Im not new to sailing but I am new to the Catamaran world of sailing. Ive ALWAYS had an interest in cat sailing but never ever did it. Ive built several plywood/fiberglass hulls for different reasons o Im finally taking the cat plunge with a Quattro 16. I cant help but ask some real NEWBY Cat questions. Thanks in advance for your helpt here...

1. Do any cats have retractable keels or skegs in the event of a grounding? Ive read or heard the horror stories of the hull bottom being ripped out by an uncharted reef. Im building retractable skegs. Weighs more but costs less in the event of an un forseen grounding.

2. I swear I dont ever want to flip a cat. As a novice to the craft Im particularly wary of this potential. Say in a ten to fifteen knot wind with seas to 3 feet... how much sail area do you guys recommend novice use to get the skills down without going inverted. Speed neednt be lightening here, just stable.

3. I know fast cats like the Quattro can hit 20mph [or knots?] but is there some kind of efficiency rating or factor for cats over mono hulls? Say a cat compared to a Laser or Sunfish.

4. Hiking benches. Do most folks use benches or trapeze?


Lastly, if you could - has everyone here flown an ama? Anyone want to tell of there first impressions?

Thanks in advance to all.

Pete

Pete,

Welcome to TheBeachcats.com!

The Quattro 16 is a pretty high-performance beachcat, meant to be a home-built version of popular 16 foot beachcats like the Prindle and Hobie 16, with similar weight, sail area, and performance.

The Quattro, like the Hobie and Prindle don't have any movable foils other than the rudders. The Hobie and Prindle use asymmetrical hull shapes and the Quattro uses fixed skegs. I'm not sure what you mean by retractable skegs. Don't confuse a light beachcat with a keel boat as far as "running aground".

Flying a hull is part of the design of a performance beachcat, and something to enjoy not fear. Same with flipping over, it happens and is part of beachcat sailing, the boats are designed very light so getting them righted again is nothing to dramatic with learned technique.

Beachcats can reach the speeds they do because they are not constrained by hull speed due to the very narrow hulls, and the ability to harness large amounts of sail power due to the use of trapeeze to put the crew weight farther from the center then the beam of the boat would normally allow.

Will look forward to following your progress, please feel free to start your own build album inside Beachcats Technical to post photos and descriptions of your project.

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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1. Agreed with Damon

2.You ARE going to flip. If that is not an options, beach catamarans are not the boat for you.

3.Agreed with Damon

4.Some like wings, some like trapeze. I think you would probably prefer the wing. I do not like the wings as much because they do not allow me to use all of my weight as best I can without trapezing off of them. Trapping off the wings is something I very quickly grew not to like. Wings are much more comfortable for a long day on the water though.

Flying a hull is a large part of the fun that these boats are. I highly suggest you test drive a Hobie or Prindle 16 as they are very similar boats to what you are building to decide if this style of boat is right for you.

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Greenville SC

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Doesn't make any sense. The Quattro 5M is almost exactly the same as a Prindle 16 (which doesn't use boards). Both 16', Quattro 297 #, P-16 300#, Quattro 193 sq ft sail, P-16 190 sq ft. Used P-16's under $1000. To build a boat, several thousand dollars & much time searching for parts. Far more interesting to me is making an old rig faster for few bucks--like my sq-top P-16 main (simply cut 2 1/2' off P-18 sail--$40). My next step is to sq-top a Tornado main for an 18' design & lighten the boat a great deal. Pete

Thanks guys.

Pete ,

Building the Quattro 16 doesnt cost thousands of dollars. Its actually around... $1500 to $2000 with a used sail rig. Plus theres the enjoyment of making your own craft - the customizations and such. I dont search for parts except for the rigging and to be quite frank Ive tossed around the idea of making my own mast of carbon fiber composite. Rudder and all is my own work. Interesting the that the Prindle doesnt use boards. Still, Woods is adamant that it goes upwind better with them and it aids in tacking.

Bacho,

I can appreciate the flying a lot actually. I meant the question in the way of learning curve. Tacking a cat is different than a monohull for example. Itd be nice if I could get the basics that are unique to the design before going airborne. Im still gathering materials so its still a project forming. Im hoping if I take a week off from work I can at least have the hulls assembled and glassed. Not finished by a longshot, but at least together in the course sense.

Thanks guys for the words.

Pete

Damon thanks for the welcome and advice.

Pete