The C-Class Catamaran is a high-performance developmental class sailing catamaran . They are very light boats which use rigid wing sails and can sail at twice the speed of the wind. They are used for match races known as the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy and its successor the International C-Class Catamaran Championship - both often referred to as the "Little America's Cup".
10-398: The class was founded during the 1960s and was part of the 4-tier IYRU (now ISAF) approach to divide up the sports catamaran sailing scene into 4 separate groups. These A, B, C and D classes were governed by a very small set of class rules to which each design had to comply. The A-Class is the largest remaining of those 4 main classes. The B-Class splintered into a score of sub classes like
20-492: A Portsmouth Yardstick of 681 in the UK or a D-PN of 64.5 in the USA. The A-Class design has over time converged to a single sail rig using a lightweight carbon mast of about 9 meters length and using lightweight pentex or Kevlar sailcloth. The hulls and beams are often made out of carbon fibre as well, although homebuilt wood or composite materials are still seen on the race circuits. In
30-580: A competitive boat. However, nearly all A-Class sailors tinker with their setups and boats. As it is a developmental class and the rules do allow so much variation, it is paramount that a top sailor keeps experimenting with new setups and generally tries to improve the design even more. Because of this general character of the class, the A-Class is often leading over other catamaran classes in terms of design development. Over time these other classes copy new findings for their own setups. Examples of such developments are:
40-450: A sail of 500ft2 with three crew, but rapidly dwindled away. The official organisation for the A-Class catamaran is the IACA (International A division Catamarans Association). The A-Class rules were expanded over time to prevent the cost of these boats from rising too high and to ensure fairness in racing. Currently the main A-Class rules are: In handicap racing , the A-Class catamaran uses
50-409: Is extremely small, but it maintains its status as the ultimate sailing catamaran designs. This water sports -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . International A-class catamaran The A-Class Catamaran , often abbreviated to A-Cat , is a development class sailing catamaran for singlehanded racing. The class was founded during the late 1950s and
60-572: Is the largest remaining of those 4 main classes. The ‘B’ class was a 20 ft twin hander with 235ft2 of sail and developed into the Tornado and a few offshoots such as the F18. The ‘C’ class was another twin, but at 25 ft with a 300ft2 rig, has become a super sophisticated monster and the pinnacle of small cat design that races for the Little America’s Cup. The ‘D’ Class was 32 ft and
70-617: The Hobie 16 's, Formula 18 's and other classes that contain far more and far stricter class rules, but also gave birth to the Tornado , which became an Olympic class. The D class never really got off the ground in earnest. Meanwhile, the C-Class quickly developed into high tech boats that were used in the Little America's Cup . These require large investments of time and money to race, and so this class
80-408: The carbon mast, the squaretop mainsail, the wave-piercer hull design and in general the use of exotic materials. In 2017 with the advent of practical foiling designs, the IACA divided the class into an Open (Foiling) division, and a non foiling Classic division for boats with straight or C-shaped foils, and with different class rules to prevent foiling. The two have slightly different SCHRS handicaps,
90-403: The decades since their foundation, the A-Class has gathered a significant international following and it has class organisations in many countries around the globe. Their world championships often attracts around 100 boats and sailors. It is also a class that still contains a significant portion of homebuilders, although their numbers are decreasing with every year due to the skills required to make
100-420: Was part of the 4-tier IYRU (now World Sailing) approach to divide up the sports catamaran sailing scene into 4 separate groups. These A, B, C and D classes were governed by a very small set of class rules to which each design had to comply. In the beginning it was just: All boats designed and built to these specs would be grouped into one fleet and race each other for crossing the finish line first. The A-Class
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