M20 vs F20

(from John Casey Worldwide)

M20:
253 lbs. (damn..)
258 Ft² main
269 Ft² Spin



F20:
~370 lbs
226 Ft² main
301 Ft² spin

I don't really know anything about the M20 so I'll ask here.. What would you rather have?

pitchpoledave posted this on the thread over at SA:

I wonder why that would be so. If they have similar platforms, ie. banana boards, same sail area, etc., and the M20 is almost 120lbs lighter than the F20, what is it that makes the F20 so much faster?

I have a gut feeling that you can build a boat that is TOO light for certain conditions.

However...the Marstrom has had a lot of teething problems and it has a couple different configurations - some with a jib and some without. Some issues may be related to sail development...It's a piece of artwork though. I suspect that it's overpowered for it's (lack of) weight.

The F20 benefits more from the foils because it is wider.

Part (or all) of the weight difference may be due to heavier structural reinforcements associated to the wider width.

I believe the Marstrom is within 6" of the F20 beam if not equal.

10ft/10.5ft M20 to F20

Because of F20c's higher weight the rating might be a little more forgiving then the M20.
I dont know the exact pricing of both boats but am pretty sure the Nacra costs almost half that of an M20 GTI (lower price=bigger fleet?).

I think Macca can clarify the weights of these boats. I think he said that the M20 was in fact almost 350lbs and that the F20c is coming out of the moulds lighter than 370..

If you stood the two side by side at the beach or boat show - you would take the Nacra every time

The mastrom has looked very dated and dull for a few years now

Sexy sells!

The M20 is not really a class boat, there are many different variations out there and I would think that there are very few that are the same specification.

Most of the development has seen Jibs added in order to rectify the reaching speed issues the uni rigged boat has. But other modifications included, different beam widths (now around 3.55m / 11ft 8 inches wide for the top boats) and now curved boards as well.

Take Xanders boat for example: it is now 3.55m wide with high modulus beams (no dolphin striker...) it has the same boards fitted as the Nacra F20 and a big jib.

Herbie's boat has the same beams, marstrom asymmetric section curved boards and a smaller jib than Xanders boat.

Will Sunnucks has 3.60m beams with a dolphin striker and straight boards, big jib etc.

These boats are all weighing between 138 and 150kg. (305 - 330lb) The F20 is about 165kg or 365lb

The Masts are an issue now that the boats are wider and carrying more sail area so we are starting to see them break... Will Sunnucks broke his at Texel in a classic compression failure. He now has a Nacra F20 section.

The Asymmetric foils on Herbie's boat seem to generate a bit too much lift and the transition between modes is too dramatic to be reliable.

So, as Xander said... He sold his M20 and bought a Nacra. The difference is a lot to do with the hull shape and the amount of research and development that was invested in the design, plus the integration and overall feel of the boat. The M20 has moments when you think its unbeatable but as an overall product its hard to beat the F20.