Nacra turns 30. This speedy little catamaran, which Tom Roland initially designed, built and first sailed in Santa Barbara, California in 1975 has come of age -- from the agile 17-foot Nacra 5.2 that quickly attracted fellow sailors to the state-of-the-art models offered by the current builder Performance Catamarans, Inc. And, Nacra has proven time and time again to be OAlways One Step Ahead.¹

The popularity of the first Nacra geared the staff towards introducing more catamaran designs including the 18 sq, 5.0, 5.7 and 5.8 models. Over the years, it was necessary for Nacra to move from Santa Barbara to Carpinteria then to the Catalina Yachts facility in Woodland Hills in 1985. In 1988, Performance Catamarans was created combining Nacra with the Prindle catamaran line and moved to Santa Ana, California where it still exists today.

After a second design, the 18 sq., was released in 1978, new Nacra designs were released beginning in the early 80's-, the Nacra 5.0 (16'), 5.7 (18.5')and 5.8 (19¹) designs became the new standards following the Nacra 5.2 in multihull racing. Most open class regattas welcomed the Nacras until their own One-Design race circuit was formed and then Nacra fleets began sprouting up all over the United States, (with the help of the European and Australian distributors) Europe and Australia.More and more Nacra designs were released in the early 80s through the early 90s including the popular 6.0 (20') and 5.5sl (18'). The Nacra Inter series was introduced with new hull designs (17 18 & 20 footers) including the new spinnaker packages that set the catamaran performance world on fire These new concepts proved fast and comfortable at the same time, mixing tradition with new technology.

Now, Nacras can be found racing worldwide and the Nacra name continues to grow with the release of the Beach Series (Nacra 450, 500, 570 and 580) models and the Racing Series completes the Nacra line with the Nacra 20, F18, F17 and the newest Performance Catamaran, the Nacra A2.

Nacra Accomplishments

• Nacra was the first to use the stringer and bulkheads structural systems then developed into the high density foam cores in the mid-80s.
• Nacra has been a leading force in the Formula 18 class development and design
• Nacra has a proven track record by winning and dominating nearly every long distance and open multihull event worldwide
• Nacra is the most decorated catamaran line winning 4 prestigious "Boat of the Year" awards - the Nacra 20 , Nacra 17, Nacra F18 and Nacra A2 all carry these honors.
• The Nacra A2 is the first catamaran to utilize a new production of all carbon infusion process
• The Nacra A2 is the first A-Class Catamaran to have factory and dealer support

Manuals and Literature for Nacra, Prindle, and Inter Catamarans available here.

For more information about Nacra and Performance Catamarans, go to www.performancecat.com.