I'm looking for a fast beachcat to tool around with during the summer (ie it doesen't have to be competitive within its class association) and I stumbled across a mid-1970s fiberglass tornado from a canadian manufacturer that I do not know the name of.

I'm wondering if anyone here knows anything about who was building glass tornados during the 1970's, and how well their boats held up. The owner is asking a very reasonable price for the boat, and when I go to check it out this weekend does anyone know anything specific to look for. I'm not afraid of older boats, but I'm just curious about the build quality of the early fiberglass tornados, and whether this canadian-built boat would be up for non-competitive sailing for fun. Also, would it be unreasonable to upgrade the boat to someone else's race-worn but otherwise useable 2000+ rig?

Who's the manufacturer? Sailcraft of Canada?

ACBarnett,

I suggest you join the TornadoCat list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TornadoCat/


Geoff Dobbs who ran Sailcraft of Canada frequent the list, and he might have built your boat if it is canadian. There are also lots of other people there who are familiar with older T's, conversion to the olympic rig etc.

I would be leery of upgrading such an old boat to the olympic rig. The loads are higher, so I would expect something to break. But post as many details as you know to the list and you will get the best Tornado advice available.

A boat is a boat. The seventies were a time of totally over engeneered boats.
There is a good chance this boat would take the rig change no problems but you would need to strip it and check it well. Certainly put new stainless chainplates on it.
You might strengthen around these areas internally with glass and resin.
Check the keels for wear and get a low down from the owner of how he has used it. How many people has it carried at one time etc.
Two robust men giving that boat a hard time on the race course i=s as tough on the rig as you will ever be but beaching it etc is a different story.
I would be most interested in the rigity of the fibreglass.
It is also worth taking a socket set and lifting the beams. This usually tells the story.

The platform is probably either Sailcraft of Canada or Panthercraft. Of the two, I always heard the Sailcraft boats were built better. The early boats were pretty wiggly (not very stiff) and the beam sizes were quite small in comparison to what is used on a Marstrom platform today. If the boat has little use and has been stored properly, it may be worth putting back together for some nostalgic sailing but I would not recommend trying to upgrade it to the new rig.

Bob Hodges
ex-Tornado USA 796
A-Class USA 230

I have a 75 panthercraft I did not realize they were from Canada as well. I am in search of a new rearbeam the teardrop type if anyone is familiar with it. As far as the loads go nothing changes until you go double trap and spinaker but you can use the rig I would think...without the trap and spi.

Panthercraft Tornados were built in the UK not Canada. The original Dart 18s were also built by Panthercraft.

I added a new-rig spinnaker to my 1971 Panthercraft Tornado, and have had no problems, including regular bow stuffing with spinnaker and upwind in 6' wind waves (not including swell).
I've also sailed with a new rig main in addition, with no problem.

I know of at least 3 converted Sail Craft of Canada Tornados and they've had no significant structural problems, but Geoff Dobbs described (in the TornadoCat archives) how they did improve the SailCraft structure over the years.

I highly recommend the conversion. You can get real deals on used new-rig sails. I've only got $2000 invested in my boat (including tilt trailer) and you just can't beat the performance (or fun) per dollar. (And there is a $100 T for sale in Gardena, California with tilt trailer at the moment.)

Yes, the old boats don't compare to the new in terms of stiffness, but they are just as fun if you don't mind doing a little work on them. And they are a lot cheaper than a new Marstrom at ~$30000 USD without trailer or sails.

--Glenn (TornadoCat list member)

Glenn are you double trapping on that original IYE mast thanks, Bob? Did you beef the boat up any to do this ?

No doubt about that Tornado shape is quite apparent.

that's my thought, I'm just going by how well-built other glass boats from the early-mid 70's are and how well they have held up relative to some glass boats from the 80's and 90's and I'm thinking that for under 5k I could have something a whole lot more fun than your regular hobie, even if it can't race within it's class. I don't care too much about stiffness, if I like the boat enough to get involved with the class association, I'll upgrade to a marstrom.

The guy selling it is the original owner and he seems pretty old and didn't talk about the boat as if he had raced it alot. I wouldn't be surprised if it was just someone's beach toy, I know of a couple older tornados that were kept at lake webster for the exact same purpose.

Sure you can race, you would be very welcome! How well you would do is a different matter, but you dont need a Martstrøm to get started. Still, get all the information you can about the boat and ask the same question on the TornadoCat list.

go for it. once you get involved your own data will start to kick in.
my family was deep into tornados in the 70's. i sailed in many a race that Geoff Perry, the Sailcraft of canada guy, competed in. i even sailed in a club race as crew in England with Rodney March designer of the the tornado and the dart. we ended up forgetting the bungs as he called them. i suspect the dart has no bungs as a result of this and other similar incidents.
the tornadoes were first plywood(60's) then plywood or glass/polyester(70's), then glass/vinylester or cedar/epoxy(80's), then honeycomb/epoxy prepreg or wood.(80's-presentday) the boats have always been strong. the stiffness of the overall platform has gotten better over the years. sun weakens polyester and other resins, so an old boat that has been in the sun the whole time would be somewhat weaker than when it was new.
the fellow with the spi on an old panthercraft is pushing the envelope, but if that works, then any tornado made should handle a spi at least in moderate wind.

Mister JollyRodger...It's kewl you mention Geoff Perry...he was my Dad's (Geoff Dobbs) partner running SailCraft of Canada in Montreal back during the '70s. Lots of childhood memories of Mr. Perry & his family.

Things to watch out for on older T's...
1. The centerboard trunks tend to develop cracks at the upper ends on the slots at the deck. These are due to the high shear forces in that area of the deck.

2. Soft hulls & decks. Early '70's boats commonly used balsa wood cores in the decks/hulls...so water intrusion would turn them to mush pretty quick. Can be remedied if caught early and resin injected...but on a +35 year old hull, it's likely past worth saving.

3. Check beams for dimpling where the bolts pass through. This typcally happens on boats where the bolts were over-torqued.

4. Check beams for stress cracks & signs of fatigue & corrosion. Esp. around mast step, dolphin striker strap & post and near the inside gunwales.

5. Tramp tracks are regular leak points. Typically these are just rivetted into the outer skin of the deck and over time they round out the holes and leak.


As others have said, if you find a good example, not too early in the development cycle, you'll have a great fast boat with or without a spinny retrofit.

Please join us over on the yahoo TornadoCat discussion group if you need more specifics...


Mike (Dobbs)
Tornado CAN 99

I wouldn't personally be modest as to suggest the panthercraft as a potential candidate for turboing.
we have a set of panthercraft hulls at the club and it you press your hand against them amidships you can actually push the sides in at least an inch if you try hard enough. I have heard reliable accounts describing how the hulls would actually visibly 'ripple' when beating towards the top mark. I'm not sure they had any significant bulkheads of any kind! but the reg white platforms are a different story. there were combinations of foam sandwich / nomex sandwich and skinny beam / fat beams. obviously the thicker beams are preferable, and our local fleet has about 6 boats that have been converted to the SPi rig successfully. the Reg White hull shape seems to be quite compatible with the new rig. to know if you have the big beams they look almost like a W shape on the top side. in any case good luck with your project, since I've entered T's I've met some of the best people and sailing the boat is just one of the things you should do if you're into sailing.

so I checked out the boat yesterday, the guy sailed it for a season back in the 1970's and since then it has been stored disassembled in his basement. The boat is absolutely mint, with no deck or hull flex whatsoever. While it's over 30 years old it's in nicer shape than most 1990's cats that I've seen. The spars and beams are all in like-new condition, with no corrosion or fatiguing, also, the dolphin striker is completely rust free. The only thing the boat might need is a new set of sails.

As to the builder, the guy doesen't know exactly, but the boat was built in 1973-1974 and it says "US-326" on the back.