Nacra 17 update: Statement from the Class Association following the recall of foiling 17s by the man
VANCOUVER, CAN – Today International Nacra Class manager Ben Remocker (CAN) issued a long and detailed statement on behalf of the Class after the manufacturer, Nacra Sailing, issued this recall notice Friday:
Recall notice by Nacra Sailing Dated August 11, 2017
“Dear Sailors,
Nacra Sailing is recalling its Nacra 17 Foiling configuration over an issue that could cause the daggerboards to fail without warning during operation.
The defect: the daggerboards could fail without warning during operation, causing the daggerboard to break. The issue is potentially increased likely to happen during high winds and/or higher than normal loads. The issue is caused by a problem in the bottom bearing, which does not have enough surface connected to the daggerboards, this is causing extreme high point loads on the daggerboard surface causing buckling and breaking of the board if pushed outwards.
The hazards: a failure of the daggerboards during operation could potentially cause sailors to lose control and crash.
NACRA SAILING doesn’t have any reports of accidents or injuries caused by the problem.
Affected boats:
>2017 Nacra17 Foiling configurations
<2017 Nacra 17 Retrofitted to Foiling Configuration
Number of boats affected: nearly 47 boats, of which:
35 Foiling versions
12 Retrofitted versions
The fix: NACRA SAILING will notify owners, and dealers. Replacement bearings will made available for all customers. The repairs will be performed free of charge.
Owners should: if their boat is included in this NACRA SAILING recall, then owners can:
If purchased at a dealer, take it to a dealer or,
if purchased directly at NACRA SAILING, a set of replacement bearings will be made available for you on the shortest possible timing. We are still deciding on the exact process and timing of exchanging as this is depending on production capacity of the replacement bearings.
We are expecting to have first availability of replacement bearings end of next week (18/8/17] and full availability the week after. More details in follow up communication.
Nacra Sailing urges the owners not to sail the boat until the replacement bearings are fitted to avoid a incidents/breakages
Owners can also contact their dealer or NACRA SAILING with questions by using the following information.
Kind regards,
Team Nacra Sailing
Again, the Nacra Class statement can be read in it's entirety here, including diagrams and a discussion of the implications of the recall on the World Championship scheduled to be held in three weeks. Of note is this excerpt from the Nacra Class statement:
The Nacra 17 Class executive met on short notice this morning (Saturday) to review the situation. Exactly 3 weeks from today is measurement for the 2017 World Championship. Unfortunately, neither members of the board who work for Nacra Sailing made themselves available for the call at short notice.
Nacra 17 foiling configuration. Photo: Laurens Morel / saltycolours.com