Nacra sailboats for sale

Buying a used Nacra: match the hull to its era, not just the brand

Nacra is not one factory's output but three: a Santa Ana startup that built one-design beach cats through the 1970s and '80s, a Dutch-owned operation that partnered with Morrelli & Melvin on Formula-class racing catamarans from the mid-1990s onward, and the Netherlands-based builder — now sourcing hulls from Thailand — behind the Olympic-class Nacra 17. Because ownership, design partners, and build location have all shifted over five decades, a used Nacra's era tells a buyer more than the brand name alone about what kind of boat, and what racing scene, it belongs to.

Which era to target

Boats from the founding Santa Ana period — the 5.2, 5.5, 5.8, and 6.0 — represent Tom Roland and Roy Seaman's original one-design beach cats; the 5.2 alone sold around 2,600 hulls over its 1975-to-1985 run, so parts and class knowledge for these boats are widely established. The mid-1990s brought a shift toward performance racing under the Morrelli & Melvin partnership, which began in 1995 and produced the Nacra Inter 20 in 1997 — a boat that went on to sell more than 1,000 units worldwide over the following decade — followed by the Formula-class F16, F18, and F20 Carbon. A third era followed the brand's move to Dutch ownership and, later, Thailand-built hulls assembled in Scheveningen; this is also the era of the youth-oriented Nacra 15, built to ISAF specification from 2015, and of the Olympic Nacra 17 lineage. Buyers targeting organized one-design or Formula-class racing should match the era to the fleet they intend to sail with, since class rules and competitive scenes differ across these generations.

Navigating the lineup

The range below splits broadly by purpose: youth and ISAF-track sailors will find the Nacra 15; Formula-class racers should look toward the F16, F18, and carbon-hulled F20; and buyers drawn to the brand's Olympic pedigree will want the Nacra 17 lineage, including the fully foiling version that followed the 2017 World Championships. Day-sailing cats such as the 460 and 500 sit apart from the racing classes and suit buyers prioritizing straightforward beach launching over one-design competition. The full model directory on this page breaks these out individually.