Morrelli & Melvin Design & Engineering, Inc.

Formula 18 - 2006 NACRA F18

Pete Melvin at the helm, testing the downwind maneuverability

Performance Catamarans, builder, and NACRA Europe, distributor, have announced the 2006 NACRA F18 catamaran. With design contributions from Peter Vink (Performance Sails, Netherlands), Gunnar Larsen (World Champion F18 sailor) and Jack Young (Performance Catamaran), Morrelli & Melvin has developed a smoother sailing, faster F18 catamaran. Multiple innovative improvements have been made to increase efficiency and push the competitive envelope in this box-rule class.

Matt Judge, one of our designers, evaluating downwind performance

The new F18 sports an evolutionary wave piercing hull design that traces it's lineage from Morrelli & Melvin's highly successful A2 A Class catamaran and other championship winning designs. The daggerboard and rudders were designed using advanced CFD based methodologies, in addition to Morrelli & Melvin's long experience with winning multihull foil design. A new mast section was designed, improving on existing shapes by incorporating updated stiffness, minimum weight, and a more aerodynamic shape. Mast section performance was confirmed with advanced CFD based aerodynamic analysis software.

Pictures NACRA Europe http://www.nacraeurope.com

Gino Morrelli and the crew at the Morrelli & Melvin Product Development facility assisted Performance Catamarans with building the hull, daggerboard, and rudder tooling. Morrelli & Melvin Product Development is responsible for the resin infusion system/hull laminating system that will be used in the new F18 production.

Improvement	Benefit
Canted hulls. 4 degrees	For better upwind and downwind performance
Innovative bow/deck water shearing design (inverted bows)	Less resistance in waves
Semi encapsulated front beam	Less drag from water on deck
Flush decks	Improved crew comfort and clean cosmetic looks
Gibing dagger boards	Better upwind speed
Improved wing shaped mast profile	Reduced drag
Maximum raised rear beam	Reduction in wave drag upwind and downwind
Self tacking jib system	Easy for crew in tacking and gibing
Exclusive side laced mesh trampoline	High trampoline tension adding to stiffness
Pull up dagger board system	Easy to adjust in seconds
Low bridle	Very efficient jib, giving more drive and less heeling
Nacra kick-up rudder system	Recognized as the best
Canted front beam in direction of mast rake	Better spread of mast load
"Shark fin" high aspect rudder blades	Accurate and efficient steering with minimum drag
Ultra-clean deck lay out	Adding to sailing efficiency and safety
Nacra mid pole spinnaker system with snuffer	Easy launching and retrieving
High aspect asymmetrical spinnaker	Superb downwind performance
High aspect jib	Improved pointing ability and less drag
High aspect square topped mainsail	Yielding more efficient and controllable power

A QuickTime Movie of the 2006 NACRA F18 at sea trials in Long Beach, CA is available through NACRA Europe http://www.nacraeurope.com/nacraF18.php