I need to get my sailing abilities up to par in the school of hard knocks!

It really winds me up when this question comes up.
Someone always uses it as an "I've done this, and I've done that" excuse and gives the impression that it is a good idea for someone, that admits they are uncertain [cos they are asking the question], to go and get a two-hander to single-hand.

Well "SO WOT" [I can feel a song coming on] - Talk some bloody sense!

Paul

Hi Dennis,

I actually got one of the heaviest F16's around, as it is a homebuild. Mine is 121 kg ready to sail in 2-up mode and indeed 125 kg is about as far as I'm willing to go with respect to singlehanded handling of any catamaran. I can put this boat on its trailer and in its birth singlehandedly. Putting it on it dolly, flipping it over and right it again or dragging it to a point above the flood line is very doable in my opinion, but again I don't want to go passed 125 kg overall. Each added kg starts to measure in more heavily then the single kg added before. I too would love to own a modern F16 that are between 107-110 kg in 2-up attire. You do notice that 11-14 kg reduction, let alone the 45 kg that is the difference between an aging N5.2 and a new F16 !

Every now and then I'm asked to help a fellow club member to help raise the mast, flip the boat over or lift the bows to place the dolly underneath. Ever single time I thank the dear lord that I had seen the light about 10 years ago and have gone lightweight. I have never looked back ever since.

Wouter

some *cough*most*cough* of us aren't wussy men and can actually move a 400lbs boat around on the beach with a friend :P

<quote>some *cough*most*cough* of us aren't wussy men and can actually move a 400lbs boat around on the beach with a friend :P
</quote>
That's just "macho speak" for "Guys, I need help getting it up".

Yes, moving it around on hard packed wet sand was easy, even alone, but humping it up hill in soft sand was always a bitch! Even dragging my 230lb. F16 uphill in soft sand is tough. His question (I thought) was more to the point of "Is a 20 footer more pitch pole resistand than an 18, or 16 (5.0)?" I say yes, certainly, especially the Inter 20 because of those big bows. But as others have pointed out, you will suffer the consequenses of dealing with any 20 foot, 400lb. boat on shore.

I usually had to rig mine alone because I usually had my 10 year old son crewing for me, and he was no help when it came time to get it on/off the trailer. It can be done alone unless you are a little girl. I didn't say it would be easy or smart but it can be done.

After my back surgery my doctor told me not to sail anymore, but I decided to get a lighter boat and work out rather than give up sailing.

A better solution might be to learn how -not- to pitch pole your 5.0, if you still have it. Unless you are flat out racing and really pushing the boat for speed downwind, there is no reason it should pitch pole, unless you have too much weight on board. If you have that many friends who like to sail, then they can help you move the Inter 20, which is a much nicer ride for 2-3 adults vs. a 5.0.

But if you go out alone, you will have your hands full on a windy day. I always pulled my boards up a foot or so sailing mine solo, this kept it under control. And you can ease the traveler out a foot too.

I've been an owner of an N20 for a long time. Seems like you are getting a mixed message here. Do not buy this boat to singlehand. This boat is way to powerful for singlehanding. It is twitchy as hell when you singlehand it. Getting it up on the beach by yourself is almost impossible unless you have the perfect hardpacked flat beach with no incline. Me and my crew have stuggled many times trying to get it back on the beach after a long day of sailing. The boat is very hard to right singlehanded with the carbon mast but it can be done in howling conditions.

If you don't have a lot of experience with cats this might not be the boat for you.

PS. If you don't buy it would you mind passing along the seller to me.

That last comment aside (sounds like you have a motive there Mike!), Mike is absolutely correct. Don't buy a 20 with the intention of single handing it. It really is a monster of a catamaran with a lot of power.