Combined announcement by G-cat and Vectorworks Marine

I'm sure this was discussed on this forum but I can't find any post with the orginal announcement. So I repost this announcement in order to archive it for later retrieval.



Quote


Source : www.1design.net

8/2/2005 Vectorworks Marine Inc. is very proud to announce that G-cat Catamarans has chosen us to be the builder of their renewed line of beach catamarans
Vectorworks Marine Inc. is very proud to announce that G-cat Catamarans has chosen us to be the builder of their renewed line of beach catamarans.

Hans Geissler the original force and mastermind behind G-cat introduced their first production 16 foot catamaran in 1976, after extensive testing which included a 480 mile open water passage from Florida to Cancun, Mexico. The G-cat 16 immediately after its introduction was taken and raced in many important multi-hull regattas, amassing a very impressive collection of trophies over the years. Originally targeting the ever growing rental market, the G-cat 18 was introduced, which also included a race version. Continuing the tradition, in 1989 the G-force 21 hit the water and race circuit, even showing extremely well in events such as the Worrell 1000, which were dominated at the time by customized 1-offs. Other designs also followed and over the years G-cat produced in excess of 2000 boats, many of which are still sailing today, a great testimate of the robustness of their build and design.

In 1993 Hans took a change of course from boat building to Founding Morningstar Fishermen Inc. , a non-profit Christian humanitarian organization aimed at ending world hunger. Although his vocation changed, his passion for sailing remained. In 2003 Hans put together a prototype 5.0 based on the very successful G-cat 16. Interest in the model from new and old G-cat sailors sparked Hans to thinking how he could tie in his sailing to his humanitarian efforts. Past sailing fund raising exploits across the Gulf of Mexico triggered his thinking about events such as a formula challenge on his newly redesigned 5.0 to raise money for the fight against world hunger.

We are very pleased in that Hans had chosen Vectorworks Marine’s very quickly growing line of beach cats and sailing projects. The G-cat simple design concept lends them to be excellent family and rental boats. The performance that this design has historically shown also means that with a performance rig, it can be a force to deal with at many more regattas as well. VMI’s design team has taken the task of modifying Hans’ prototype craft to make it conform to the relatively new but fast growing F16 formula. The first of these boats will be undergoing testing this summer. Look for continued news on the results of that testing and G-cats use of these boats in their fight against world hunger.


Wouter


Wouter Hijink
Formula 16 NED 243 (one-off; homebuild)
The Netherlands