Review about the Russian crews using equipment supplied by the NACRA17 company for 2014/15/16 years

In early 2013 our crew began training in Nacra 17 for the Olympics 2016. We bought a boat №022. We used it for training from May 2013 to March 2014. Based on boat problems the crew experienced with this boat and because of the blemishes we decided for our crew wishing to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Santander (2014) to buy a new boat, as the boat №022 had become useless for racing. When a crew went out on the trapeze, the port hull produced a specific crunch sound from the portside. We found along the bottom of the port hull a crack had appeared (about 50 cm long) then with use the hull continued to part. Around the centerboard case area also had numerous cracks, which finally revealed the air voids.

These defects we were witnessing were an error in the building of the hulls, or the factory gluing process and moulding defects, which are low quality manufacturing. The gluing together of the hull from two hemi sections should provide the rigidity, but there is a bad weak point – centerboard case is located in the center of this major adhesive joint. When sailing the long centerboard, levers open the hull around the center case--- like a screwdriver unsealing a tin can, and things started to break from there, i.e. it divids the port hull into two parts. (The principle of the simple opener) It is not possible to say this construction as up to “Olympic Standard”, everything we saw points to say that there is a design deficiency. We decided to repair the Nacra 17 catamaran and use it only for training. We paid a high cost for repairing.

Santander 2014. ISAF Word Sailing Championship. The 1st qualifying stage for the 2016 Olympics.

In 2014, for the qualifying events we purchased a new boat №247. After examining her we found that she had some defects, which said serious things about the factory work. Through the holes of aft rear hatches we looked inside the hull and we saw on the walls of the housing white circles (air bubbles) and patches. We can only guess what happened inside and on the sides of the hull. There was a feeling that by using the patches someone was trying to hide the factory defects, but it was made very amateurish, definitely not professional.

Our team compared the hull of our boat №247 with the hull of boat №246 belonging to Spanish team, which was made at the same time. That hull had nothing similar. Our specialist who repaired our previous boat №022, looking at the new building №247, made comments on what he saw: "In one place they opened a spot and glued it back up. In another place, they just put a patch on top of the spots, most likely at the places where the resin is not petrified through the glass. " We assumed that after receiving the boat №247, which had very poor quality, from Asia, the workers in the Nacra17 company in Holland decided to repair the hull and hide defects. After we had examined boat №247, we cannot find another explanation. Having all those facts, photos we sent the complaints and assumptions to the Nacra17 company representatives. We also asked them with urgent request to replace the hulls, reimburse delivering expenses or refund full boat costs, as it surely would be improper for racing in the near future. It has become clear that the training on such equipment would be useless. In the reply we received the following answer from the Nacra 17 company (we always keep the original of all correspondences in English language): "We do not believe that this is a consequence of a violation of the production cycle. We believe that this should be spray applied during production. We compared the photo on your boat №247 and №246 Spanish team boat. We see the difference, but we believe that it relates to cosmetics. We are confident that the boat was built with a high standard and withstand all the prescribed exertion. We believe that the crew does not have to worry about traces of spray - this is cosmetic and does not affect the construction of the fortress of the boat. The company does not replace the hull/parts without a clear reason for us. «They clear off- loaded all their own responsibilities. After three weeks of using the boat around the centerboard cases in both hulls of №247 – cracks occurred. There is more. The beginning of the World Championship and qualification for the Olympics, the second racing day. At the starting signal while sheeting in the main sail, the sail came out of the groove up to the clew, as shown below.

We lost two races. Despite this, we had good results at the first day (15, 6 finishing places) this made us to be qualified in the gold fleet. Having new mainsail, which had not been used before, we had 2 finishes in the top ten. But it was not enough, because in the final only 5 races were held. Result: Our qualification for Olympics in the 2014 was scuttled. We again sent a letter with all the complaints noted and our claims to Nacra company, and received the answer that we had misused the mainsail and that we just were unlucky, and the company promised a 50% discount on the purchase of the new mainsail. But finally there was no discount. For the next mainsail it was asked for full 100% price to be paid. By the way, about the quality. On the Tornado catamarans sailors had been sailing for 4 years, the sail could stretch out and lose shape, but never were torn. After Santander we packed up boat №247. We decided to use it only for main events; we were so sure that if we used that boat it also would be destroyed very soon. We did not want to buy a new one, because of the quality. In addition, we knew that it takes about 3-4 months, because the company cannot cope with the orders. For training we used the first boat №022, which had been completely rebuilt and reglued at our expense.

Miami 2015 (American Cup)

At our next event in January 2015 in the United States (Miami), we rented a boat №157. We participated in the North American Cup, where we finished in 8th place. At the same place the World Cup began soon after, where in the first race while jibing we broke the mast, but the crew did not capsize, did not collide, all they did was just jibe! The mast could not stand the load and broke down. The mainsail was torn in two parts. That day, 7 masts were broken in the same place on the mast!!!

At the fracture you can see that the thickness of mast’s walls is two different sizes.

Among the competitors that day who broke their masts, there were the sailors of the highest level, even Olympic champions, who know how to take care of all the boats equipment. But on the day they masts failed which should make alarm bells for the manufacturer. One and a half hours with a broken mast we slowly drifted by the surf to the shore. None of the motorboat came to us to help. At the last moment, after we begun to shout and call for help, the Spanish coach came, but only because the race finished and its sailors went to the harbor. Having such low-quality equipment becomes dangerous for all competitors life and health. Especially when the organization of safety during races is poor. After Miami we again sent to the Nacra 17 Company a letter again siting our concerns and claims. The Nacra 17 company responded very simply by saying: "Improper using", "You have capsized and stuck the mast into the bottom, so it broke down. You should insure the mast. ". It was not possible to prove our opinion. Replies receiving from the company always were predictable and peremptorily. If come back to the example of the Tornado catamaran, during the two Olympic cycles no any mast was broken! We had to finish Regatta just after the first day. We did not have any spare equipment. We lost money for the rent and the boat deposit, plus the payment for the foreign coach, more importantly we were lost good days for training with strong winds, the mast was broken and new main sail was torn. The Nacra Company did not compensate anyone. We continued negotiations and correspondence with the Nacra17 company about the sails. We complained to them about the poor quality of material and sewing. We sent them the facts, photos, comments and technical descriptions. We required the Nacra Company to provide us with two new sails (to compensate sails torn in Santander and Miami). We again sent pictures of our last remaining mainsail, which we used only 15 days and where the luff wire was already frayed.

You can see on the pictures that cloth is new, but the luff wire is already torn from the 1st to 4th batten. But Nacra Company has again refused our claims.

Miami 2016. The World Championship Before shipping the boat №247 to Miami on both hulls it was discovered it had osmosis. Our assumption that the boat would soon be unable to be used for hard racing proved to be correct. On investigation all the bottom along the waterline had become covered with small white bubbles.

In response to our next complaint the Nacra Company replied that they have already had such things happen. They advised us to heavily sand the hulls with sandpaper and then to polish. For your information, such a "polishing" job on the two hulls will cost 1,000 euros. We cautioned the Nacra Company about that in our messages upon receiving the defective hulled, and now it happened. The boats quickly become unusable for racing. Boat №247, which has always been carefully stored and used minimally, it has become no longer used for racing. We had to do that as there was not time for repairing, and the new one was promised to be delivered by the end of February. The Nacra Company always has big problems with getting their orders delivered on time. They often do not have spare parts available when wanted. If something breaks to get a new one takes a lot of time and effort. The beginning of the World Championship, on the first day, of the first race. Everything was going according with the already known sad scenario. Just 50 meters before the finish the tiller pintle broke. The stainless plate 3mm thick is torn, like a piece of paper, not even at the welding point.

The boat capsized, again this made a tear in the new mainsail, surf pushes us to the shore. At the last moment we are rescued just in time by a passing British coach before the boat might have been ground in the surf.

During the years of sailing on the catamaran Nacra 17 we now have become accustomed to collect all the photos for the useless correspondence with the company. At this time, on the next of our claims, complaints and demands the company replied simply: "It happens," and gave us a new pintle for free. Again the new mainsail was torn (our third mainsail!!!) and it again was not under discussion. The result: The World Championship 2016 is failed for us. For the rest of the races we had to race with the old sewn sail, as a result - again we wasted of a lot of money.

Palma-de-Mallorca 2016. Last selection for the Olympic Games

We bought a new boat number 326. By ordering we were not allowed to refuse the rigging made by Nacra Company. It forced us to by its equipment. We immediately had to replace it by other, the better quality, produced by others companies, so it means that we had to spend more money. We are well aware that the ropes produced by Nacra 17 company are «one-off", so we left only one rope – for the jib and two rubber bands - for the spinnaker bag. On the first day of racing they all were torn. Because of that we had to race without a jib and spinnaker bag. The result: Again we lost two races. Then two hulls near the centerboard-cases during the race showed cracks

Boat fractured along the adhesive joint. We understand why the boat now has become unable to sail fast in the choppy waves. The rigidity of the hulls has become flexy. The fast performance quality has been lost, although in the previous days at the training event, just a few days before the qualifying regatta, everything was good. By the way, at the training event we took 4th place. The end result: our crew failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games. On the others boats of the Russian Nacra 17 team the serious defects were also revealed. So, after just one training day in Santander the Russian team from Azov has found that one hull had now the same splitting along the keel line from the adhesive joint. The Nacra 17 company replaced it. Another hull also split this time into parts in the Princess Sofia Regatta on the Palma.

Also there were cracks around centerboard case. The Russian team from Togliatti began to have the same problems (boat number 163).

All boats are now in Russia. Photo and video evidence are recorded. The price and quality do not match each other. The Nacra 17 company is not responsible for anything. Using the Nacra company's equipment is simply dangerous. Who will be responsible for the lives and health, and results of any of our crews sailing a Nacra 17?