I'm thinking of getting a cat to daysail and use as a platform for beachcamping. Would the G cat make a good boat for that? I have a Hobie wave, but am looking for a faster bigger boat. I want more capacity for both daysailing and beach camping. I like the boardless design for hassle free shallow water sailing.

Wht should I be looking for?

Dan

The question is too subjective, you should probably define it a little better.

For instance: What is "hassle free"? If you're camping, how much gear are you going to carry? Will you be able to keep it dry?

I recall photos, from years back, of a guy who camped on a H-16! He had bags tied all over the boat! It looked so cumbersome I don't see how he could sail. But, it worked for him.

I think I would test the boat you have. Load the G-cat and go for an overnighter. If that works for you, you're good to go!

Yes the G-cat 5.7 had a front tramp and tent option. The 5.7 Nacra could also be special ordered with the front tramp for camping.

That is a bit subjective... I think using either kick up boards or boardless hull designs would help eliminate some of the hassle of running aground with a daggerboard down. The subsequent repair is a hassle. Having the foils kick up without damage is a hassle saver.

I have a Wave and a sea kayak. I can keep my junk to backpacking light or beef it up to kayaking amounts. All stuff will be packed into dry bags. The challenge on beach cats is stowing it. Even if the hulls have the buoyancy to handle two folks and a week's worth of camping gear, it's tough to put it somewhere that it won't affect the safe sailing of the boat. The Hobie 21 SC addresses lots of those questions as does the Reynolds 21. However, both are a bit more expensive than a G cat. Plus the setup time on the Reynolds would keep the casual daysail a bit tough.

Has anyone ever added hatches to their hulls of sufficient volume to get dry bags in the hull? Naturally it would have to be completely waterproof, and possibly even better a section that is sealed off with bulkheads fore and aft.

Most sails would be daysails, but week long camping trips using sail power rather than paddle power would be the idea.

Dan