Hey everyone, I am really interested in getting involved in catamaran racing. But I don’t have any experience on them, I have only sailed cruising monohulls. Could anyone recommend a good boat I could purchase (I like fast:)? I have friends that sail in the area so I don't really want a single hander. I am also 6'5" 190lbs and 22 years old so I wouldn't mind a boat that might a little harder to learn on cause I'm ok with getting thrown off in the beginning. Thanks everyone.

Where do you live? If you want good competition, you should find out which boats are being actively raced in your area.

At 190 you are already limited on the boats that you could sail competitively. I am 190 and sail Formula 18s. The other choice you have is a Formula 20. The 18s are a way larger participation world wide. If you are in Florida or the Great Lakes then the Formula 20 (Inter 20) may be a fine boat. You do need to know who your competitors are and sail the boat that they are on or you may not see any racing.

Later,
Dan

Sorry but the I20 class in FL is on a serious decline Dan. F18 and now F16 and the usual Hobie 16s is where the action is at.

I weigh 180-185 and usually race my f16 uni-rigged. Although I prefer SLOOP. At a 190lbs weight you will need an extra light crew.

But the most important question here is what Rhino said, where do you live?

I live in NC in the Raleigh area.

190 is a good weight for an ACat.

Bill:

I think this may be the clue.


JamesCarl:

In NC I think that the Formula 18 would be a great choice for you! There must be some good deals on boats (f18s) in the area right now as it seems that there are so many sailors that have bought or a ready to buy boats.

Later,
Dan

NCSUtrey (username) on this forum lives in Raleigh/Durham area. You can find him at www.teamvelocity.com.

He might be able to help you with local knowledge about boats for sale and which are racing competitively.

Yeah, I would definitely go with a F18. A high tech boat that will keep you learning for years and a great growing competitive fleet in the southwest. You also have a good choice of used and new boats available for purchase.

If you can't find a good used F18, I would look for a used I-20. It would handle you and ANY crew you wanted to put on it.

Just my opinion,

Doug Snell

James,

You are in a pretty good spot. There is a large active class of F18's in NC, SC, and GA and a slowly growing I20 fleet in the same area (Robi - they are NOT dead but are only shifting demographic slightly). FL is not far away for a lot of spectacular racing. There are several competitive F18 and I20 sailors around you.

You didn't mention what kind of budget you are looking at. A decent used F18 is going to go at least $8k and above. Same goes for an I20. There are a ton of other options in older classes too.

[quote(Robi - they are NOT dead but are only shifting demographic slightly). FL is not far away for a lot of spectacular racing. There are several competitive F18 and I20 sailors around you.[/quote]Jake, I never said DEAD. There are good ammount of sailors by me true. All three Castrol I20 sail in the same club I sail in. Kenny Pierce as well. I am a mortal walking upon superstars! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I20s down here are mostly doing the distance stuff now. Around the cans, the I20 is on a decline.

Thats around what my budget is. Where do you think the best place to look for a used F18 is?

Where is Trey when you need him. I have a F18 for sale in Wilmington NC (see add in the classified section 2005 Nacra).
Mike has it listed for sale.

You just missed out on two I20's fo sale in Raleigh :P

(I just happened to get one)

and our website is www.velocitysailing.com

(not teamvelocity)

Call Trey Brown to get the skinny... 919.302.0880 He's definitely the one to talk to.

Glad to hear you want to come over to the dark side!!! Based on your size (and since you are talking about racing), I would lean more towards an I20. This also depends a bit on who you think you'll be racing with most of the time. F18's competetive weight is around 330 total. I20's can take considerably more weight. I weigh 210 and usually sail with my wife. even she and I combined are too heavy for an F18, and it gets worse when i have my buddies crew (then i'm pushing 400 total). Definitely best to give Trey a call. He can give you a good idea of what else is in the area. It would be even better if you could get out on one of each as well (and Trey might be able to hook you up with a ride). Good Luck!!

Not having sailed an F18, I can only vouch for the N20, which I find to be the best for heavier crews. I am 180, my crew is 190, and we were on the lighter side of some of the teams we raced (and occasionally lost to!)

That being said, there is a rumor that it takes a bit more "beef" to handle the cordage on the N20 (spin sheet, main, etc.) but in my conversations with those that have raced both F18 and N20, I think that is just a rumor.

For example, I believe the spin halyards are of similar diameter, and yanking the spin up/down on both boats can get hard on the crew. Spin sheet loads aren't much different, unless you're sailing an F18 with the small sail plan (which you wouldn't with your combined crew weight).

The F18 fleet is growing on the buoy circuit, but I haven't seen tons of them in distance racing. There are a few F18 owners who used to (or still do) own N20s, and are just chasing the rock stars as they move from fleet to fleet. Most of them were sailing the 5.5s before the N20 if memory serves. It's kind of a cyclical thing.

Whichever boat you decide on, know that they are built strongly, well laid out, and parts / service are readily available. You will have plenty of fleet racing in either group (if you are okay with driving to regattas), and there are top notch sailors all around.

Hi James I am in Raleigh as well and just got a catamaran after racing on monohulls quite a bit. I still plan on racing monos but wanted something more convenient since traveling to New Bern and southern chesapeake gets tiring.

I looked at the F18s and think they are great but decided against because 1. I really couldn't afford it (especially if I wanted to race) and 2. I didn't want to scare my girlfriend too much. I decided on a nacra 5.0 that had been sitting in a barn for most of its life.

I won't pretend to know the cat racing scene but I do know that on lake Jordan and Kerr Lake they race Isotopes. However, they aren't really rough water boats if you plan on going to the coast often.

I would contact both Trey (he is in raleigh and his name on this site is NCSUTrey) and Dan (he is in Va Beach and his name on this site is DanBerger). They both always have or know of a few used boats. I almost purchased a decent Nacra 5.7 Dan told me about.

You rang?

Get an I20. F18s are for weenies. The I20 is the most bad *noodle* boat I've ever sailed on, and you won't be disappointed...I've got a brand new one sitting in my driveway, and can hook you up with one as well...call me.

(919)-302-0880

Alrighty now...that was across the line. Apparently there are a lot of "weenies" in this area and the "weenies" outnumber the I20 sailors by a pretty large margin. And to think, I stood up for you a few posts back.