Performance Catamarans Nacra Blast: It's a Blast

The world got its first peek at the
Nacra Blast in December at the Paris Boat Show. The Blast makes its United States
debut at the Annapolis Boat Show on October 4-8, 2001.

This latest addition to the Performance Catamaran family was developed by
Alain Comeyn and is being offered in two versions — one designed for racing and
one designed for schools.

The school version has a normal black mesh trampoline with a single trapeze system, kick up
rudders and a captive mast ball step system. The Blast offers molded hulls,
non-skid decks, Harken hardware throughout and the signature hull graphics
and coated shrouds. The tiller extension is adjustable.

For racing enthusiasts, the basic boat gets a big speed boost from such added
equipment as an assymetrical spinnaker with an E.O. snuffer, Harken roller
furling, a double trapeze, the new Performance Hiking Racks and a
squaretop mainsail. Both versions come with Nacra's standard five-year
limited warranty.

About that snuffer — it's certainly the most notable feature of the new Blast. Used successfully as standard equipment on the Inter 18 and 20, it makes setting and stowing the asymmetrical spinnaker much easier. Made of aluminum and carbon, it has a 'loop' at the front end that feeds the spinnaker in and out with the pull of a halyard. It's bizarre looking, but reportedly very effective.

The other noticably unique feature are the racks: they're just for the skipper and are as such half length. The crew handles the jib sheet and spinnaker halyard, and hikes out on the side of the hull (the racing version is twin trapeze, the school version has no racks and only a single trapeze). There's no fabric between the hull and the rack. The mainsail on the both versions is boom-less, there is a tack plate along the foot of the sail, with multiple holes for selecting a position for the block and mainsheet connection.

Pricing for the Blast has yet to be determined, in Europe the school version sells for 8600 Euros (about $7300), the racing version for 11,281 Euros (about $9600).

Specifications