Wooden A's...do they really exist?

They exist in Hopatcong NJ, where it all began.

Bill,

Thanks for the lead, just sent an email to the fleet captain of 137...Woody Woodie. <img src="<>/grin.gif" alt="grin" title="grin" height="15" width="15" />

We've got one of the last catnips sailing on Lake Murray - Columbia, SC

keep it coming, I'm learning

from the '07 Hoptacong event

Is Cal Fuller aka Woody Woodie?

I remember when we used to have huge turnouts (200+ boats) at Miami YC. I was sailing Sharks and Tornados then, but there were a number of A-Cats there. Most home built and Australian designs.., can't remember the design name for the life of me.
It was pretty reponsive though, as I recall.
Rick

The Lake Murray boat is a Cal Fuller, also recognized as an

A2

, for its rating purposes. Nice clean boat with new paint and some new carbon rudders.

Hi Guys- There are a couple of woodies still in Southern Ontario, there are even a few old Unicorns if you know where to look.

Fred

Even though they can't keep up with a new one they're still great fun to race

My thumbnail pictured here is Cal Fuller Catnip #21, built about 1971, NA Champion 1972, 1972, 1975. Got about 6 people got turned onto A-cats with this great little boat when I got her all busted & fixed in 1980-1981, weight 200.5 pounds. This pic shows her flying 2 hulls on my hydrofoils. see www.fastsail.com/catcobbler

With a very old chute, she finished 6th in the 2008 Mug Race last May (a 40 mile pursuit race) after catching 200 boats, got passed by 1 RC30, 2 RC27s, 1 Marstrom 20 and 1 A-cat with chute.

Carbon hull + wooden veneer all done in the mould, built by the man on the wire, Andy Scheurer. There are only two like it and they are beautiful.

regards

Daniel

Yep, I have one, It's Gorgeous, 1981 Cal Fuller ACAT, Tapered Aluminum Mast, New Vectorworks CF Rudders last Spring, Just got hulls restored last fall, Gorgeous.
I can keep up with Dave's Marstrom A, I just can't accellerate as fast as him in the puffs and shifts, he gradually leaves me farther behind just with this.I'll post some pictures of it after the hull restore from home when I dig them up later.
CARY
SEACATS
Lake Murray, SC

Mike:
Actually I think mine is THE last boat Cal Fuller Built.
#29
CARY

Hey Cary, how are you doing. Is yours the one that Jody had?

On a side note I was lucky enough to be at the Lake Hopotcong (?) A Cat regatta a couple of years ago when Cal and his lovely wife had dinner with us. Cal gave a talk that I wouldn't have missed for anything. Two of the nicest folks around. The NJ Fleet did a great job of hosting all of the sailors that came. I don't think anyone stayed in a hotel. Fred, weren't you there that year? Ed

Special ED!!
Yea, Was Jody's originally, then I bought it from Kirt Simmons after Jody lost it in a poker game . . .
(That's my story and I'm sticking to it, Disregard any truth Jody might try to confuse my facts with)
I chased that boat for two years trying to find it, duked it out with Krantz when it was up on EBAY, we both lost, made a deal with the owner(who I didn't know was really Jody) then lost his e-mail before we closed the details.Lost track of the whole thing and bought my Mono instead. It finally came back into my life by accident talking to Jody on the Beach at CSC as we put the whole thing together.
Added a CF Boom, CF Bim Rudders, did some very minor hull repair, then refinished them, and of course some very cool Seacats Hull Graphics by Kirt Metts. (He's exceptionally cheap if anyone is interested)
I'm still working on the Rotator system, everthing else had been redone by Jody or Kirt, before I got it.
New Tramp and Sail later this year, Gonna Keep her sweet for the duration.

Great story Cary. I guess good karma goes a long way and the boat ended up finding you. Maybe I can get down there and bum a ride on it. Ed

So where are the pics then?? <img src="<>/grin.gif" alt="grin" title="grin" height="15" width="15" />

Is this the one?

Hand Crafted Classic

Cary will have to chime in, but I have seen those pix before, and I think that is Cary's boat. It looks much different today.

Captain Kirt's signature still includes

BTW, Maumelle is a beautiful lake, and challenging to race on.

If we're talking woodies,how about the Crugermarams from Spray beach N.J.It took Bob Cruger about a week to build one.First use of rope forestay adjusters.
Are you sure A Cat US 48 was built by a man in Kentuky,I seem to remember racing against US 48 in the early 80s with John Lindahl at the helm.
Most of the hotbeds for A's in the late 70's and early 80's where New Jersey ,Michigan and Ontario at one time the Canadian fleet was larger than the US fleet.
3 wooden A's are still actively sailed in my area with one just beening refitted.

Fred

Here you go!

Picture from 2006 Catweekend in Thun.

Greetings Andi

That's gorgeous. I'd be scared to race it.

I Agree!

My understanding was that the boat pictured is a carbon/kevlar boat with a timber paint job..

could be wrong of course...

Agreed, absolutley beautiful.

No paint job, the first layer of the hulls is mahogony furnier, then carbon and ...