Hi,

I have sailed trapeze equipped day racers & ocean racing mono-hulls for over 40 years and I also fly very high performance gliders with L/D's of 50:1, therefore I think I have a fairly good idea of the performance of a good wing and the Bernoulli effect.

The big questions are I am new to cats in this day and age. I like what I see in the Nacra. I like the idea of being able to fly a spinnaker and I love speed.
I don't know in this group who is familiar with the Corpus Christi area, but the wind is always blowing here. The bay is huge, but has its drawbacks of channels, then shallows and channels. Primarily I believe the bottom to be sand, but correct me if I am wrong. I want to sail after my days at work, but have not been able to find one rental outfit for one cat or otherwise. Yet commerce rates Corpus as the sailors paratise!
What boat could be sailed as a single handed rig, but also handles up to 3 people or 4 on rare occasions? What boat can handle steady strong wind? It is regularly blowing 15+ with some days 30+. Can I reef the main? Will this same boat can it also handle a beech launch off San Padre through the surf and surfing surf?

Please give me feedback. Many thanks in advance.

Cheers,

Freeflight

You might search the old posts for other similar discussions, they seem to happen every month or so. Likely a 17 foot boat would be good for you. Maybe find a F17 with a spin. Hitting any kind of bottom (sand or rocks) while at speed will cause major damage to your boat, especially if you have dagger boards, which all modern performance cats do I believe. If you have money to spend and are hard core, check out the Hobie Wildcat or Nacra 20 Carbon. If sailing solo in 30+ make sure you have an updated life insurance policy.

Not sure I know of a boat you can single hand in 15-30 with a spin that also handles 3-4 people well.

--
Scott,
‘92 H18 w/SX wings
‘95 Hobie Funseeker 12 (Holder 12)
‘96/‘01/‘14 Hobie Waves
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You're asking for a lot out of a solo boat to carry a total of 3 or 4 onboard. A boat good for solo sailing is going to be smaller and lighter, A cat, F16, Hobie or Nacra 17. And one of these boats is going to be taxed with more than one additional crew. Sure, you can take more(not the A!), but the performance goes away. A big boat (18 to 20')can carry more payload, but is too much to handle solo over maybe 10 kts sustained. I used to solo a Supercat 20 in light air, but was trolling for crew when it started to blow. And really, I never was happy with more than 3 aboard that big, solid boat when it was powered up, it just presses the boat too deep into the water for good speed and handling.
Dacron sails with properly installed reef points are reefable, but newer mylar, pentex, laminated sailcloths really don't like being bunched up like you need to do with the excess material(it would dramatically shorten the sail's life). Reefing while underway when it's starting to pick up is not an easy task. You need to keep the boat pointed into the wind with just enough forward motion to retain directional control, while lowering the main, securing the new tack and clew, retensioning the main halyard, and lashing up the excess sailcloth. All while the boat is pitching into a rising sea, and the wind is freshening. This requires two skilled and determined crew.
A furling jib does reduce the sail area some, but it's not a great percentage of the total sail area. And it tends to throw off the balance of the sailplan, often making it tougher to tack, and inducing more weather helm. A properly designed smaller and flatter sail would be an option for days when you leave the beach and it's already honkin'. But you need to figure out a way to secure the head of the sail which is now down some ways from the hook at the top of the mast. And there may be an issue of the head wanting to pull out of the luff groove when you sheet in hard, as the head is now only secured to the mast by the bolt rope, and not with a solid link (the shackle between the headboard and the masthead hook).
Newer designs(A cats, F16s and 18s, Nacra 20s) have sophisticated mast/sail combinations with powerful controls(outhaul, downhaul, mast rotation limiter/inducer) to shape the main, from a deep draft for light air to very flat to depower in bigger wind. This gives a properly crewed cat a big wind range, from little to over 20 kts of wind. But these are more expensive, and often delicate boats, and still anything larger than an A or an F16 is going to be too much to solo over 12 to 15.
And these newer boats with greater wind range capabilities, use lighter, more delicate construction techiques, making them more adverse to surf landings and launchings. Beach wheels are requisite for these craft to preserve the hulls longterm.
All these newer boats have long, high aspect daggerboards, which cause big damage when grounded. H16s, some(all?)Prindles, Supercat 15s and 17s, and Nacra 570s are all daggerless designs that hold big advantage for your sailing grounds. You've got lots to consider!
My solution is multiple boats and a long list of potential crew. Good luck!

Dave
Boyer A
F16 Stealth
Bimare F18HT
Flight Risk 24' custom





edited by: davefarmer, May 24, 2010 - 10:01 PM

There is one boat that is constantly overlooked that fulfills most of your requirements. It is the 20' x 10' classic Tornado made very inexpensive by the late '90's upgrade to the sport Tornado. I can singlehand this boat comfortably in 15-18 and with a forward tramp, throw the girls up front for a medium air sail with 4 people. With breakaway cleats, the CENTERBOARDS kick up INTO the hull when you hit something. With a properly designed tilt trailer, it is only 3 minutes extra rig time to drop trailer flat. I don't recommend launching thru the surf though. I have several of these rigs because they are so sweet and just read the reviews of the new F20 built by Nacra @ $30,000 (but with daggerboards). Pete

I like the Nacra 570 for your purposes. Really good performance, no daggerboards and lots of floatation and room if you want 3 people on for fun (or 4 if they are small). You can rig it Uni (no jib) when you want to singlehand and you can get a spin kit for it.

I hate to say this, but you also might want to consider a Wave or Getaway. Certainly not as much performance as the other boats, but with a jib and spin kit you can do pretty decent. You also don't have to worry about grounding it or putting a pile o people on it. I have been one a big detractor of the Hobie rotomolded boats, but I'm starting to warm up to them for thier cost and toughness.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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