Ok, im in a huge hurry to get on the water, and the prindle I bought is going to be an ongoing project.
I found a trac 14 locally for chump change, ready for the water.
I already know that track parts are unobtanium,
but other than that , are these good boats?
More importantly, is it a FAST boat for soloing?
any cheap cat that is ready for sailing is a good deal in my book
14' esp. good for a 1st cat
not long ago there was a keen young lad posting on a cat forum about soloing his h16? in the NEusa, 1 spring he went off by himself ocean sailing and wasn't missed until he didn't get home that night
they found him the next morning on his upturned cat
dead from hypothermia...
so if you are going to solo a 16' cat, make sure you can right it
make sure you tell people where you are going
and if sailing in cold water get a wetsuit as well as a life preserver
Scary.
Not a very fast boat compared.. but speed is really not that important or relative.. you are not likely to sail more than 25mph, even on a good boat, in heavy air.. the fastest i ever clocked...(in non storm conditions) was around 22. (45in a storm, but that wasn't fun)
It MAY be a good boat to start with, if its cheap and in good shape, why not start on it?
personally, it is ancient design, to small for my needs, to low performance, etc but then again i carry a 20lb cooler, anchor with chain, 2 righting bags, spinnaker, tool kit, 2 paddles, first aid kit, 30lb radio, etc....