How hard would it be to singlehand a 5.8? Seems like if you furled/didn't use the jib it wouldn't be too hard... what do you think?

It all depends on conditions. Winds over say 12mph, maybe not. can you right the boat yourself? are there others around to give you a hand if you go over?
I single my N6.0 frequently and fly the spin. But not if I'm alone on the lake and not if the wind is up or could be expected to come up. I also have a water bag on board.
Be safe and go for it.

Cool. What is your max wind range for singlehanding your 6.0?

a lot also depends on where you sail

on a smallish lake, give it a ago, the most you're likely to lose if you can't right it is the boat

on the ocean you could lose a lot more...

You do realize a little girl named Ellen MacArthur single handed a 75' triamaran around the world.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Race-Against-Time-Ellen-MacArthur/dp/0141026480/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Sailing a beach cat solo is not hard, but like everything else, you have to pick your days, prepare, and practice. Start out in light wind and work your way up once you get your coryography figured out.

True... I'm on a skinny bay with lots of other friendly sailors, so I'll give it a try on a light day, then slowly work up to medium-ish winds. Thanks

Your only issue might be righting it if you flip it, but I've flagged down many a jet skier who was happy to lift the mast tip up for me, so be kind to them even if they insist on trying to follow you around all day...

wow

Does anyone have pics from their 5.8 spi setup? i have a spinnaker, and some windsurf masts for poles.

Yeah, I know, my spelling's bad...but my typing is worse!

That's why I took up flying. You only need to spell (and say) 4 letter words up there. Most conversations start with, "What the F@#K is it doing now?!"

I can't find any close-up photos of my set-up, but I pretty much copied the controls from the Capricorn manual.

The pole is just a stick of aluminum that I got from a local metal supply shop - saved a lot on shipping that way (it's 12.5 feet long). It is lashed to the underside of the NA foil, the foil is raised a couple of inches from stock to get the geometry right - because it's raised I have two lines from the center of the the foil to each tang to keep it from shifting side-to-side. The butt end of the pole is attached to the top of the dolphin striker (right under the main beam). Rather than attaching tangs to the bow, I just drilled holes in the bow.

The 5.8 is very forgiving, and carries a spin very well. I've never come close to pitch-poling in 3 years of racing the boat pretty hard. It's very fast off the wind - never had any problems putting time on Tigers downwind. My spin is a modern F18-style cut (custom made for the boat by Glaser). The older style kites are much larger, and if you have one, your mileage may vary.

awesome. thanks.