Hello, I would like to venture into learning to sail. The only real catamaran I know of is the hobie.
Can anyone provide their opinions and reviews for the Prindle catamarans. I see alot of them on this web site and wanted to learn more.
Thanks for any input, hope to see you in the water.
I hada Prindle 18, which is a larger version then 16. P-16 has less sail area, more hull displacement, very difficult to pitchpole as compared to a H-16. The boat is forgiving and a lot of fun to sail !!! Wish I had my old P-18 back again, you can drive right up to the beach and not worry about hurting anything as opposed to the newer P-19 which I have owned for almost 18 years.
P-16 great novice boat up to combined crew weight of 250 lbs.
Send private message if you need anymore info.
Paul Nardone, Jr.
250 is ideal minimal for racing wieght but 350 the boat still can power along in 12k+ problem start when teams are 6'3" and 6'7" and combined wieght is 250,they resort to cannabalism. #If you put to much wieght on the hulls in big wind you run the risk of delaminating the foam core decks in front of the fore beam,been there done that.It can be fixed with closed cell insulating foam that also acts as an adhesive.But try to make sure the decks are solid before you buy! 
Thanks for the insight. I am really looking at one to but. Lots of new equipment on it by the pontoons may be alittle old. What should I look at there?
I owned a P16 for 10 years. I have helped rejuvenate a couple of them. I haven't seen any deck delaminations. The bottoms of the hulls are rather sharp. This causes the gel coat to wear off quickly after coming up on the beach too many times. You will soon be wearing away fiberglass. I would definately recommend the boat for a someone new to cats. It is stable, solid and forgiving providing you understand the basics. You can bury the bow on most beach cats if you are careless. You can also flip most cats if you are on the wrong side of the boat at the wrong time. Usually you just go for a swim so it's no big deal. I've never turtled a boat or had anyone get injured in an abrupt pitchpole. You'll have a blast and not regret a minute of it. That is why there is so much enthusiasm and sharing of info among those of us on this site. Good luck.
What exactly would make a beachcat pitchpole - the crew being too far forward? Im planning ot build a Quattro 14 or 16 - Im 235lbs... any comments?
Pete
Hi-
If you don't have enough displacement from your hulls (i.e. cubic feet of inside space) the driving force of the wind on the main plus if your weight is not placed far enough to the rear windward croosbar will drive the leeward hull first, then the windward hull straight down into the water, and then your crew comes flying around on the trapeze to add more weight in front of the crossbar and over you go !!!
Paul Jr.
Thanks I ended up buying a Prindle 18. Now to get this thing sailing...
The jib is a big factor in putting pressure on the leeward bow causing it to submarine. You could either slack the jibsheet a few clicks or be ready to uncleat it very quickly as you see the bow start to dig in. Unfortunately that isn't always that easy to do quickly on a P18 or P16 from the wire. If you're on a screaming reach have your crew leave it uncleated while they hold the sheet. I've pitchpoled a bunch of times. No one has ever gotten hurt. You'll learn what you can and can't get away with.
Erik-
Where did you find the Prindle 18, what year and condition, and how much did you pay ?
Paul
The boat is a 1984 Prindle 18, which I bought from a member of a New Jersey catamaran club. I paid under $1000 for it.
I am now working on getting it together and on the water.
They told me you couldn't pitchpole a P-19 .... didn't take me long to prove them wrong. When the microburst hits and you exceed the boat's
hull speed
... bows go down & under, sterns come up ... rudders out of the water (no stearage). She
bounced
once on her bows, masthead in the water ... TURTLED!!!!
But the best was Double-trapped on my H-18mag on flat water when the microburst hit so fast the bows went down and the boat STOPPED!!!. It was Tarzan and his apprentice ... The bungies snapped, now I wieghed 220lbs (at the time) my friend/crew was 130lbs, we swung up ... up ... UP, UP literly dragging the boat through the water on her bows!!!! Then we fell ... and fell ... and fell ...then splash !!!! I can remember looking back DOWN at the boat still hooked to the trap. To get back to the boat we went hand-over-hand on the traplines !!!
AWESOME !!!
HarryMurphey
H-18mag/#9458, Fleet54/Div11
P-19mx/#86, CRAC