Hi everyone!



My name is Duncan and I'm for Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. For the past 7 years I have been sailing and racing Lasers... but I find them just too damn slow. So now I'm looking at diving into the wonderful world of Tornado sailing. I was hoping I could get some information about the boats, and what to expect, or what I should know before I buy a boat?



There is someone here that is selling a 1987 Tornado (he thinks that’s how old it is) that was originally made in Texas. He said that at the time, the company had a very good reputation. I have seen the boat in person, and the hulls are in excellent condition, and the Smyth sails look to be pretty decent (old rig). The one big draw back is that during a hurricane, the boat got knocked over and the mast hit an Opti and put a nice dent in the side. The dent is about 3/4 of the way up the mast.... although he has been sailing it for two years like that with no problems. He is selling it for $5,250cdn ($3,300 US) Is that a good deal? It would be so convenient if I could buy this boat so that I wouldn’t have to travel to the States or Ontario to get one.



Thanks a lot!!



Duncan

Hi:



You might buy or not buy this boat depending on what your purpose is. If you want to race one design, you will be throwing your money away. To be successful you will need a Marstrom Tcat. the boat may be fine for daysailing, although I'm not familiar with any boat that was built in Texas in the late 80s. Perhaps the boat was built in the late 80s, but the owner lived in Texas? Any Tcat is 10 feet wide, which is too wide to trailer flat. If you wish to trailer the boat a lot, you will be assembling and disassembling platforms a lot, unless you buy a tilt trailer. On the other hand, Tcats have a great feel to them. Properly set up, they have a very light and responsive helm and change direction extremely quickly. They're also blindingly fast, particularly when the breeze is on.



I may be able to help you figure out what the boat is and whether or not it's the right boat for you. Prolly best if you phone me rather than wear your fingers to the bone emailing lots.



Call me at 240 876 9510 mobile, 301 208 0828 home, 301 975 2626 work. I live on the east coast of the US. I have been sailing and racing Tcats since '87.



-Greg Scace

USA815

Thanks a lot for the help Greg!



I'm not able to make long distance calls at the moment, but I will on the weekend when I get back home.



Here is a weird question: when a Tornado capsizes, how quickly does is usually turtle?



Also, about the boat I am looking at buying, I don't think i will race it against other Cats because there really is not any around here. As far as I know, it is the only Tornado in Atlantic Canada. I would probably race it against big boats (with a 150 handicap)... but that’s about it. I just want a boat that will help me get my feet wet, and used to Tornado sailing. And if I get into it, then maybe next year I will buy a new one.

Just out of curiosity, what makes the Marstroms so good? Everyone I talk to says the same thing, that they are the do-all end-all. Are they just a lot lighter? Or just better build qality? Now I want one! haha



Thanks a lot!!



Duncan

Hi,

I am on my second tornado, and use them primarily for fun sailing in club races. If you are not going to compete in the strictly Tornado events, there are lots of bargains out there. As Greg says in the above post, these boats are not competetive in Tornado events.

However, there is so much to learn on these boats, that, in my opinion, you could go on for some time before you need a truly competative boat.



I just purchase a well equiped 84 Reg White tornado, that had been upgraded to Marstrom everything, for $3k. This was an outstanding deal for me. You can see the add for the boat on www.tornado.org. Since new boats are $20k or so, this is a lot of bang for the buck.



Also, you may want to consider a Prindle 19. It is a simillar, design, but is only 8.5 ft wide, and is a production boat. The layouts are simillar (to the old rig Tornado) so anything that you learn on one, you could apply to the other.



Both boats are extremely fast, and for the most part, well behaved. They don't typically pitchpole and do other bad things like some smaller and more popular boats.



So, here are some prices that you might expect to pay.

Marstrom (the best, competetive) 8k & up

Reg White (OK, great club race boat) $3k -$7k

Newer Sailcraft - late 80's $3k - $4k



Older sailcraft, pantercraft, etc. (stay away unless you get real cheap)



Prindle 19 $1.5k to $10k



Also, if you can find a boat that is owned by someone in the Tornado racing groups, you are better off. These guys are more meticulous than the typical beach sailor.



Hope this helps