The Formula 18 (F18) class is a non-foiling, restricted development, formula-design sport catamaran class. It was started in the early 1990s and quickly grew getting class recognition by World Sailing, with large racing fleets all over the globe.
Design goals
The objective of the class is to offer fair racing in 18-foot catamarans.
The F18 class is a "box rule" class, which means that any boat that adheres to the limited set of general design specifications may participate in all F18 races. This has led to a score of homebuilders and professional builders to design their own F18 boats and race them in this class. However, it is the mainstream production F18 designs that have dominated the top of the class. The presence of multiple boat builders and sailmakers in the class stimulates innovation and helps to limit costs to sailors.
The F18 box rule allows limited development, striking a balance between the class remaining close to the front edge of multihull design and preserving capital invested in the fleet. Since its introduction, the F18 has seen a steady evolution in both hull and sail shapes, which has led to remarkably improved performance in terms of both handling and speed. The latest innovation adoption was the introduction of the mainsail "decksweeper" at the 2017 Worlds. Crewed by experienced teams F18s can reach speeds of over 13 knots upwind and more than 20 knots downwind.
The relatively high boat weight facilitates robust construction and limits the benefits from fragile advanced construction techniques, keeping costs down and increasing longevity. It also supports adding interchangeable parts to the platform, for example for use of the platform as a foiling catamaran outside F18 racing. Moreover, the relatively high boat weight reduces the sensitivity of performance to crew weight.
The F18 class also uses an equalizing system, with crew extra weights, to offer competitive racing for a larger crew weight range.
Class development
In 1989 the ICCA rules were written by Yves Loday and Yves Pajot with the intention to create uniform rules. This didn't work due to the limited resources so in 1994 a revised concept and rules were development with the support of the FFV and in particular Olivier Bovyn and Pierre-Charles Barraud creating the Formula 18 class.
The class grew very quickly and due to its fast growth, the F18 attained World Sailing Recognised Class status already in 1996, within 18 months after its inception.
Mainly a Europe-based class at the beginning, class membership eventually spread to Australia and the Americas and the F18 class currently has full racing circuits in many places around the globe. Several thousand boats have been sold over the years. The F18 attracts both female and male as well as mixed crews and it is particularly popular among teams with combined crew weights of approximately 140–170 kg.
Its design and popularity has led the F18 to be the boat of choice for long-distance raid events such as the Stockholm Archipelago Raid, the Costarmoricaine, and the Worrell 1000.
The boats are equipped with double trapezes and a gennaker, and as a result, they require a skilled and physically fit crew to be competitive. However, many crews also use this catamaran for purely recreational sailing.
Over time the class has seen many sailors who also made their appearances in Olympic sailing classes, the America's Cup, Jules Verne Trophy and Volvo Ocean Race, including Carolijn Brouwer, Glenn Ashby, Darren Bundock, Jimmy Spithill, Mitch Booth and Franck Cammas.
The Formula 18 class is governed by the International Formula 18 Class Association and is recognized as a World Sailing Multihull Class.
The early success of the F18 class during the 1990s inspired the founding of the Formula 16 class. In addition, a number of Formula 18 designs have gone on to have competitive one-design racing including the Hobie Tiger, Hobie Wildcat and Nacra Infusion.
Popular Designs
Design in bold are in production
Name Years Designer Builder No Built Notes Ref. Alado 18 J. VALER ALADO CAT Akurra 2021–Present Goodall Design Goodall AHPC C2 2010-2020 Greg Goodall AHPC AHPC Capricorn 2004-2009 Greg Goodall Martin Fischer AHPC (AUS) AHPC Taipan Greg Goodall BOYER FIBERCRAFT (aus) Bimare HT Michelangelo Petrucci Cirrus 18 Cirrus R Cirrus R2 Cirrus 901 2021–Present Diam 18 MULTI (FRA) eXploder Scorpion 2015–Present Martín Vanzulli eXploder (POL) Dart Hawk 1996 - 2000s Reg White / Yves Loday White Formula /Performance Sailcraft Europe (GBR) Mass Produced Falcon Flash MATTIA & CECCO Nacra Inter 18 90s-00s Morelli & Melvin PERFORMANCE CATAMARAN (USA) Nacra Inter 2 90s-00s Alain Comyn PERFORMANCE CATAMARAN (USA) Nacra F18 Infusion 2008 Nacra Sailing (NED) Nacra F18 Infusion MK2 Nacra Sailing (NED) New Hull with dreadnaught bow Nacra F18 Infusion MK3 Nacra Sailing (NED) Convertible to foiling Nacra F18 Evolution 2021–Present Nacra Sailing Hobie Wildcat 2009 Martin Fischer Hobie Cat Europe (FRA) Hobie Tiger 1995 J. Valer Hobie Cat Europe (FRA) Hunter 1999-00s Mischa Heemskerk Twister Catamarans NL MV Challenge Jacques Valer Mediavoile / RLM Composite RaceCat MV18 2006 (ARG) Phantom Phenix Shockwave Reg White / Yves Loday White Formula (GBR) Mystere Twister J. VALER MYSTERE EUROPE (FRA) Windrush Edge
Events
External links
World Sailing F18 microsite International F18 webpage US F18 webpage UK F18 webpage Dutch F18 webpage Australian F18 webpage German F18 webpage Italian F18 webpage Canadian F18 webpage Norwegian F18 webpage French F18 webpage Finnish F18 webpage Swedish F18 webpage San Francisco Bay Area F18 webpage
References