formula 16 catamaran

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Blade F16: This Blade is Razor Sharp

• By Tony Bessinger
• Updated: June 21, 2006

I vividly remember pitchpoling my buddy’s Hobie 18 on a windy day on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay in the early 1980s, so whenever I look at small catamarans my eyes are drawn to the bows, the root (along with poor driving skills) of many a catamaran pitchpole. Traditional bow shapes like that of the Hobie 18 rely on reserve buoyancy, i.e., the top of the hull is wider than the bottom, to keep the bows from regularly submerging. That windy day was at the forefront of my mind when we sailed the Blade Formula 16 catamaran during last year’s Boat of the Year competition. The conditions were wild and wooly, with a puffy 20-knot breeze and a nasty chop. Rather than having each of the BOTY judges sail the boat, and probably crashing and burning, we nominated Chuck Allen, our small-boat expert on the BOTY panel. We helped Allen and Blade rep Matt MacDonald rig and launch the boat in the shore break and then witnessed what judge Alan Andrews described as “watching a ball of spray scream across the horizon.” The first thing we had noticed about the Blade F16 was its reverse-sheer bows and the subtle refinements of the wave-piercing technology incorporated by the boat’s designers Phill Brander and Ian Marcovitch. The hull volume is placed low in the symmetric hulls, and as we saw during Allen’s test sail, the boat was nearly impossible to stuff, no matter how fast they were going or how awkward the seaway was. The Blade is a product of the Formula 16 box rule, which produces light, fast, gennaker-rigged 5-meter cats for single- or doublehanders. The hope was that it would be competitive against larger Formula 18 cats, but relatively easy to sail. The F16 rule dictates maximum length, beam, and sail area, as well as minimum weight. Within those parameters, designers can draw anything, as long as it measures within the box. Brander and Marcovitch have come up with a design that not only fits the box, but ushers in a new era in 16-foot catamarans. The Blade’s hulls are designed to provide lift when the boat’s flying a hull. According to its designers, and confirmed by Allen, when the Blade heels, the leeward side of the hull “stands more perpendicular to the water’s surface and the hull becomes an asymmetric, foil-type shape that creates lift to windward.” This gives the Blade its windward performance and allows the boat to remain balanced downwind with the gennaker up. “Upwind the boat wants to rise up and point higher,” says Allen, “but only when the windward hull is out of the water.” According to Allen, another benefit of the Blade’s hull form is the elimination of pitching, a common problem with some older catamaran designs. “Much like an A Class cat, there’s no hobbyhorsing,” says Allen. “It just rips through the waves. We buried the bow a few times and each time the boat popped out and continued on, where we normally would’ve pitchpoled.” The Blade’s asymmetric gennaker is flown from an aluminum bowsprit and is launched and retrieved with a single-line system. According to Allen, the aluminum wing mast’s rotation is easy to handle, even from the trapeze, thanks to the outboard-led rotator controls. In line with the ethos of simplicity, the fully battened jib is self-tacking. BOTY judge Meade Gougeon, who owns and races an A Class cat and is familiar with the pitfalls of high-performance multihulls, was likewise impressed with the Blade. “This design appeared to be unusually forgiving when the leeward bow was stuffed in a wave at speed downwind,” he says. “I wouldn’t have believed that this boat could have survived what it did if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.” Gougeon was also impressed with the boat’s rig. “For a 16-foot cat, this boat has a huge rig, a 30-foot mast that one would expect to see on much larger cats, such as a Tornado,” says Gougeon. “Its mast-height-to-waterline-length ratio (32 to 16) is 200 percent, which sets a record in my book. Twenty years ago such a ratio would’ve been considered impractical for heavy air, but we saw how well the thing worked in big air and waves.” The Formula 16 box rule allows for boats to be built of any material. The original intent by the Blade’s designers was that it be a kit boat, but the Blade Allen sailed was a pre-production version of vinylester and fiberglass skins and foam core, built by Vectorworks Marine Sail in Titusville, Fla. While Formula 16 class racing is established in Europe, it’s still in its infancy in the United States. MacDonald says he’s starting to see a trickle of F-16 activity, mainly in Florida. The boat currently has a Portsmouth Rating of 65.3, which puts it in the realm of the A Class cat (64.8) and the Taipan 4.7 (65.3). The Blade F16 can be built with Kevlar for an extra $500, and the sails can be upgraded to Pentax for an additional $300. Carbon daggerboards, kick-up rudders, and stocks are also options. The boats are sold as complete, ready-to-sail packages and a trailer is available from Vectorworks for $900. Blade F16 LOA: 16’4″ Beam: 8’2″ Weight: 240 lbs. SA: (u/d) 210 sq. ft./398 sq. ft. Designers: Phill Brander and Ian Marcovitch Price: $12,900 www.vectorworkssail.com

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The F16 is a box rule class, like the A-class & F18. A major advantage of the F16 class is that you can sail one or two up. The F16 class rules are more restrictive than the A class, but less restrictive than the F18 rule set.

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The standard in Formula 16 sailing. Recreational or highly competitive. The carbon stepping stone.

The Nacra F16 Carbon offers everything race teams look for in a mature racing cat and more. It is the preferred choice for lightweight crews of all ages and is suitable for both double-handed and single-handed sailing.

The boat comes in a full Class approved configuration as standard. But you can easily switch to semi-foiling performance. If you wish to take your F16 even further, there are several exciting options available.

Usage Competitive racing Touring Semi-foiling

Crew Configurable

ALWAYS BE ONE STEP AHEAD

The Formula 16 Class used to be an assembly of ‘homemade’ boats, but ever since World Sailing (ISAF back then) recognized the Class as official in 2010, it matured quickly. From the beginning, Nacra Sailing was convinced that Formula 16 sailing will grow and rise to new heights and so we’ve decided to make a dedicated Class boat. Together with the legendary engineers from

Morelli&Melvin we’ve designed a boat that has become the standard for almost every type of sailor – from the recreational solo-sailor to competitive teams searching for the cutting edge. And of course, it fits perfectly into the Olympic pathway: The Nacra F16 Carbon is the perfect steppingstone from youth to full Olympic sailing.

The racer for sailors with attitude. It is perfect for lightweight single or double crews of all ages. Designed to put sailors in control, the Nacra F16 Carbon is loads of fun to sail, both in racing and touring mode. A very rigid platform Although Formula 16 Class regulations do not yet allow Decksweeper sails, Nacra has made them available anyway. And in maybe the biggest upgrade yet, the F16 ‘s sails are now constructed of Endumax®  – one of the strongest and lightest cloth materials to date.

Superstrong lightweight carbon components give the Nacra F16 Carbon its name. With options such as full carbon mast, boom, spinnaker pole and tiller tie bar, your F16 can be as light as you wish it to be.

NEW MATERIAL Stronger than steel, light as a feather.  The all-new sails made by Olympic supplier Performance Sails are now made of Endumax® , a revolutionary aramid film that is incredibly strong and light. In fact, its strength-to-weight ratio is the highest available on the market. Its unique physical and chemical structure give Endumax® incredible performance, a very high resistance against tearing and other damages, and against UV-rays. Your Endumax® sails will take your F16 to the next level, no matter the circumstances.

The strength of Endumax® sails shows when sailing competitively.

• Nacra Users & Owners Manual
• Trimsheet Nacra F16
• Assembly Manual Nacra 15 / F16 / 17 / F18 / F20

Customize away

You can customize your Nacra F16 Carbon with multiple accessories, upgrades and additions to make your catamaran truly yours.

The F16 class fosters a sense of a community among competitive and social racers. The class aims to work closely with the other formula classes to create a great environment for all sailors. It is both an open class (handicap) and a class racer. In addition to competitive sailing, recreational sailing is an important aspect of the class. These three scenes fully complement each other and none impedes the full exploitation of the other. The F16 class looks forward to welcoming new F16 sailors to their community, no matter what type of sailor you are.

Formula 16 International Class Association

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@media screen and (min-width: 70em){.css-1c47y9x{color:var(--chakra-colors-blue\.brand);}} Formula 16 buy/sell second hands, ads and prices

F16 short Description

the last Formula 16 ads at the best price

F16 Goodall for sale in Villeneuve-Loubet

F16 Autre marque look for in Amsterdam

VFormula 16 Goodall à vendre à Chelmsford

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F16 Nacra for sale in Saint-Laurent-du-Var

Formula 16 presentation

The model Formula 16 has 6 differents versions : Bimare F16 , Bimare X16 , Cirrus Energy F16 , Cirrus Q , Nacra F16 , Viper .

Some figures of the Formula 16 catamaran  :

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Used Formula 16 price table

Dutch providing Ukraine with F-16 ammunition, drones, minister says

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THE F16 WAS FOUNDED IN 2001 AND THERE ARE NOW A NUMBER OF FULLY OPTIMISED DESIGNS. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOATS. FIND OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE CALENDAR OR THROUGH YOUR CLASS ASSOCIATION.

F16 class associations.

The F16 International Class Association oversees the running of the class at international level.

Local class associations are being formed in a number of regions.

International Board

Thomas König, Chairman, [email protected]

Antoine Meunier, Secretary, [email protected]

Stéphane Etienne, Treasurer, [email protected]

Gill De Bruyne/Paul Warren, Webmaster, [email protected]

Biography Thomas Koenig, president F16 Class

Thomas König, a 54 year old German Mineral Processing Engineer, started catamaran sailing 1997 with a Hobie 16. In the year 2001, he was elected as regional director of the National German Hobie Class Association. Over the years he organised major events, worked on class rules and kept contact to other sailing associations in Germany in order to coordinate catamaran sailing. In 2011, he started sailing an F16 catamaran and thus left the Hobie Classs Association as an officer. In 2012 he founded the German Formula16 Class Association and was elected first Chairman. Thomas is licenced Race Officer and licenced Referee.

Biography Antoine Meunier, Secretary F16 Class

Engineer, Dr. Physics (Nuclear & fluid mechanics), Business Administration Institute, Antoine Meunier created on 2009 a consultant business in project management innovations, sustainable development audit

His expertise is based on three axes:

1/ The multicultural experience in Product-Process-cost strategy to develop the Strategic Plan Group

2/ The full experience of the industry R & D, advanced research to production series

3/ The setting up of cooperation contracts with World builders Ford, BMW, Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, RSA, Volvo from PSA (Peugeot Citroen) research drivetrain Gasoline and Diesel

GMP Strategist, he created flowcharts and development costs repositories reducing time & costs, for competitively contributed to cooperation wisely utilizing the respective know-how and availability spectacular gains. He developed a dynamic resource management to recreate injected into additional projects margins.

Manager R & D, he has developed new methods for obtaining quality levels and reduces costs at the factory, as well as reducing prototyping time in half.

Engine designer, it introduces powder metallurgy for the most thermo-mechanically stressed parts, ceramics (distribution), new elastomers and fabrics for timing belts, vibration analysis for the acoustic signature, with new procedures physical testing coupled to digital.

General manager of industrial project, he defined the specifications of a new centre for advanced testing able to work the technologies for the next 30 years and consulting providers to tender, launched the skills and suppliers. The provided energy is recycling and emissions lowest.

Green-engineering consultant, he contributes to innovative SME projects, is accredited “Bilan Carbone” ADEME to drive environmental audits in companies and contributes to the environmental standard of consumer products Grenelle2.

Sportsman, he sails sport catamaran, organizes sporting Events for the sailing Club Touquet France with 4 championships, one world, created in 2011 the French association Formula 16, is a federal empire, measurer. He is snow and water skiing, diving, private pilot.

Biography Stéphane Etienne, Treasurer F16 Class

Stéphane Etienne, a 43 year old French SemiConductor strategy specialist, started catamaran sailing in 1994 with a Hobie 18 Formula and then naturaly moved into F18. In the year 1999, he was elected as President of the Mattia Association. Over the years he organized major events, worked on class rules and got involved in the design and manufacturing of composite hulls, daggers, rudders and masts. In 2012, he started sailing an F16 catamaran and thus left the Mattia class Association as an officer. In 2012 he joined the french F16 Association and was elected first treasurer.

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