Hi all, I am in the market for a cat, I race a 30' mono weekley and need a cat for the cottage. I will be sailing solo mostley but I weigh 240 and love all the toys (spin)
I am looking at a 19 Prindle , Nacra 5.2 and I realize that there is a huge differance in the two but the prindle has the toys and the Nacra is bone stock.
My lake is not huge but has predominent winds in my favour for a fast down wind and a beat back, opinions are welcome.
Thanks and HAPPY HOLIDAYS

5.2 over the prindle if your solo.

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Greenville SC

Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
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blue185

Hi all, I am in the market for a cat, I race a 30' mono weekley and need a cat for the cottage. I will be sailing solo mostley but I weigh 240 and love all the toys (spin)
I am looking at a 19 Prindle , Nacra 5.2 and I realize that there is a huge differance in the two but the prindle has the toys and the Nacra is bone stock.

Welcome to TheBeachcats.com,

A little slow around here this time of year. Helps if give us a little more info to base advice on. You are 240, good solo weight for the 5.2 but if you want to take another 200 pounder along then better go with the 19 which can carry a lot more weight.

What part of the country are you in? Might find some local help getting started or leads to available boats.

--
Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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Thanks for the info, I am in Toronto Canada.
I did wonder about the passenger issue but most of my passengers would be lightwieghts, on the other hand I wonder if the P19 would be a little much to singlehand when the wind piped up ?
Cheers

Brad, any experience sailing catamarans? The reason I ask, and I hate to tell you this, if you have none, then it's a whole new learning curve for you. The only advantage you will have, is the ability to read the wind out on the water, I do not mean to discourage you, but the reality is that there is a huge difference in sailing a catamaran, just ask dave-r.

http://www.thebeachcats.c…ms/viewtopic/topic/14021

Please read Dave's post, and then ask yourself a few questions, the most important being, am I in good shape? Sailing a catamaran does require a certain level of fitness, you are constantly moving on a cat, one moment you are out on the wire, next you are rolling under the boom as the cat comes about, if the cat flips, can you right it, can you get back up on the tramp from the water?

http://www.thebeachcats.c…ms/viewtopic/topic/14029

As Bacho suggests above, start out with the 5.2 and get comfortable with handling a catamaran, gain experience with the nuances in sailing a cat, you can always upgrade to a larger cat later on, one with all the bells and whistles to go fast. The extreme difference in speed between a mono and a cat will satisfy your "need for speed" for quite some time on the 5.2 without the "toys", I can guarantee you........ .... JMHO

all great points and thanks, yes I have sailed a few cats over the years and am aware of the riggors of sailing one..hence my thoughts on the differance between the 5.2 compared to the Prindle 19 I do realize they are two differant animals.
I am thinking that the Prindle may be a little less twitchy compared to the 5.2 ( correct me if I,m dreaming)
One question I have asked is, can I set up a spinnaker on a 5.2 later if I choose too ?

Thanks for your input, very much appreciated.
Brad

Yes, you are correct, the P19 would be the more stable cat, and yes, you can set the 5.2 up with a spinnaker later if you want. With the experience you do have on cat sailing, then really, the choice is yours, the 5.2 is just over 17ft in length, great for solo sailing, can easily be righted. The P19 is a great boat for 2, and would require both crew and skipper to right or if sailing solo, a righting bag and really good technique. But I defer to those who have more experience with either/both of these cats, hopefully they will chime in soon.

R

thanks tons, I know exactley what I need to make a monohull go fast and I want to go fast with the cat and there will always be "deck meat" close by if it gets real narley on the water ! now it just comes down to $$$$$

Yup! most of the time it comes down to $$$$ and distance. I picked up a P15 with trailer, really cheap, 7 hr drive 1 way, cost me $150 in gas, will have to spend about $600 re-rigging, elbow grease cleaning and clear-coating, but it's all worthwhile in the end, I think.....

if your lake is reasonably small the 20m2 of the 5.2 will be enough

no spin required

and a 5.2 gives you a better chance of righting solo

click videos below only if new, old hands seen'em all before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j55lMDEBmP8

http://vimeo.com/5075989

http://vimeo.com/46683503



Edited by erice on Dec 17, 2012 - 12:28 AM.

Get the Prindle because it has all the toys. I sail a N 5.2 myself but would recommend the more complete boat because adding stuff later is gonna cost ya.
Get a righting bag, seal the mast and practice righting or we all may be reading about you one of these days...

Sail safe,
Dennis

Quote

Please read Dave's post, and then ask yourself a few questions, the most important being, am I in good shape? Sailing a catamaran does require a certain level of fitness, you are constantly moving on a cat, one moment you are out on the wire, next you are rolling under the boom as the cat comes about, if the cat flips, can you right it, can you get back up on the tramp from the water?

While I agree being in good shape will make the experience all the more fun and help you get the most out of your boat I do not think it should be a major consideration in whether you will but one or not. I am not in good shape at all. In fact I am fat as house and I will never regret buying my cat. I got lucky in that the cat I bought was Prindle 18 and was more than able to handle my weight. Between my my 2nd and 3rd season I managed to drop about 60lbs just because I wanted to sail and knew it would help me have a better time. It gave me a reason to want to work at it. I'm still pretty big and i still sail every year. I don't have the stamina for hours and hours of sailing but I don't let stop me enjoying it. I have been able to pass my love sailing on to my kids and I think it will take root in at least a couple of them. It has provided a lot of Fun Family activity. There are challenges you need to address especially if you are going off shore or away from help. Make sure yo can right the boat which is not to hard for us fatties but then you also have to be able to get back on. Which is still a challenge for me.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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Okay ...so Im 240 but I am built like ? Lou Ferigno ! alright I could lose a few pounds but other than my 2 caffed knees I am in good shape !
My lake is about 3/4 mile wide and 3 miles long so the more I think the more the smaller cat might be better ?
I could keep my eyes open for a used spin and make the hardware myself as I have some 1 1/2 carbon fiber pipe laying around and a chandelry at the bottom of my street and I do love to make things...so we will see ?
The Prindle owner is staying hard on his price right now and it is a little out of my budget so I either save for a little longer or go for the 5.2
Thanks guys