New England Catamarans

Prindle 16, 18, 18-2, 19 Catamaran Mast Bearings

2011-09-03T12:20:00.005-04:00

Prindle Catamaran 1/2 round mast bearings - mast balls. I know a lot of Prindle owners have been searching all over for these bearings. A new batch should be here Thursday Sept 8th. They are already finished and in transit. www.new-england-catamarans.com 508-339-5580 Rick Bliss

HYANNIS REGATTA

2011-07-31T17:15:00.000-04:00

Lots of excitement at the Hyannis Regatta and there's still one more day of sailing. Friday saw strong winds and large confused seas with the fleet racing a distance offshore. Approx. 22 F-18's were competing. Lots of capsizes. Nick Fluery and his crew got separated from their cat and spent maybe 30 minutes in the water with the wind blowing the boat one way and the current taking them the other. Luckily Nick had a VHF radio and was able to call the CG who radioed the RC. The CG dispatched a vessel and the RC sent over mark boats. Ian and Alex Helmar noticed the unmanned cat on their way back out from the beach and joined in the search and alerted other sailors. The crew was eventually picked up and returned to their boat. A lot of boats came in with broken trapeze bungee cords indicating they'd flipped.

Sat the winds were in the 15kt range and the seas were down some so the competition heated up. Sandra Tartaglino had some minor gelcoat damage several feet back from the bow after someone hit her. Dino Garbero popped off the boat somehow after a tack and found that steering while dragging at the end of the tiller at 10 kts has it's limits. The tiller snapped and the boat sailed away with his son. His son was able to get the boat back near him but not able to make the pickup. A larger allowance and he might have tried harder. An unidentified crew broke off their race and came to assist (a Hobie with white sails).

One of the worst events of the day was when a cat came around the weather mark, popped their chute and reportedly had some problems with it. A boat on the port tack layline was on a reciprocal course just below them when they engaged (I won't get into the who was right/wrong issue). It apparently wasn't pretty. The crash and burn resulted in the port tack boat flipping over and the crew receiving a power boat ride to shore and an ambulance ride to the hospital. He suffered two broken fingers (the suffering is probably worse today). The other boat's spinnaker was trashed. I was a little surprised that they held the protest hearing and made a decision while knowing and even indicating on the form that the other team was at the hospital.

Another incident involved a collision where the bow of one boat destroyed the stern of another. No injuries on that one.

The number of incidents of people being separated from their boats this year should drill home the fact that catamaran events need extra mark boats for safety reasons and maybe that all teams should be required to carry a cell phone or VHF.

So far the Nacra Infusion MK2 has dominated the class with all firsts. Today the wind is lighter so we'll see what difference that makes.

NACRA 5.5 Uni

2011-07-31T17:06:00.004-04:00

For Sale $ 4,000. Details at www.new-england-catamarans.com

2011 Hampton Beach Regatta

2011-07-11T10:40:00.003-04:00

The regatta went off smoothly in perfect conditions. 10 races in two days with medium breezes and small waves. The race organizer, Scott Malcolm should give a seminar on how to properly organize events. Many are lacking his expertise. Loads of volunteers on the beach and on the water all of which was set up and confirmed 'months' in advance. Donna Malcolm was instrumental in handling the trophies, registration and making lunches for the sailors and volunteers. John, Jim and Blair pulled trailers and boats around the beach. Dee assisted where needed and took loads of photos. Steve and Frank helped out on the water. The courses were set as close to the beach as possible so the throng of beachgoers could watch the action. Many people stopped to ask questions about the boats and the event.

2005 NACRA F-18

2011-05-27T11:10:00.005-04:00

Here's a photo of the 2005 Nacra F18 that is for sale on the http://www.new-england-catamarans.com/ website. $8,000. without a trailer. Located in CT

CARBON NACRA 20 - VIDEO

2010-10-16T13:44:00.001-04:00

The following is a video of the new Carbon Nacra 20 in action. Turn up the volume.

http://vimeo.com/15885268

Charter Catamaran in the FL Keys

2010-02-19T12:31:00.003-05:00

For those looking for a snorkling trip, sunset

cruise or in the case of those in the photo to

the right, a platform to launch a bunch of kite boarders in the Florida Keys, get in touch with Nacra sailor, Dennis Green by contacting the Islander Resort in Islamorada, FL. Dennis rents beach catamarans, big wheel floating bikes, kayaks and has the 38' charter catamaran as well as providing sailing lessons. In the photo below you can see some of the Tybee 500 boats being set up in the background.

NACRA 6.0na CLASS RULE CHANGE

2009-10-27T22:18:00.003-04:00

The factory has decided to try to catch up with the boat owners after 8-9 years and they have devised a new set of rules for the Nacra 6.0na. Class square top mains are allowed, 13' spinnaker poles max. (open to carbon or aluminum) and only factory (Nacra 20) spinnakers or used factory supplied spinnakers.

F-18 INFUSION PHOTO

2008-07-04T12:55:00.001-04:00

FIVE more new Infusions in New England this year.

SPINNAKER PHOTO

2008-07-03T21:04:00.002-04:00

Sailing Photo N570

2008-07-03T21:01:00.001-04:00

NEW ENGLAND LAUNCH SITES

2008-07-02T12:21:00.000-04:00

Here's a list of some locations where a catamaran can be launched. Please add or email me with any that you are aware of. If possible include any parking fees and other pertinent information.

1. Sandy Point Beach - Portsmouth, RI $10. per day. Great sailing on the Sakonnet River. Beach wheels needed since you aren't supposed to drive onto the beach. You can't continually leave your boat set up there over night but you can get away with it once in a while.

2. Third Beach - Newport or Portsmouth, RI. Been told it's now $20. per day. Ramp to launch from and sandy beach next to the ramp. Great area to sail in. The end of the Sakonnet River and a short sail to the open ocean. Some rocky areas so best to get a chart or ask others first. You used to be able to buy a season's pass at Newport Second Beach, hopefully still can.

3. The park next to Ida Lewis - Newport Harbor RI. Great place to launch but nowhere to park unless you have a town sticker.

4. Fort Adams - Newport, RI. No charge to enter the park. Ramp at the end of the barn. Difficult place to launch. Sails have to go up first and then you have to go park. No beach close by and in the summer only a few feet of the beach available around the corner. Before and after the season the beach can be used for launching. The other ramp next to Sail Newport also has no beach right next to it although you can paddle over to it to set up your sails. May be a fee to launch there.

5. Gooseberry Island, Westport, MA - No fee but limited parking and jams up early morning. Ramp and nice beach. Can sail out to the islands or over to other nearby beaches.

6. Sebago Lake, ME - State Park. Entry fee per person. Ramp, crowded parking lot usually. Trailer parking sometimes a 1/4 mile away. Great beach once you get to it.

7. Hull, MA - Near the wind generator. Will try to get more info on this site.

BAHAMAS TRIP LOG - APRIL/MAY 2008

2008-05-02T08:00:00.010-04:00

NACRA 5.0

2007-09-13T12:02:00.000-04:00

For Sale - Nacra 5.0 **SOLD**

NACRA 570

2007-09-13T11:49:00.001-04:00

2002 NACRA 570- SOLD

NACRA F-18 INFUSION

2006-09-26T10:27:00.001-04:00

The recent F-18 North Americans demonstrated the new Nacra F-18 Infusion design pretty well. 42 boats were registered with some of the top sailing teams from around the world. The Infusion finished 1st, 2nd and 5th. No one was close in points to the first place team. The 2nd place team had never sailed the Infusion before the event. The first Infusion was just delivered by my shop with more on the way.

Canted hulls, very wide and flat on the bottom even way forward and very light forward of the front beam. The mast is lighter and more of a wing than previous Nacra aluminum masts. Many of the lines are led under the trampoline