Racing catamarans, anyone?

[Rick Steverson]

Anyone try their hand on building one of these sailing crafts?

I saw a plywood Tornado many years ago. Impressive in the midst of the collection of fiberglass beach cats of our local regatta to see a pair of gleaming wood hulls. I've alway though of trying my hand building a cat one day. A Tornado would be a little big, but something about 16-18 feet?

[Barry Hood]

Rick,
Haven't built one but I was crew (ballast on the trapeze wire) on a Black Witch (18' foot ply,180 sq ft of sail) in the seventies. Great fun and faster than 16' Hobiecat tupperware boats. Stingrays were about the same size but carried more sail 210'. We spent a lot of time fairing the dagger boards to stop vibrations and increase speed. Great idea for a project though.
Barry

[Dewey Torres]

IIRC Creeker Karl Brogger does.

[Rick Steverson]

Rick,
Haven't built one but I was crew (ballast on the trapeze wire) on a Black Witch (18' foot ply,180 sq ft of sail) in the seventies. Great fun and faster than 16' Hobiecat tupperware boats. Stingrays were about the same size but carried more sail 210'. We spent a lot of time fairing the dagger boards to stop vibrations and increase speed. Great idea for a project though.
Barry

I skippered a 5 meter G-Cat in the early '80, with the wife crewing. Getting old and creaky (me, not the boat, altho I still have it). I remember seeing an article on-line for plans for an A-Class(?) catamaran that looked interesting, but can't find it any more.

If I remember the classes, A-Class was about 17 feet, and Tornado were in the C-Class, at about 23 feet.

[Larry Edgerton]

I raced a Prindle 16 in the late 70's, but I am a bit busted up now and will stick to monohulls, a pace I can handle.

I have wanted to build a wood boat when I get time[Ya Right!] but making a living at woodworking takes all of my time and energy these days.

I may start with a sea kayak if I ever get to it , something I want to try anyway.

Would love to see a wood cat.

[John Messinger]

I have not built one but as I understand it the tornado was designed with the home builder in mind. The Gougeon Brothers give construction ideas for the Tornado in their book the Gougeon Brothers on Wooden Boat Construction. Catamaran hulls are lighter and more manageable in the home shop to build than the average monohull sailboat. You can probably buy "preowned" masts and other gear from the retired racing programs.

One of the "Little Amerca's Cup" winners in the mid 80's was a wooden epoxy construction beating a much higher tech-ed carbon fiber boat.

[Herbert Mulqueen]

Had a C-Class in the 70's. Usually that class has the most far out engineering. A good place to start researching, for trickle down ideas.

There should be a lot of info on hull construction, decks, rigging. In my day wing masts were the in thing. Personally they were to me a royal pain. This class is more for designers and frustrated engineers.

I broke a mast during the " Little America's Cup". Really pissed off, the designer/engineer was happy. Why, because he thought that the main stay chainplate was designed too heavy. Now he knew for sure that we should make it a tad bit stronger.

Sail making was also a moving target. Back an forth to the sail loft for re-cutting and re-shaping. You need to be close to a good sail maker. Like less than a hour drive.

C-class is huge, but really exciting for a windy area.

B-class probably can be equated to Nascar and C-class to Indy car. I think B-class is probably the most the most bang for size to fun ratio.

However a Hobie's has great re-sale. Also designed to be beat up.

Oh well I ramble as usual.

Herb

[Dell Moore]

Rick,

If you have a need for speed, go for an A-Class with a wing mast.

If you want speed, but want to take others, I suggest perhaps an 18sq with a traditional sail.

Personally, I'm go A-Class. In a strong wind you'll thing a man can fly....

Dell
ex-cat sailor (Stilleto 30, Reynolds 21, Coyote 18sq, and Hobie 17)

[Karl Brogger]

Rick,

If you have a need for speed, go for an A-Class with a wing mast.

If you want speed, but want to take others, I suggest perhaps an 18sq with a traditional sail.

Personally, I'm go A-Class. In a strong wind you'll thing a man can fly....

Dell
ex-cat sailor (Stilleto 30, Reynolds 21, Coyote 18sq, and Hobie 17)

If you're not currently a catsailor, don't get an A-cat. Or at least if you plan on racing don't plan on building one. I don't know when exactly but the minimum weight for A-Cat's went down to 160lbs (8 years ago?). For a bit of insight my 17' Hobie FXone weighs 327lbs, and while not light, it isn't that heavy either. You have to be damn good to get one down to minimum weight and be competative. The point is that A-cats, while a thorough bred racing machine, and are very delicate do to their construction. Most of the modern boats are in the $25k-$30k USD range new and are carbon fibre everything. If you want a good project though, it really is a fantastic platform.

F16's weigh in at 240lbs minimum weight, and are being built semi-frequently outta plywood. Here's a good example of one. I didn't do it:
http://www.thebeachcats.com/index.ph...2_itemId=11955

www.catsailor.com has a some good forums, and I think a few dedicated to home building as well.

If you want to get into cat sailing, or racing really the cheapest way into it is with a Hobie 16. They're cheap, easy to sail, tough to master, parts are available, and they're tough. I've owned two.

Some teaser pics, but not a wood boat: