the horse's mouth

Fun On Friday.

Are you having fun?
You would be if you sailed a cat.

Technorati Tags: catamaran sailing, cat sailing, multi-hull sailing, sailing

Sailing Photo Of The Day.

Look Mr. Tillerman, even Oracle likes training wheels.
Big version here.

Via Jaunpa Cadario.

Technorati Tags: team bmw oracle, americas cup, sailing

Speaking Of Boats In Bags.

Check out the Happy Cat by Grabner.
They make top of the line inflatable kayaks.



There's also the Smartkat.
Pretty slick.

Technorati Tags: boats in bags, inflatable boats, inflatable catamarans, catamarans, beach cats, sailing

Sweet Thing.

The Unicorn Cat in action.
Dog you can build this puppy at home.

Here are her specs:

• Single handed 'A' class cat


• Trapeze and una rig


• PY of 775, ISAF 1.086


• Length 5.49m (18ft)


• Beam 2.29m (7ft 6in)


• Sail Area 13sqm


• Mast Height 7.93m (26ft)


• Latest Sail No 1098


• Portsmouth Yardstick of 775 compares with a
  Tornado at 693 and a Hurricane 5.9 at 691 and a
  Shadow with a provisional 732


• ISAF rating of 1.086 compares with a Tornado
  at 1.004, a Hurricane 5.9 at 1.009 and a Shadow
  at 1.069


• Superb boat in light winds with high performance
  up to F6 due to the flexibility of the rig settings


• Daggerboards for high efficiency and superb
  pointing


• Flexible mast with loose footed main. Adjustments
  to outhaul, downhaul, kicker and lower shrouds.
  With a full cut sail this gives terrific scope for control
  of sail shape


• Trapeze for the ultimate sailing challenge


• Una rig for simplicity of sail handling
  (13 sqm sail area to A class specification)


• Plans available for the skilled home builder from
  the RYA.

Technorati Tags: beach cats, boats you can build, catamarans, catamaran sailing, multi-hull sailing, sailing

Speaking About X 40 Cats, See Them In Action.

The America's Cup should be exciting with these bad boys sailing the waters off of Valencia.

Technorati Tags: x 40 catamaran, catamarans, multi-hull sailing, sailing, sailing video

Big Bad Blue Cat!

Team Blue's X40 cat looks sweet as she glides across the
water.
Read more about Team Blue at the Blue Project.

Technorati Tags: the blue project, x40 catamaran, catamarans, multi-hull sailing, sailing

Oracle's Cat Attack.

Multi-hull baby, that would be a Cat Mac!
Pobresito Tillerman, it ain't your Grand Dad's Laser.

Via Valencia Sailing.

Technorati Tags: americas cup, team oracle sailing, multi-hull sailing, catamaran sailing

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A Blast From The Past.

The Hobie Monocat.
I almost bought one a couple of years ago. She's fast, fun and stable.

Hobie in it's infinite wisdom replaced her with the god awful rotomolded
(made from recycled Clorox bottles) Bravo.

note: (These are the same guys who stopped production
of the 14 in North America.)

Tags: sailing, hobie monocat, hobie cat, catamaran sailing, catamarans, multihulls

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No One Is Picking Up My Call From The Darkside.

No Lasers to be found. What's a guy to do? Look at scows?



I found an Melges 16 up at Clear Lake on Craigslist.
It looked promising at $700, so I threw a line in the water at SA and came back
with a definite don't buy from a scow guy who said the boat was an old warhorse
from the sixties that should be put out to pasture.
He pointed me toward an MC up in Sac-town.



Isn't it a big Laser that needs a few more blokes to carry it to the water?



I'm starting to think Hobie.
Puffy, she is one of those multi-hull watchamacallits that loves the beach.
I found an '82 Hobie 14 on Craigslist that has no soft spots, new running
and standing rigging for the same price as the Melges.

Should I take the plunge or wait on the beach for a
Laser to wash ashore?

Tags: laser sailing, dinghy sailing, hobie cats, hobie 14, M 16 Scow, MC Scow, beach cats, catamaran sailing, multi-hull sailing, sailing

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"Friends Don't Let Friends Sail Multihulls"

Edward, A Horse Is A Horse, Of Course, Of Course,..How About A Unicorn?
Sorry Steph, saying no to multi-hulls is verboten here at "The Horse's Mouth."

Why a Unicorn?
It can be built at home.
No crew problems - "Hey Phil, do you want to go sailing today? No thanks Joe
my wife and I are going up to Wine Country."
Easy to rig and launch single-handed
18ft waterline means good handling in sea conditions
Trailer fully assembled
Very light weight, hulls and cross beams 60kg minimum,
all up sailing weight 108kg minimum
Can be sailed for fun two up
Strict class rules but significant but flexibility in the design of rig and variation in
hull shape and materials

The Specs:
Single handed National 'A' class cat (A Cat baby, A Cat!)
Trapeze and una rig
PY of 775, ISAF 1.09
Length 5.49m (18ft)
Beam 2.29m (7ft 6in)
Sail Area 13sqm
Mast Height 7.93m (26ft)
Superb boat in light winds with high performance up to F6 due to the
flexibility of the rig settings
Daggerboards for high efficiency and superb pointing
Flexible mast with loose footed main. Adjustments to outhaul, downhaul,
kicker and lower shrouds.
With a full cut sail this gives terrific scope for control of sail shape
Trapeze for the ultimate sailing challenge
Una rig for simplicity of sail handling (13 sqm sail area to A class specification)

Edward, a wire does not make a boat complicated. Check out the Wiley Wabbits
that sail out of Berkeley.

Tags: boat building, beach cats, a cats, catamaran sailing, unicorn catamaran, sailing

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