I had a blast! I'll give a full report in the next day ot two. This boat gets my "thumbs up" approval rating!!



Bob

Bob,



I sailed a FX-1while vacationing in the Med and even got to race it in a small regatta. During this vacation, I also sailed an A-Cat and a couple of other cats.



This Hobie FX-1 was set up with a spi and snuffer. The boat was finiished well, but was terribly heavy (350Lbs+ as weighed). The A-Cat I sailed weighed 162 lbs on the same scales and was MUCH faster and responsive on the water. More importantly, the FX-1 was more than I wanted to handle, by myself, up and down the beach. I pulled the A-Cat on th beach with little difficulty. This alone was all I needed to turn me away from heavy singlehanders like the FX-1 or Inter 17.



I have to admit that the spinnaker did make sailing downwind a lot of fun in the winds 7-12 ktns (average during my sail). While I did not know how to wild thing as well as the A-Cat owner, doing the 'thing on the A-Cat was fast too. Another advantage to the FX-1 was it can be sailed two-up with the addition of a jib, while the A-Cat is strictly a singlehander. You need the two people to move the FX-1 around the beach, without pulling a muscle!



Has anyone, here in the USA, sailed the I-17 and FX-1 head to head yet?

I've had my FX-One for a few months and have no problem moving it ...

Hello,

While the A-Cat might be light and fast, I've heard that it's also very fragile. A friend has one that now has two holes where trapeze hooks broke right through the hull while he was climbing aboard. I can't imagine what a couple unseen rocks would do to it.

Jack

thank you......not to sure how well a boat that light would handle the 3-5 foot rollers here in the caribbean.....a boat can really take a pounding here

Hi 49er



Are you sure about the 350lb? I have an FX-One and will weigh it soon. It seems about 100lbs lighter than my previous 1997 cat, which I DID weigh at 376 lbs. My FX-One does not have any spinnaker gear - just the roller furling jib /extra trapeze option. I can't imagine that adds too much weight though. I'm 5'6" tall (short?) and weigh 150 lbs and move the FX-1 up and down a slight incline easily by myself (on Cat Trax Wheels), even after a long day of sailing. (However, I do "anchor" it just off the beach first, get my wheels (when I'm alone), catch my breath, and then wheel it "up the hill" at my yacht club).



Steve



Note to Bob: Glad you finally got a ride and liked it!!!

Yep- the boat does weigh over 350 lbs. This is by the scales and not a manufacturer's claim. The ISAF measured the FX-1 and I-17 (without spi gear) and they both were at around 350lbs. Yes, I can pull the boat up and down the beach, but it is too much effort when compared to the A-Cats, Taipans, or 18HTs.



As far as A-Cat fragility, check out the waves and winds that these boats are sailed in Australia. Any boat can have holes put in it by trap hooks. I once ripped the side of a friends I-20 for over two feet with my hook.



I am sure that the FX-1 will make many sailors happy, however I would perfer a lighter boat to singlehand, both on and off the water.

hey Steve......I have a hard time believeing it weighs that much....I have no problem moving mine at all....then Im 6-1 225.....and have no problem handling it on the water either

"As far as A-Cat fragility, check out the waves and winds that these boats are sailed in Australia. Any boat can have holes put in it by trap hooks. I once ripped the side of a friends I-20 for over two feet with my hook." By 49er



Sorry burst your bubble but the A-Cats are that fragile and just because they can handle waves in Aus. does not mean they are durable. In our area the A-Cat guys are buying new boats every year or two, and it is not just because they want the newest and latest A-Cat. I have seen their old A-Cats and they do not hold up. The guys who buy these boats know this and accept it as part of A-Catting.



By the way the FX-one weighs 275 lbs so maybe you are not reading your metric scale right or need to get a new scale. In addition, why in the heck do you call yourself 49er? Are you a 49er football fan or a 49er sailor.

weight wise I cant believe that a 17 ft uni weighs just 40lbs less than the I-20...at 390..full rig spi and all.....

The Nacra 6.0s. Hobie 18s. etc..spend more time on the beach due to breakdowns than any of the FIVE A Class cats we have at our club.



So, who are the guys in your area? I certainly would like to email them before I took that story hook, line and sinker.



BTW, most guys that I know who got rid of their boats after a year or so either 1) sold their boat to build the fleet and bought a new one or 2) let their boat demolish itself against a rock seawall or ran it into a concrete bridge or had it caught in a tornado/severe thunderstorm.



Also, explain specifically how "they don't hold up". What damage occurred and how did it occur? Over what period of time.



It sounds like your side of the story is based on only second hand knowledge about A Class Cats that may have been altered.



If any of you really want to know about A Class Cats, you should hear it directly from someone who owns one.



So far your point of view is b

And another point: My carbon/kevlar Auscat Mk 5 took a T bone collision by another A Class without even denting. NO, they are not fragile. NO, they are not bullet proof either

I-20s weighed 420-425 lbs when weighed by the Texel and ISAF measurers-NOT 390lbs. Don't beleive the manufacturers claims.



At the A-Cat Worlds in MV, most of the A-Cats (particularly the Flyers) weighed less than 165 and carried as much as 10 pounds od lead to make weight! Good scales don't lie. Measure 'um!

Thanks Rob Lyman for hitting the nail on the head.

OK,



Here is a link to the Offical Texel Website http://www.texelrating.knwv.nl/

, so see for yourself!



At this location, you wil find the actual weights of I-20s, I-17s, and FX-1s. Please not that the boats are weighed without spinnakers or spin gear (7kg or 15.4lbs is the offical default weight). So after adding 7kg/15.4lbs to the respective weights you get



FX-1 338.68lbs/154kg

I-17 356.4lbs/162kg

I-20 417.0lbs/190kg (not that US I20s weigh about 5 lbs more due to snuffer and larger sailplan, so average US I-20 weighs 422lbs



I hope nobody thinks that the Texel guys are conspiring against them! Face it the FX-1, I-17, and I-20 are HEAVY!

Well I'm not sure about A-cats, I don't own one. But as a past owner of a Hobie 18 I'm here to tell you there is no MORE durable boat. I had a 81 I purchased in 84 and I sailed it damm near every weekend for 17 years. I raced,putted around,camped with it.When it blew 30 I would find a few friends and go out with two on the trap and three on the tramp.(somebody had to hold on to the beer) When I camped we'd carry like a half a tramp of gear plus 2 adults and two kids out to our favorite island. I sold the boat last year to friend who still sails it every weekend......Florida gotta love it! Thats what I call DURABLE!!! 22 years and still going strong.

Have Fun

Mike

Mystere 6.0+ Shoot

Rob thanks for your informative response but you know I hear you A-Cats guys say how durable they are yet the old A-Cats never last. I prefer reality versus words, and all I am saying is what I have seen, that's it.



So you are saying an A-Cat is more durable than a Hobie 18? I think your point of view is all B and we will leave it at that.

49 where in the Med did you sail that FX ? And when ?



We might have met without even knowing it.



Wouter

Actually, I meant to delete that entire part of the post. The rest of it said something like "...based on second hand knowledge...yada yada yada." Although unintentionally leaving just the "b" provided a crude summary of the rest of the post, it was not intended. I hate this microscopic text box to respond in.



First, the old A Cats, pre 1998, were built when no minimum weight limit was imposed on the class. If you are referring to a pre 1999 boat, your argument is not relavent to the current class. or group of boats currently available.



I still am waiting to hear what is wrong with these boats that are not lasting. Do you have any specifics? Any names for the real owners? You are saying what you have "seen", how about pictures? I'll go out this afternoon and take pictures of our entire fleet and post them if you will come up with pictures and names of real owners you are referring to.



Is an A Class Cat more durable than a Hobie 18? Not if you abuse it. You can sail a Hobie 18 across the sand at the beach. We have all seen the video of that done. There is a ton of fiberglass on the bottom of those things. They WILL take more abuse. If you are new to sailing, a Hobie 18 or other heavy, over-built boat is for you. If you can't or won't take care of your boat, than a heavy, over-built boat is for you.



If you know how to and plan to take care of your boat, than more options are open for you. If you take care of an A Class like most responsible racing sailors do, it should last as long as a Hobie 18.



My point that I was making in the original post is still true. The guys in our fleet who sail other boats spend more time sitting out races due to mechanical failure than do any of our A Class sailors. It is because of stupid things, like missing or bent shackles, broken rudder mechanisms, or otherwise poor maintenance on their boats. We all know that these types of things are 100s of times more likely to happen than the spectacular failures everyone hears about. Who ever hears about the guy whose trampoline came unlaced because the original line rotted out?



Lastly, my experience in A Class cats is first hand. I have owned two. We also have a fleet of five boats 1 1/2 blocks from my house. Come on out and take a look if you don't believe what I am saying about our fleet. Also, feel free to talk about what ever type of boat you have, as though you are an expert, but don't pretend to be an expert at A Class boats unless you have sailed and owned one.



As Jimmy Buffet says, "Don't try to describe the ocean..a Kiss concert, etc... if you've never seen it" Oh yeah, "And I hope Anita Bryant never ever does one of my songs."

Well, my '94 Nacra 6.0na,bought and sailed in '93, will sail up hill, in the snow, in 80knots of wind! yeah, and thats pulling a trailer, skiiers, and 16 people on the tramp, with only the main up, yeah, and flying a hull too, yeah, and soing 40 knots hull speed, yeah, and, and, wow, that was quite a nightmare!



Give it a rest guys, die thread, die!

Rob Lyman, thanks again for your response.



I second Rob's challenge to all of the A-cat critics (including Surf): who, what, when, and where to back up all of this hearsay you continually post.



All A-cat sailors accept that we are sailing high performance, lightweight composite structures. We all understand that there is tradeoff in that we can't do the following: 1. use it for fishing, 2. take it on a camping trip, 3. take 5 people out on it in 25 knots, 4. slam it into the beach going downwind at 10+ knots. Guess what? The boat is not designed for those activities. It is designed for high performance RACING and if it is used in the way the designer/builder intended, it should provide a minimum of a 6-8 year competitive racing life. The technology is getting better all the time to provide even more durable boats.



I have been racing these boats for a year now (as well as the Jav 2 F-18HT). Light can be strong and it is fast. Try it and you will believe it.