Help: Supercat 17, Nacra 5.7 or Prindle 18-2?

Greetings,

I am searching for a used catamaran. The catamaran will be for recreational family use (2 adults and 2 children). I may want to occasionally single-hand the boat. If the boat capsizes, I need to be able to right the boat single-handed. The boat will be sailed at lakes and at the ocean/sound in Georgia. I sailed a superVenture catamaran for several years in the early 1980s.

Which catamaran do recommend and why? I am considering a Supercat 17, a Prindle 18-2, a Nacra 5.7 and possibly a Prindle 18. I like to go fast under safe conditions. How do these boats compare to each other? Is the SC17 the easiest to sail? Since the waters in my area are shallow, daggerboard catamarans are not a reasonable option. If you have one for sale that is great condition with a trailer, please contact me. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Regards,

Royaluser

The Prindle 18-2 and Supercat 17 both use 'boards. The Nacra 5.7M and Prindle 18 are boardless, with the Nacra being a skeg boat and the Prindle being asymmetrical. Of those two, I'd go with the Nacra 5.7M because they are still being produced.

You won't be able to right any of them single-handed (without modifications) unless you're a very large man. Adding righting pole should allow you to right any of these boats single-handed.

Since you do not give your location, I'm not sure which odd-ball boats might be in your area that would better suit your needs. For instance- a G-Cat 5.0 (~16') or 5.7 (~18') are boardless, dual-trampoline boats with both the room and buoyancy to carry 4-6 people comfortably without undue loss of performance.

I've had 9 people aboard my G-Cat 5.7M in 15knots of wind and 4-6' rolling seas and a good time was had by all

Of those 3, I would highly recommend the NACRA 5.7. Boardless *and* boomless, it has fewer controls, and is still in production (as NACRA 570).
As another poster pointed out, there is also a G-cat 5.7m, which is also board-less. It has a boom, but, it has a front crossbeam, to which I have seen folks add a forward trampoline.

Actually, the SC-17 is also boardless and boomless.

We don't have any 17s actively in our Fleet anymore, but I was always very impressed with them when we did have them. defintitely one to consider.

Thank you for the information. In response to a question, I live in Augusta, Georgia and the closest large bodies of water are Lake Thurmond and the Atlantic Ocean. The wind in the summer months are light at best.

Could anyone compare the pros and cons of SC17, the Prindle 18-2 and the Nacra 5.7/570?

I have not found any SC17s or Prindle 18-2s for sale. There is one Nacra 570 for sale in the classified ads but it is expensive.

Regards,

Royaluser

I really like the Nacra 5.7. If I were to get another boat, that might be it. A good friend of mine has sailed one for years. Takes his family out on it. He will solo it on lighter days. Easy to sail and rig. One drawback... heavy.

The G-Cat 5.7M doesn't have a boom. The early 5.0s did though. The G-Cat is a SE US manufactured boat, so there should be some in your area.

It has extremely simply controls and is a very durable boat. I've been happy with mine for the past 7 years but have been considering selling it to buy an 18sq as I primarily single-hand.

None of these boats are able to be righted singlehanded in most conditions. You would need to purchase a righting pole or Gary's righting method. The righting bag in my opinion doesn't work too well.

I haven't sailed all of these options. They are all good boats though. I owned an 18-2 for a while and it was a great boat. However the 18-2 is the only boat on your list with centerboards but they do kickup. Also the 18-2 is a bit more fragile of a construction than the other boats. Thus the 18-2 performs a little better than the other boats so there are always tradeoffs.

I really like the SC17. I've never sailed it but have sailed against it and it is very fast. The 5.7 and P18 are both nice boats as well.

As long as the hulls are solid and it's in good shape you really can't go wrong with any of these boats.

Mike Hill
www.stlouiscats.com

I used to have a Prindle 18, I think they call it the Escape now. Could have sworn I used to right it myself when singlehanding. I weigh about 175.

I'm in a similar situation, need a daggerless boat but me and a teen have to carry it to the water so weight is an issue. We get a lot of wind, usually gusty, and I want to be able to right it by myself - which given the conditions may be often. I originally wanted a Nacra 5.7 but that is pretty much out due to weight and righting considerations. So looking at the NAcra 5.0, Prindle 18 Escape and the P16.

Another consideration, although there will usually be a crew of two, at times the whole family might want to go out. The Escape would handle it but will the Nacra 5.0 or P16 handle 500+lbs without sinking? All comments are appreciated.

EZ