| Re: What are Cat's capable of ?
[Re: ncMariner]
#108076 05/23/07 01:57 AM 05/23/07 01:57 AM |
Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 902 Norman,OK gree2056
old hand
|
old hand
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 902 Norman,OK | Cats are fast, I hope you don't expect to do to much offshore in a laser but a cat can do more any day.
Cats do wonderfully on ICW's, my friend and I just sailed my 5.2 along the texas coast and camped at night for four days.
When the wind dies....don't be out, cats move in light wind very fast because they are light and have alot of sail so it should be okay.
I carry a radio sometimes but you don't need all that to keep you interested. A gps is okay, just go with handheld!
As for carrying gear, we had everything that 2 guys need to survive for 4 days on my Nacra 5.2 and never had a problem.
I beach launch and it is easy
Single hand boats: Anything from the HObie line up to 18 will work but it all depends on how manly you are. Nacra:5.0 great boat for shallow water areas, 5.2's are older but are fast and fun solo.
The options never end, just read alot on here.
Once you go cat you never go back!
Nacra 5.2 (Elsies)#1499, running an inter17 spin!
| | | Re: What are Cat's capable of ?
[Re: gree2056]
#108077 05/23/07 02:18 AM 05/23/07 02:18 AM |
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 4,451 West coast of Norway Rolf_Nilsen
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 4,451 West coast of Norway | I suggest you browse trough the archives of "On The Wire" from the good old "beachcats" days. You will find lots of experiences, tips and advice there. http://www.thebeachcats.com/OnTheWire/catsail.com/index.html(where are the rest of the issues??) In addition, we have our own offshore solo catsailing guru here. He goes under the name "Hobiegary", and you can learn what you need to know from him (why do I feel like I just presented "The Stig" of offshore catsailing <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> ). If you want to sail solo and offshore, a catamaran is infinitely better suited for this than a monohull dinghy in my opinion. Not only becouse it is faster, but it is controllable in strong winds/rough seas due to its hull configuration. The downside to cats are the high loads and the dangers of capsizing or "going turtle". But if you know what you do (have the experience needed), you can sail a 18 footer across the atlantic ocean. It has been done several times, but dont expect it to be fun. You will probably give in before the boat does.. | | | Re: What are Cat's capable of ?
[Re: ncMariner]
#108078 05/23/07 06:41 AM 05/23/07 06:41 AM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 12,310 South Carolina Jake
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 12,310 South Carolina | Cats can go great distances ( www.teamseacats.com - www.tybee500.com). The Tybee 500 (a one week long 523 miles race up the entire east coast of Florida) just finished last week. We do this race on a common Nacra 20 and one Hobie Tiger competed this year. At one time, there was a 1000 mile race up the coast to Virginia that started on 16 foot boats...but that's another story. Our 20' cats can sustain speeds around 20knots with spinnakers and good wind /sea state. Upwind typical speeds are in the 12 to 15 knot tops. 18' cats w/ spinnakers can see about 18knots of downhill speed with about the same 12 to 15 uphill. A spin rigged 16' cat can accomplish similar speeds. The furthest I've been offshore on a cat is about 11 or 12 miles. The limit is your desire. Some have crossed the Atlantic ocean. "Cruising"? Well...you're not going to drink much beer while you are under way and brewing a cup of coffee is out of the question. You can travel places fast but it requires some physical exertion while underway. Wind dies? Same thing that happens to every other sailboat. You either paddle or crank up an outboard (some have installed small outboards on their cats...although it is not very common). There is a good deal of sailing around your part of the country. Beach Launch - probably about 20%...beach launching is what "beach cats" were designed to do best. http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamseacats/sets/72157600194459491/
Jake Kohl | | |
|
1 registered members (Talus1),
680
guests, and 163
spiders. | Key: Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod | | Forums26 Topics22,405 Posts267,056 Members8,150 | Most Online2,167 Dec 19th, 2022 | | |