Spillane stepped down from the role to avoid a conflict of interest after he was recently elected as a World Sailing vice-president. 

His resignation came into effect on November 1, with Outteridge now temporarily in charge of the Nacra 17 Class Association. 

"The biggest challenge of the Nacra 17 class has been that every critical decision of the class has been almost 50-50 in terms of opinion," said Spillane. 

"With such a large and diverse fleet, deep in every continent, broad in age ranges, and of course mixed in gender, there are no shortages of opinions and many varying backgrounds and perspective in the fleet. 

"It has been a wonderful challenge to be a part of stabilising and improving the class. 

"While I must step down as President of the class earlier than I had planned for, I do so knowing that Nathan is more than able for the role." 

Spillane was Nacra 17 President since 2016 and was also 49er Class Association President from 2012 until earlier this year. 

He was elected as World Sailing vice-president during the governing body's virtual General Assembly on November 1. 

Outteridge, 34, earned an Olympic gold in the 49er class at London 2012, before claiming silver in the same event at Rio 2016.

Now competing in the Nacra 17, Outteridge finished second at this year's World Championships in Geelong. 

He campaigned for Nacra 17's inclusion in the Olympic programme at Tokyo 2020 which was ultimately successful.