Any one ever tried a kite attached to a catamaran? I saw someone do this with a canoe once. Do they have the range to go in all directions of sail? Then you might ask why would you want to, so I am asking. any experinced thoughts?

Go to the website http://www.kiteship.com -- it might answer some of your questions. Check out "FAQ," "Products," and "Photo Gallery."

I often thought about a cat with a center mounted 'turret' where one could sit and control the kit while someone else steered. Water launching would be a pain (you would almost have to reel it back in first). I would build it if it didn't require any money!

Check out Kevin Cosner in the movie "Waterworld". Oh yeah, that was just a movie, and he was on a 60 foot trimaran. Looked cool though.

Jacob's Ladder was a Tornado with a kite instead of a mast at the Weymouth speed trials some years ago. I learned about it in a book titled "Faster Faster" They had a story about too much wind and holding the boat in place with a stake. The line came loose before they were ready, one person immediately fell off, the other decided to bail out at some altitude.

John

Thanks for the kudos, Mary. I'm Dave Culp, of KiteShip. I'm happy to field any questions you have about kites and kite sailing.

Sure, kites are great on cats. Been doing it since the late 1970's (See: www.dcss.org/speedsl) Our current spinnaker replacement kite, OutLeader is a specialized kite, for replacing spins only (ie: for off-wind speed only).

Other kites can replace the whole rig and can be used on all courses. Kites can be more powerful than sails on any boat (no heeling moment), but so far, they aren't as close winded as good cat sails, so aren't appropriate for everyone.

Dave
www.kiteship.com [/url] [url=http://www.dcss.org/speedsl]

Well Looks like my idea is about 30 years late but it sure looks like fun, Ever tried a kite on a sunfish or laser?

Oh, just get a Hooter and be done with it!

Well you see I happen to have all of this left over spinnaker material and was thinking ..........