A post from another lifetime G-Cat owner.... I rig and sail this boat mostly solo, and I weigh only 145lbs
In light air, I spank the pants off my friends sailing P-18-2s and P-19s. They've both got brand-new Smythe mylar racing sails while I'm using some 1981 Smythe dacron racing sails that are well worn and much patched.
Since the Jib connects to the forward xbeam, it has a lot more area. With the forward trampoline installed, you can lounge up front and pull the rear of the boat out of the water. With a little maneuvering I can lift the rudders clear out of the water this way. Needless to say- this is a great boat for shallow water sailing.
*The G-Cat 5.0 (~16') will easily handle a 360# crew, but later on you'll most likely want to go to an 18' boat.
*The G-Cat 5.7 (~18') will handle a LOT of weight- and it has the room to carry it. I've had 7-8 people aboard my G-Cat, easily over 1000#s, and the hull-stripes weren't even in the water. We had ~12 knots of wind and nice 4' rollers to play on, and the boat moved and handled very well.
*The G-Cat 6.1 (~20') is an all-out racing boat, with as many control lines as the P-19s and Nacras. To my knowledge only two of these were ever built, and my friend owns one of them.
*The G-Force 21 (~21') came out in response to the Hobie 21 race boat. It's another racer, but not many were built. I've only seen one, and it's been heavily modified with an 11' beam, 34' mast, square-top main and roller-furling jib.
* The G-Force 36 (36') came in two varieties- the Sport Cruiser version with an open tramp fore and aft, and the Salon Cruiser version with a cabin aft of the mast. I know one person that uses the Sport Cruiser for a charter boat.
As for parts.... stock replacements are hard to come by, but parts from other boats will interchange. H16 mast hounds, Hobie rudder systems (with a little shortening of the arms), etc. If you snapped the mast, the mast-hinge section could be transfered to something like a H-18s mast. Due to a beach capsize during a storm, I've had to replace the spreaders and rudder system on my boat. I've also replaced all standing and running rigging, and most recently bought all new Harken blocks to replace the old SeaWay and Ronstan units. These boats are incredibly durable, a friend of mine has four 5.0s and four 5.7s that he uses for his rental business. He's had some of these boats for 20 years and counting!
The 5.0 and 5.7 boats are incredibly simple to rig. I usually rig mine solo with no mechanical devises for assistance.
There are not many control lines. The main sheet and main traveler (I have them both on different ends of the same line), the downhaul (and you can add a main-camber adjustment that works like an outhual in reverse if you feel the need), the Jibsheet and the Jib barberhualer (wich I've seen set to "automatic" on a few boats by using bungee cord and some snap-shackles)
