Nacra 17 Platform Setup Guide

At the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, all the boats competing were measured thoroughly with special attention paid to the platform geometry. Reviewing the data it became obvious that there is a very small amount of variation within the fleet, especially with the top sailors.

As such, we have decided to publish the average measurement data of the critical platform geometries so teams can check their own boats and know they are close to what everyone else is using. You should assume that all the top sailors were racing with their platforms very close to this geometry at the 2022 Worlds.

The 2023 geometry confirmed the 2022 geometry measured, and the main reasons behind publishing the average numbers remains the same. All teams should know that boats setting at these numbers can be world elite competitive, as demonstrated by the boats doing so at these geometries.

These measures were taken with the platform in racing trim, so with beam bend on but without rig tension.

Here are some average measurements of the platforms.

Bow to Bow – Average 2178 mm (2022) – 2177 (2023)

Measure across front of hulls from the centre line of the bow of the starboard hull to centreline of the bow of the port hull at the chine height.

Transom to Transom – Average 2191 mm (2022) – 2193 (2023)

Measure from inner edge on port hull to outer edge of the starboard hull, measured across the line formed by the underside of the top transom gudgeon fitting.

Toe In Toe Out – 10mm (2022 and 2023)

Support the boat on trestles and place the boards fully down and set at the zero rake point. Measure across the bottom of the hulls between the centre line of the two boards and at the exit point of the board from the bearing. Take one measurement between the leading edges and one measurement between the trailing edges. The difference between the two numbers gives you the toe in and toe out measurement.

Lower Bearing to Lower Bearing (aft) – 2264 mm (2022 and 2023)

Measure across the platform, underneath the hulls, from the inside edge of the port bearing at the bolt point to the inside edge of the starboard bearing at the front bolt points. Measurements taken at the aft bolt point are within +/- 1mm of the front measurement.

Daggerboard tip to daggerboard tip – 860mm (with slight inward tension) (2022) – 857 (2023)

Support the boat on trestles and place the boards fully down and set at the zero rake point. Measure between the tips of the boards with light pressure pushing the tips together to take out any slack.

Rudder Rake adjustment range – 4 degrees (4.05 degrees max) 

a note about this. There were a few teams that has range of motion below 4 degrees. It is likely this is caused by over-tension of the spring, which improves ‘pull’ of the system, but limits performance. Teams should pay attention to ensuring they have the full range of motion in their rudder rake adjustment system.

Daggerboards

At the 2023 Worlds, there was also the addition of foil scanning to our measurement procedures, which will occur at most future regattas and at the factory for new foils. Here is an initial report from World Sailing on the topic.

2023 World Championship Scanning Report

The main conclusion from this report is that the Element 6 built daggerboards are much more consistently built thank the DNA ones were. Almost all measures taken of the E6 boards were in a very small range from each other. This bodes well for the long-term future for the class and its ability to provide consistent equipment for all sailors.

The DNA boards erred to the thick side in some areas and the thin side in other areas, and were generally less
consistent too.

From a competitive standpoint, 13 of the 20 foils used by top 10 competitors at the 2023 World Championship were Element 6, including all 6 boards used by the medalists. So not only is the consistency of the E6 boards excellent, but they are also world class in speed, if not the fastest available. While good results are possible on the DNA boards, as demonstrated by there being competitive finishes using the older equipment, teams who are improving in their skill profile should migrate toward the E6 boards knowing it is the right solution for sailing well now and for the class tightening up our measurement requirements.