There appears to be a very good deal on a Hobie 20 with spinnaker in the classified ads here. $3000 for the boat and trailer. I have a 99 Nacra 6.0 NA with wings. It’s a great boat I bought last year for long distance cruising. I’d like to add a spinnaker though. What do you think about me transferring the spin rigging from a H20 to my Nacra?

Otherwise any advice for piecing together a spinnaker setup in part or entirely? I’ve sailed plenty of spinnakers but never on a catamaran for what it’s worth.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Nacra 6.0 NA
Ogden Dunes, IN
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Kevin,
It's been done before but it's not easy on the NA. The bow foil creates issues with mounting the spin pole low enough to get under the foil. Then you run the risk hitting your spin tack into a wave and breaking the pole. It's a geometry nightmare.

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Philip
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I did this on a 5.8.... don't waste your time and money doing it... Sell you 6.0 and get a NACRA 20 if you want to go this route... in the end you save money and time.



Edited by JohnES on Feb 24, 2019 - 12:26 PM.

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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Not what I wanted to hear. You are probably right though. Thanks for your input.

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Nacra 6.0 NA
Ogden Dunes, IN
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Hey Kevin,

For $1000 more there is a NACRA Inter 20 listed in the classifieds

https://www.thebeachcats.com/classifieds/catamarans-for-sale/p16036-2000-nacra-inter-20.html

Again, if it were me and I wanted to do the upgrade, this would be the way I would go... Having owned one, I can tell you it is a Cadillac Ride

Something else I forgot to mention, when I put the spinnaker on my 5.8NA I was able to go a little deeper off the wind... but what I also noticed that there were a lot of spider cracks starting to show in the gel coat just forward the main beam and at the bridal wire tangs.. to me that meant there was some stress hitting that area.



Edited by JohnES on Feb 26, 2019 - 09:43 AM.

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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That might make a nice upgrade over my 6.0. I would certainly miss the wings though...

I can't imagine it would be much faster aside from downwind sailing?

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Nacra 6.0 NA
Ogden Dunes, IN
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I have an I20. Here are a few pros and cons from my experience, especially related to the spinnaker conversation we are having...

Pros:

The boat is so well balanced under spin. I have gen 2 rudders. You can be flying along at a 45 degree heel angle and they always have enough bite to easily (fingertip) bear away and depower. I never worry about not being able to sail deeper in order to depower. It's amazing. One of my favorite things about the boat. It was designed around the spin.

In 7 knots of wind you can solo sail the boat under spin at a steady 15 knots, no problem. I've sailed 16 knots solo with the spin up, but not faster because I worry about taking the spin down alone in more wind. The thought of having to crawl to the front of the boat to untangle something on the spin pole in 10 knots of wind is just frightening (boat turns up and goes over)... One of these days I will try to solo with the spin in 12 knots and get back to you if I survive. Soloing with the spin in 7 knots of wind is like a magic carpet ride though. Hell, it's fun in 4 knots, where you are flying a hull and passing all the motoring monohulls. Upwind solo in 7 knots, is every bit as fast as floating A-Cat. You can do 12 knots. Soloing quickly stops being fun in winds above 7 knots or so...

The big question.... I can right it solo, with water bag. I weigh 225 lbs. I still worry about not always being able to do it before drifting into something. May carry a small anchor this season, if I solo at all. You have to get back on quickly to as the boat may want to take off with you hanging onto the side.

The trampoline layout is clean, you have all the space the world. Good organization.

Cons:

It's obviously really a two person boat...

Soloing quickly stops being fun once the wind starts to exceed 7 knots. You just cannot sheet in properly and keep the boat from going over. Maybe if you travel out and depower other settings to the max, you could get a wild ride in more wind. However, you generally need a crew member in winds over 7 knots to make the boat go faster than 15 knots.

To get the boat to go above 18-20 knots with, you have to be good at depowering. Otherwise, she wants to go over rather than forward, even with two gorillas on the wire. If you get the downhaul, boards, mast rotation, and traveler settings right, you can sheet in and shoot forward rather than go over. The boat can start to feel overpowered in as little as 12 knots with two on board if you don't start depowering.



Edited by traphappy on Mar 01, 2019 - 05:50 PM.