Steve,

That is very interesting. I had not realized that G-cat was working on a new boat. I do seem to recall that they already had a new version of one of their boats,, fitted with a square top main and spinnaker (?). Or was that the Supercat 17 (ARC) that I'm thinking about?
Here's the link to the 36 footers for sale:
http://tinyurl.com/9o2ht

Thanks for the information on the new Performance F-18. This may be the first time many have heard of it. And if you think that it is made by the same maker as the Nacra A2, then you are probably correct. Morelli and Melvin built that, as well as "Playstation" and the Inter 18, which led to the development of the Inter 17 and Inter 20.

I was aware of this new F18 last year when I bumped into Gino Morelli one day while I was at Performance Catamarans of California. (by the way, the Performance Catamaran factory does awesome boat repair jobs!) Quickly, I requested a short session of brain picking. He, being the gracious person he is, was in favor of some exchange of thoughts. We had a pleasant conversation that I hope Gino will appreciate as much as I did.

Given a chance to pick Gino's brain, I just had to ask "So Gino, can you give me some insight on where we might be headed in the future with respect to beach cat design?" "Now that we've seen an 18 footer that is more advanced than the Inter 18, will be seeing a new 20 footer that will be an Inter 20 killer?" (I was wishing so hard, for that!) Gino replied, "Well actually, I think we may try to sneak-in an other Formula 18 design."

GARY: Really? So soon, after the new Nacra F18? Why not do a 20 footer?

GINO: Well, Formula 18 is where the market is right now and we're thinking of building one that uses the successful design of the A2 A-cat. The wave piercing tapered hulls do well. We want to incorporate it into a new F18 that might be able to move upwind faster than the current F18.

GARY: I've always like the way my Mystere 6.0, knife edge bows that pierce waves like mad, assaulted waves and I appreciated the F18 for that shape. What is better about the 'needle like' taper of the A2 hulls?

GINO: The bows go in and they eventually come out. As it turns out, there is a rhythm with the A2. It slides through the water better when it pierces a wave. But this places the bows too low to deal with the next wave, so they emerge and ride over the next wave. So they pierce a wave, then they ride over a wave, then pierce, ride over, and so forth. So they end up only having to rock the boat, half as often as if they were not shaped that way. That makes a big difference on the airflow over the sails. The new design goes through a wave, then over a wave, then through a wave, then over a wave. It conserves energy.

GARY: Well what about hydrofoiling and hydraulic lifting surfaces?

GINO: The only downside to the shape of the A2 bows, when fitted on an F18 sail plan, is the drive of the forward sails; the jib and especially the spinnaker. While the hulls love to drive through, over, and through the water upwind, ... that is all during a point of sail that has the beam and stern of the boat heavily loaded, with the bows very light. Once you go off of the wind with a bunch of sail area forward, you need hulls that are more substantial in forward buoyancy. For this we are considering some lifting foils up front.

GARY: Will this be a hydrofoil cat?

GINO: No. No more than a planing hull is a hydroplane. It would be a set of lifting foils that could be deployed for those times when there is downward sail pressure on the bows. They would be retracted when sailing upwind.

GARY: They would be in front of the cross beam?

GINO: Sure. And they would only be used when the forward sails were doing most of the work.

GARY: Retractable foiling dagger boards. Now that sounds intriguing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me Mr. Morelli. I look forward to seeing your design!

GINO: (walking away with his friendly smile) Nice talking to you!







Steve wrote:

> Gary, sorry no pics, gotta get me one of those things, I think they
> are called cameras. New N F18 designed by same company as the A2. long
> rectangular dagger boards, sails looked same for both. Seemed to do a
> bit better off wind than the square bow Nacra design. As I mostly sail
> single-handed I'm interested in F16 class. If there are more
> interested, perhaps we can put together a group buy. Blade is 240 lbs,
> and G-Cat is still in prototype mode. Saw on ebay where a pair of 36'
> G-Cat hulls are for sale to help defray costs of 1st 10 boats.
>
> --- In So_CA_Beachcat_Sailors@yahoogroups.com, GARY
> wrote:
> >
> > Steve,
> >
> > Did you get any pictures of the nacra F18 with reverse bows? Did you
> > get a look at his daggerboards? Pictures??
> >
> > Yes, the weather this weekend was beautiful!
> >
> > GARY
> >
> > Steve wrote:
> >
> > > sun and wind, what more could a cat sailor ask for? Light wind at noon
> > > increasing steadily until 4pm with moderate chop. Cats on the beach
> > > included 2 Nacra F18's accmpanied on the water with a chase/camera
> > > boat, one had traight bows the other reverse bows. Also on the beach a
> > > Wave, H16 and a SS15.

I had not realized that G-cat was working on a new boat. I do seem to recall that they already had a new version of one of their boats,, fitted with a square top main and spinnaker (?).

8/2/2005 Vectorworks Marine Inc. is very proud to announce that G-cat Catamarans has chosen us to be the builder of their renewed line of beach catamarans
Vectorworks Marine Inc. is very proud to announce that G-cat Catamarans has chosen us to be the builder of their renewed line of beach catamarans.

Hans Geissler the original force and mastermind behind G-cat introduced their first production 16 foot catamaran in 1976, after extensive testing which included a 480 mile open water passage from Florida to Cancun, Mexico. The G-cat 16 immediately after its introduction was taken and raced in many important multi-hull regattas, amassing a very impressive collection of trophies over the years. Originally targeting the ever growing rental market, the G-cat 18 was introduced, which also included a race version. Continuing the tradition, in 1989 the G-force 21 hit the water and race circuit, even showing extremely well in events such as the Worrell 1000, which were dominated at the time by customized 1-offs. Other designs also followed and over the years G-cat produced in excess of 2000 boats, many of which are still sailing today, a great testimate of the robustness of their build and design.

In 1993 Hans took a change of course from boat building to Founding Morningstar Fishermen Inc. , a non-profit Christian humanitarian organization aimed at ending world hunger. Although his vocation changed, his passion for sailing remained. In 2003 Hans put together a prototype 5.0 based on the very successful G-cat 16. Interest in the model from new and old G-cat sailors sparked Hans to thinking how he could tie in his sailing to his humanitarian efforts. Past sailing fund raising exploits across the Gulf of Mexico triggered his thinking about events such as a formula challenge on his newly redesigned 5.0 to raise money for the fight against world hunger.

We are very pleased in that Hans had chosen Vectorworks Marine’s very quickly growing line of beach cats and sailing projects. The G-cat simple design concept lends them to be excellent family and rental boats. The performance that this design has historically shown also means that with a performance rig, it can be a force to deal with at many more regattas as well. VMI’s design team has taken the task of modifying Hans’ prototype craft to make it conform to the relatively new but fast growing F16 formula. The first of these boats will be undergoing testing this summer. Look for continued news on the results of that testing and G-cats use of these boats in their fight against world hunger.

GARY: Well what about hydrofoiling and hydraulic lifting surfaces?
...
GINO: ... It would be a set of lifting foils that could be deployed for those times when there is downward sail pressure on the bows. They would be retracted when sailing upwind.

If you guys were till talking about the F18 then you should be know that the F18 class rules FORBID angled or lifting foils. They enforce the daggerboard to be parallel to the vertical centreline of the boat so if the boat has parallel hulls then the baords will be parallel as well. If the boat has outward canted hulls then the boards will be outward canted as well. I don't think any designer will design a boat with inward canted hulls just to give the boards some inward canting.

The rig was the "regular rig" found on the Nacra F18.