I think it's a tough one, with the hulls inverted and a bunch of wooden extra stuff that probably shouldn't be there.
On the other hand, it has that tube down the center of the tramp.
https://bid.clubbid.com/auction/612/item/18ft-fiberglass-catamaran-415663
Wait - it looks like the foredecks are elevated. Sol Cat?
Edited by jonathan162 on Sep 08, 2023 - 06:43 PM.
1970s Condor, British boat. They were fairly quick!
Wow - really? What tipped you off?
Btw, it's less than an hour drive from me, so I'm probably going to pop down and take a look on Monday.
Front beam slot, IYE gold beams, IYE rudder gudgeons. Plus, I sailed with them in the mid-late 70s. Where do you think the center tube idea came from on the Nacra 5.2??!
😉
wxguy wrote: Front beam slot, IYE gold beams, IYE rudder gudgeons. Plus, I sailed with them in the mid-late 70s. Where do you think the center tube idea came from on the Nacra 5.2??!
😉
Um, I'd always thought that it was a product of someone having been dropped on their head.
So how excited should I be about this thing if it can be snagged for cheap?
Nice looking, sort of Tornado style hulls. Any sails?
Yeah, I just got back from the auction yard. It's a mixed pile of stuff - obviously the wooden bits don't belong, there's no tiller/crosstube, and there's an extra mast, boom, and mail that appear to be from an Albacore. But here's what's on the main - not the Condor logo I was expecting.
https://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures?g2_itemId=137818
Got it. It's a Unicorn. Never heard of it, but looks cool. And that's why it also has the A Class logo down at the clew.
Edited by jonathan162 on Sep 11, 2023 - 01:43 PM.
Thanks - wasn't much of a trick to find the Unicorn site, but that video's pretty nice.
Auction closes tomorrow morning, we'll see how it goes.
Like I need another boat...
Well there ya go!
That's a really old boat!
wxguy wrote: 1970s Condor, British boat. They were fairly quick!
You may have been right. From the Unicorn site:
"Trowbridge and Sons became the official builders at the outset, building boats in wood and fibreglass as well as providing kits for home construction. The kit in 1968 was £198-8-0!!! Later, South Midland Marine, South Midlands Laminates and Condor Catamarans Ltd joined those providing ready built boats and kits."
I'd love to know who built this one - now that I own it.
I'd love to know who built this one - now that I own it.
Congrats 😎 !
Usually owning a "unicorn" of anything means hard to find parts and a weird item, but I am very jealous over this actual Unicorn. Great find. Follow up on this chat with pictures when you get it pieced together.
revintage wrote: Congrats 😎 !
Not if you ask my wife...
rch701 wrote: Usually owning a "unicorn" of anything means hard to find parts and a weird item, but I am very jealous over this actual Unicorn. Great find. Follow up on this chat with pictures when you get it pieced together.
Will do. As it happens, I ran into the seller while leaving the auction yard and had a brief chat. Apparently the boat's previous (original?) owner left it on one of a number of properties he owned (perhaps when he died), and it sat for decades. Property changes hands and new owner has no interest in sailing it, so off to the auction it goes. I'm trying to gather the history. The sail and tramp really show their age (and some amateur repairs), but all the pieces appear to be there except the tiller/crosstube, as I mentioned above. I'm jammin' to get an awful lot of work done before the snow flies - most is high-priority house exterior stuff, but I'm trying to make progress on the SC20 as well, so if the fall lasts long enough I'll probably make an effort to get it assembled, though the lack of a trailer is an impediment.
Edited by jonathan162 on Sep 14, 2023 - 01:22 PM.
What about the ,main was it included? Do you plan to rebuild it to original specifications or use a modern A-class rig on it?
Edited by revintage on Sep 14, 2023 - 04:38 PM.
Yup, came with the main - I never would have been able to confirm the ID without it, since (so far) I haven't found any markings on the hard bits beyond the Needlespar stickers.
I dunno about "rebuilding"; I'm just figuring on "putting it together" and taking it from there, which I guess means "original specs". Upgrading anything gets me into that "there's nothing more expensive than a cheap boat" territory, and my first order of business has to be the SuperCats, so I really don't want to get ahead of myself - at least until I've had a chance to get it wet.
Edited by jonathan162 on Sep 14, 2023 - 04:48 PM.
Just put it together and sail it. A tiller crossbar is the easiest thing to do, so sail it and report back, I´m so curious!
If the sail is to thorn, a cut down F18 main will probaly be a possible solution.
Edited by revintage on Sep 16, 2023 - 03:54 PM.
That's the plan. Other than finding an appropriate chunk of anodized tube, replacing a couple of wires and doing a little tiller/rudder repair, should be doable. As I said, the lack of a trailer is a problem. I might have something under an Invitation that I can hack into something, esp. since the A-Class hang-it-off-the-beam-tubes thing may simplify the hack.
No reply to my comment in the "getting started" thread, though, about the apparent lack of hiking straps on these things.