Isotope Sailing

Thanks to an awesome fleet captain (and fleet for that matter) my wife and I were able to get out this past weekend on Kerr Lake in NC and race with the CSC on a borrowed Isotope catamaran...and we are hooked!! There were 12 boats on the line, and while we each (we sailed seperatly with the boat owner for the two races) came in DFL we had a blast and learned a ton!

I was actually on the tiller for the race I did and found the boat really easy to sail and very responsive! After the 2nd race (which my wife crewed) we were able to take the boat out for a quick sail with just the two of us which was great as it was the first time Becky and I have sailed a cat with just us on board.

Anyways a HUGE thanks to Joleen, Eric, Steve and the rest of the fleet that made this past weekend not only possible but a lot of fun! We'll have our own boat before too long and see ya on the line!!

Don't mean to burst your bubble but the Isotope is far from being a beach cat. Its too fragile for ocean sailing, great on a lake. You have stated that you wanted a beach cat in previous posts.

Does the Isotope Fleet travel to other regattas?

What's the story on this boat? I hear about them occasionally, but nothing specific.

http://www.intl-fiberglass.com/isotope.html

"The hulls meet the 16ft LOA requirements of the Formula 16HP class. The strong points of the Isotope are that its balanced helm allows it to out point any other catamaran to windward. An Isotope meeting the One Design class specifications can be raced as a single handed Formula 16 boat. An Isotope with a spinnaker can be raced with crew in the Formula 16 one up class

It's a nice looking boat, but this is kind of a strong statement, ". . .allows it to out point any other catamaran to windward." Anyone care to comment?

"An Isotope with a spinnaker can be raced with crew in the Formula 16 one up class". I think that could use some clarification.

I think for my purposes it will work out just fine, my sailing will be on lakes and in the sounds/bays of NC. I'll just have to be careful pulling (not driving) it up onto the beach. I like that there is a local fleet, and the boat is made locally.

As far as the pointing ability/F16 claims I honestly have no idea, there are certinaly people more qualified to comment on that than I.

Not sure if the fleet travels to other regattas much, but I certainly plan to as long as its welcomed!! Already looking forward to the Pee Dee Classic next spring!

Gonna get a spinnaker?

My N20 begs to differ with the pointing claim, so I know there are a few A Cats that will agree.

Not to say anything bad about the class, as they have a very strong local presence in the Raleigh area, but they do not travel. I've tried my very hardest to get them to come to regattas in force, but never have they responded. I eventually quit trying, and they quit showing up to even Spring Fever and Catfest.

There are some excellent sailors in the class and they all are very congenial; I count several of them as good friends.I would love to see them at all the regattas we go to in the SE, which I'm sure would help grow their class...hint, hint, wink, wink, Joleen, Eric, Walter, JP, et al.

Once I have a boat I am going to try to make it to everything I can! Hopefully some others will come along as well, but you can count on at least one Isotope traveling

Maybe we'll work together then on dragging the 'topes out!

Right Eric, Joleen, Walter, JP, ?????????????

Hello everyone,
It has been over five years since I had to defend the honor of the Isotope but you can only poke a caged bear for so long.

The Isotope is a one-design catamaran. The Isotope class association has rules on what you can do to the boat if you want to race against us. It is pretty simple everything below the water stays the same, you can do what you want to with the rigging just so it uses no more than 185sqft of soft sail calculated by the formula 40 method. Yes, over the years we have had to break out the tape measure and square but after marking them there is very little whining.

To accuse us of not being a beachcat realy seems pointless. Not that I could argue, its just we don't like you.

The Isotope has a Portsmith Rating of .74 not bad for a boat designed in the early 60's. The realy awesome aspects of the boat are its ability to point a layline very high up. I realize there are faster boats out there but I have never been outpointed by any catamaran, even yours Trey. Also it is a boat designed around a lower average wind speed. This translates in being a giant killer in wind speeds lower than 5knots. As we are lake sailors if we a moving we are racing, if we are not moving we are still racing and in wind over 15 to 20 we are headed for the beach.

The nature of the boat fits perfectly with its sailors and with the future of catsailing. A boat that can be singlehanded, a boat that can be raced at the local lake, and has an active fleet to have head to head racing. I have been sailing an Isotope for 17 years and have no intention of switching to another boat.



J.P.Ayers
Isotope 186

Maybe we should let the bear(s) out of the cage and get them to come play at other regattas...

I'll take you up on the pointing challenge, and Jake will be there on an A Cat as well. CatFest sound good? We win, you buy the first beer, you win, I'll buy you a case*








*of Coors Light.

Good to see you jump out here.

A few isotopes traveled to the Duck Cup (on the sound) last year...they raced 2-up and seemed about the same as the hobie 16's and my 5.0 in very light air <5knots. I think both had some problems once the wind came up to ~15 knots and the waves picked up. The local lake racing is definitely a big benefit though that I miss out on.

www.catfest.net

First of all - Ryan, I'm glad the two of you enjoyed the sailing. We were happy to have you out and hope you find a boat you like (whatever it turns out to be).

Secondly, we all are partial to our boats but I'll try to be objective. I do not characterize the Isotope as a "beach cat". If you want a boat to knock around in big wind/waves and store on the sand, then you should get something more heavily built. The Isotope is a "performance cat". As I understand things, it was designed for winds around 7kts. Although originally intended as a two-up boat, Isotopes are mostly sailed single-handed. It handles best on relatively flat water. My Isotope ghosts along in 1kt of wind and I have no problem controlling it in up to 15kts solo. I've raced it 2-up in 18kts fully powered up. 20kts and above is survival conditions.

The claims on the website probably are a bit outdated. Remember that the Isotope is a 45 year old design. That text was written long before A-cats existed. I wouldn't claim to outpoint ALL other cats, but the Isotope certainly outpoints most. Frank (the builder) says it will sail 38 degrees to the true wind. I don't know about that, but I do regulary sail inside 45 degrees (probably 40-42) of the apparent wind. In fleet racing, the Isotope outpoints most monohull dinghies (except Lightnings and Thistles).

Yes, it's difficult to get the Isotopes to travel. We are pretty much a local fleet. It's hard to justify driving to away regatta to sail against 3-4 other boats when we put 12 on the line at club races. So, when I do travel, I like to mix it up with other boats in a handicap fleet (our Portsmouth rating is about the same as a Hobie 17/18). I've enjoyed sailing at Spring Fever, Tommy Whitesides, Catfest, Oriental Sailing Social, Duck Cup, Hospice Regatta, and even Cut Loose on the Neuse. I hope to participate in some away regattas, but I have a very full schedule already (two clubs, some PHRF racing, and a lot of race management).

Where is you home club?

Snarff?

The Carolina Sailing Club
http://www.carolinasailingclub.org

Most Isotopes race on Kerr Lake with the Carolina Sailing Club http://www.carolinasailingclub.org. I also sail with the Lake Townsend Yacht Club http://www.laketownsendyachtclub.com.

Any chance of allowing spins in class racing? It is a light platform and should respond very well. We just put one on our Frankencat and will NEVER go back. In 3-5 knots we were cooking off the wind (sheeted in hard as the apparent went so far forward). Makes sailing on Lake Murray a hell of a lot more fun on the light, summer days.

In DPN it is slower 2 up than H16, tiny bit slower 1 up than H17 uni and not as fast as TheMightyHobie18 at 71.7.

In wind range 0-1 it improves a bit 1 up vs. a H16 but still a little slower 2 up. About even 1 up with H17 uni.

It would be fun, but wouldn't be class legal. I bought a spinnaker and most of the other needed parts, but haven't rigged it yet. One could sail an Isotope in F16 class with spin, but to be truly competitive you'd need to change the mast and sailplan as well. By then, you might as well just get a Blade, or other ground-up F16 design.

Regards,
Eric

Why not vote on it for a class change? Seriously- why drift downwind when you can actually sail at and above wind speed? No need for a giant spinnaker, just a small, flat cut sail and you are cruising. I did a lot of drifters as a teenager on a H16- hot and boring downwind.

Last time I saw an Isotope at a non-CSC event was Duck Cup 2008.

Give me a month or so to get my boat together and I'll be going to as many races as I can. Really hoping to make Catfest this year on the Isotope!

Great boat for lake sailing in NC- great active fleets. Very lightly built. Frank Meldau, the designer, canvassed all the major regattas on the lakes in the area and discovered the average wind speed was 4 knots I believe and set out to design a boat to excel in those conditions. Boat has evolved steadily and was one of few catamarans actually on display at the Annapolis US Sailboat show last year (can't say that about most of the other cat builders). When we started the F16 class we invited them to race with us and they did at the first SpringFever the F16's attended. When I left NC ~12 years ago most of the boats didn't even have trapezes but a few were adding them. IMO it is a quick boat in 5 knots or under and does point well- but pointing alone does not best VMG make for many boats, and like all these arguments about boat speed just look to the one relatively "unbiased" source we have - DPN.
Considering when they were designed they are still nice boats with some unique features- pivoting high-aspect centerboards and large, in hull storage compartments/coolers! After all, when you are out there in 2 knots of "wind" you surely want some nice cool ones along!
I know you will enjoy the boat and camaraderie!

Kirt

Kirt good to hear from you.
Yeah the Isotopes are still around. Yeah a spinaker would make them faster but its a toss up. Would you split your fleet in half with a a design change. By the way sails are @#$% expensive I can't imagine what a couple of mains, jibs, and spinakers run. Trey could.

Take care.
J.P.