I took a 4-day Beginner sailing course this summer on a mono hull and am looking for my first boat. A friend who races cats recommend that I buy a Nacra 4.3 or Mystere 4.3. The Hobie Wave and Getaway looked good to me. Is there a catamaran that is particularly good for the new sailor?
I will be sailing in the Great South Bay off Long Island.
Jonathan
Will you be sailing alone or with crew?
How much do you (and your crew) weigh?
What conditions will you sail in?
What is your budget?
Do you want a nifty, unique boat or want the same as the masses?
The Mystere 4.3 and Nacra 4.5 are very small boats. I see those as better for kids and teens or strictly as singlehanders for adults. My Nacra 5.0 feels small with two good size adults but is perfect for solo sailing or with a small crew (like my wife or one of my kids).
For your first cat, I'd recommend finding a used cat--there are tons of great options in the 14-16 ft range that can be found used a lot cheaper than a new (or nearly new) 4.3, 4.5 or Hobie Wave.
A good resource is the catamaran buyer's guide at the following link:
sailingproshop.com/Catamaran.htm
Get out on the beach and talk to owners--they'll all tell you they've got the best cat ever made. (I'd be happy to give you the diatribe on my boat...)
Good luck with your inevitable addiction to cat sailing!
For the price of the new boats you are considering you could buy a Hobie 18 and a Laser. Sail them both for a season and see which fits your style. Another consideration is something like a Flying Scot or Lightning. It all depends on if your reason for sailing is the thrill of speed, beauty of sail, or taking the family of 5 out for a picinic. The best advice I could give you is see what the local fleet is sailing and introduce yourself and ask for a ride. I think you will find sailors in general a good group of people. Resist the temptation to be unique and find a fleet that will help and support your learning curve as well as encourage you to come out and sail with new friends. I am very happy with my NACRA 6.0 NA, but it is not a boat to learn on. My other boat is a old Herrshoff gaff rig right out of the 1890s-again different boats for different uses. The most important decision is the one you have already made-to sail!
HI Jonathon,
Welcome to Great South Bay!!!
I just got back from a very satisfying day on the bay... 10 mph gradually increasing to 20... soloing then 2-up on my Nacra 5.0... racing a friend's 5.0 .... sailing with the guy who sold me my boat...
A whole bunch of us sail on the Bay from Heckscher State park, field 7. Heckscher park is at the end of the Southern State Parkway. Nacra's, Hobies, Tornado's, P-cats, Prindles; various models of each. Couple o' Lasers, a Zuma, a Force-5 in the monohull dept.
To answer your question for yourself, come on down to Heckscher, sail on all our boats!
There's a new forum for all Long Island Catsailors, look in the "jump to" menu at the bottom of the main list of posts...
or follow this link:
We'll be out there tomorrow (Sunday) with a boat or two. Bring a bathing suit and wetsuit if you've got one, I always bring spares.
Email me if you can't make it; we'll hook up another day.
I have mixed feelings about boats like the Wave. But for a novice it is a different story.
When I take novices on my Tornado, I get " that was fun"
When I take novices out on my wife's Wave, I get, "that was fun, thanks for letting me sail the boat, where can I buy one".
Boats like the Wave are great for learning to sail. They are easy to rig, sail, and right. So you will sail them a lot. That is the key to learning to sail, time on the helm.
Only when you have had problems with a larger boat will you understand the confidence that a smaller boat can inspire. You know you can drop and raise the sail by yourself on the water if you have to. You can right the boat by yourself in almost any conditions. Hell you are fairly certain you could pick it up and carry it ashore if things get really bad