Hi all,
A mate of mine's dad has a cat that he would like give me. He says is called a dorado (could be a one-off, not sure) and was built by windrush catamarans in 1977. He also told me it is 16ft and similar to a mosquito (of its time I'm guessing). If anyone could give me any info they know about it would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers, Alex
EDIT: any pics or links would be great too.
No takers? OK, I also need any info on A class cats 70s. anything would be appriciated, especially pics.
Cheers
What kind of info do you want on the A's.I have been sailing one since the 70's and am quite fimiliar with the class.
Fred Smith
well the same guy I was talking about before has an A class from the 70s (he said I could have either cat) and I wansn't very sure about it. apparently it is in relative sailing condition, althought the front beam is broken. I'm most interested in what they look like and how they sail in varying conditions.
Thanks
Now I know what sort of info you want. Get the A class! Mines an old wooden one that I made a few changes to modernise it, I bought a second hand sail to replace the old dacron sail. The old A will go as hard or as easy as you want, you can buy heaps of spares pretty cheap, theyre easy to right and are great fun.
regards
cool thanks mate <img src="<>/grin.gif" alt="grin" title="grin" height="15" width="15" />
Gave it some thought last night. Have you checked out the condition of the two cats? The cheapest thing is the initial purchase of a used cat, I don't know the Dorado but if it's like a Mozzie and in perfect order whilst the A is poor then you would be better off with the better boat. Are you looking to sail with a friend? The Dorado may have a jib and be able to be sailed two up, the A is definately one up. Have you sailed before? Your mates dad seem's like a good bloke would he help you rig, sail, and show you both of them, then let you make an informed choice? Most old sailors love sharing their knowledge he might be happy to give you heaps of info and if so and he says which one you should have then thats probably the one for you.
Where will you sail? if it's windy with waves an A class could be overpowered for a novice whilst a Mozzie could be great fun.
Can you take some photo's and post them of the cats? we all love pics.
regards
Well the dorado is deffinately in better condition, but im not sure if it has a jib. I was looking to sail which ever cat I chose with a mate. If either didn't have a jib I could put one on. Seeing we're both 15 (120kg/265lbs together) i was think we could put a jib on the A class and an extra trapeze but i wasn't sure how the alloy rig would hold up. Any thoughts on that idea? I live in Sydney, Asutralia and will be sailing it on sydney harbour. Were i sail we get a bit of chop when the winds up and about 2-3 foot swell sometimes. The cats are up the coast a bit so i plan to have a look at them around christmas.
The rig would take the two of you but the A's not made for two really, though it would probably just take your weight ok. Adding a jib would be expensive and wouldn't really work well because the balance of the boat around sail centreboards and rudder would be all wrong. For the same price as a jib setup you could buy a secondhand spinnaker setup and have a lot of fun. I would still recommend that you check out the Dorado or just ring the owner and ask if its two up because if it's in good nick and is like a Mozzie you guys would have a hoot and you could race with all those other Mozzies in the harbour.
It gets expensive repairing and modifying boats so have a real good look at the Dorado.
regards
It probably isn't a good idea to put a jib on an old A-class. The bows weren't designed/built for that and being an old 70's boat, adding a jib would be dubious.