Main Page

From Formula A Catamaran

full

Welcome to the Formula A Catamaran Site![edit]


This is a collaborative community website for the creation of a Formula A Catamaran Rule that anyone, including you, can comment on and edit. Wikis like this one depend on readers getting involved and adding content. To get started; click the "Discussion" button at the top left of any page to make comments or discuss the page or choose the "Edit" button at the top right of any page to make edits to the page!

Please sign the Petition for Formula A acceptance if you support this proposal. Please also comment with your reactions and thoughts on the Discuss Rule Strategies Page.


Open letter to A-class catamaran sailors and sailors interested in racing A-cats


What are your ideas for improving participation in A-class catamaran racing?

Participation in the A-class trended down sharply in 2020. This was largely because of the effects of the recent worldwide pandemic. Unfortunately, participation numbers in the USA have not rebounded very much since the pandemic has ended. See A-Class Participation at Championships.

Participation at the recent worlds in Toulon France was quite good with 80 Classic boats and 46 Open foiling boats. These numbers show the popularity of the simpler classic class even at the world championship level. The popularity of classic boats can be expected to be even stronger at the club level. We believe the large number of classic boats at the recent worlds demonstrates a strong demand for simpler and less expensive catamarans. The Formula A rule is proposed to meet the demand for simpler more affordable catamarans that can be sailed competitively by both heavier and lighter people.

Another issue the formula A proposal addresses is that the rapid evolution of aerodynamic details on new boats cannot be easily added to older boats. This leaves owners of older boats feeling as though they can no longer keep up with the rapid evolution in the class both among the new foiling and the new classic boats.

This forum investigates the feasibility of creating a Formula A Catamaran Rule (Formula A) to address the issues of class participation, increasing cost and rapid obsolescence. The proposed Formula A Catamaran Rule has three primary goals and eight rule strategies.

Goals:

  1. Expand participation opportunities for women, heavier weight and lighter weight sailors to competitively race high performance singlehanded catamarans.
  2. Simplify construction and reduce material expense of the Formula A catamarans to make them easier and less costly to build for small manufacturers and home builders.
  3. Reuse. Provide competitive racing opportunities for the 400+ older A-class catamarans around the world that have now been made increasingly obsolete by the recent aerodynamic innovations made by the new foiling and new classic boats.

Rule Strategies:

  1. Expand participation by creating three additional weight divisions to allow more equitable racing for lighter and heavier sailors than is now possible.
  2. Existing boats meeting current A-class classic rules form the basis of the middleweight division.
  3. All four weight divisions are intended to sail together with equal rating and in regattas with boats meeting International A Class Open and Classic boat rules.
  4. Increased boat widths for lighter weight sailors increase the righting moment in exchange for a reduction in sail area.
  5. Increased sail area for heavier sailors to be more competitive in light winds in exchange for a narrower boat width.
  6. Prescribed construction materials lower the cost of new boats.
  7. Simplified designs eliminating aerodynamic details and other complicating details lower the labor and costs required to build new boats.
  8. Boats not meeting all Formula A rules are immediately grandfathered into the class but must sail with corrector weight to compensate for items not conforming to Formula A rules.




Formula A Catamaran Weight Divisions Table
Weight Division Max Boat Width Sail Area
m2 / sf		 Mast Height Notes
Heavy Weight 213.36cm (7'-0") 46.94 (154) 9.04 m. Suitable for > 90 kg (198 lb) sailor, no sailor weight requirements
Middle Weight 228.60cm (7'-6") 13.93 (150) 9.04 m. Very similar to A-class classic rules but with aero and material restrictions, no sailor weight requirements
Light Weight 243.80cm (8'-0") 13.56 (146) 8.5 or 9.04 m. 74 kg (162.8 lb) max sailor weight
Feather Weight 259.08cm (8"-6") 13.19 (142) 8.5 or 9.04 m. 64 kg (140.8 lb) max sailor weight


Example Feather Weight Formula A Boat Details

Compared to the current A-Class Classic: Wider platform, smaller luff sleeve sail and lightweight round carbon mast to allow easy self rescue for lighter sailors. (think Moth mast and sail.) Simpler construction with symmetrical hulls and detachable round beams.

  1. 5.490 m. (18') hull length
  2. 259.08 cm (8"-6") overall width
  3. 85 kg (165 lbs) minimum weight
  4. 43.28 m2, (142 sf) sail with mast sleeve and camber inducers or split battens. (Moth style)
  5. 4" round diameter standard modulus removable cross tubes, no aero fairings
  6. Hull: centerline symmetrical with over-layed top deck construction (think original Nacra), carbon cloth, balsa cored, epoxy resin and epoxy gelcoat, no aero fairings
  7. 8.5 m mast height, 2 -piece 57.1mm (2.25") id, 42.6mm id at tip, 1.6mm wall, intermediate modulus carbon fiber round tubes


Addional Pages[edit]

Petition for Formula A acceptance
A-Class Participation at Championships
Discuss Rule Strategies
Draft Formula A Catamaran Rules Proposal
Discuss Specific rules

For the contributors of this wiki[edit]

Hello, and welcome to this wiki! You can immediately start working on your wiki or whenever you want.

Need help? No problem! We will help you with your wiki as needed. To start, try checking out these helpful links:

I still don't understand X![edit]

Well, that's no problem. Even if something isn't explained in the documentation/FAQ, we are still happy to help you. You can find us here:

Retrieved from "https://acat.miraheze.org/w/index.php?title=Main_Page&oldid=142"