A few months ago I took a 5 day sailing class which included 4 days of sailing on J-22s. Just last week I moved to Florida and joined a sailing club. They have an assortment of boats including cats. Today I took out a Hobie Wave. I had a great time and managed to get to and from the dock so I'd consider that a successful first solo sail in my book.

Are there differences to keep in mind when sailing the cat vs what I learned on the J-22? I felt that tacking and jibing required a much wider turn than on the j-22 before the cat caught the wind. I'm not sure if that was me just being out of practice or something to do with the differences between the wave and the j-22.

Also I have a long term goal of buying a sailboat large enough to go on overnight trips. Something in the 30ft range and based on my budget it will be a monohual. Is sailing the wave good practice for the monohual or will I be making it harder on myself if I alway sail the wave?

So basically can you offer an tips for sailing a cat?

Thanks,
Dom

Dom, Welcome to TheBeachcats.com!

In a way, sailing is sailing, once you learn the basics you can sail any boat just keeping in mind that sailboats have different personal characteristics, handling, and the lines are in different places.

At this point you haven't been sailing long enough to develop any "muscle memory" that would give you trouble switching from slow half-boats to actual full-on sailboats.

The wave is a fine club/rental boat and there are groups that race them. But keep in mind it is one of the lowest performance beach catamarans built because of it's intended use. Even at that it's probably faster than the J-22 except straight downwind with the J under spin!

The big difference between sailing a keel boat and a beachcat is going to be acceleration and tacking/jibing angles. Since beachcats are way more powered up than keelboats they use the weight of the crew to offset the power of the sails instead of lead in the keel. So things happen much more quickly. Also the Wave weighs 245 pounds and the J-22 1,760 pounds, so when tacking you can't force your way through the wind but need to sail through.

If you made it out and back on the wave you already have the basic skills you need to sail beachcats, now it's just "time on the water" to get proficient.

Does your club have other beachcats available or just the Waves? Where are you located? We might be able to get you some local help or a ride on a hotter beachcat for comparison.

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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I'm located in clearwater Florida. The club has all of the current hobies made and some other brands as well that I'm not familiar with. In terms of the other cats I'm not really sure which can be single handed and when I've got enough skills to move up to another boat. I guess that's something to talk to them about.

Luckily I've got nothing but time on my hands. I just moved to Clearwater from SC and I'm in the process of looking for work. In the meantime I've been sailing about 4 hours a day for a week or so. I just can't get enough of it. I was shocked at how easy it was to pick up. I was always a little intimidated by the j-22s but after my first sail on the hobie I was hooked. In fact I took my wife out for her first sail a few nights ago and she really likes it as well. I'm glad I joined the club and tried the cats.

My other plan was to buy a sunfish and learn on my own. That would have been a huge mistake. I took a sunfish out a few days ago and man was that thing cramped and uncomfortable. No matter what boat I end up with in the future I think I will definitely have a cat as well. I can't think of a better way to tak advantage of the 86f water we have here.

Dom

Dom,
Welcome to Clearwater! It's a great place to sail year round. Weather has been a little tough this year with all of the storms, but spring, winter and fall are fantastic. I am guessing you are sailing out of the Clearwater Sailing Club which is a short sail North to Dunedin. You will find a majority of beachcat sailors in this area launch off of the Dunedin Causeway (go up to Curlew Rd and go West)
If you are into camping you will see camp sites set up on the spoil islands in the intercoastal between Dunedin and Clearwater.
If you see us on the islands or the causeway be sure to stop and say hello.
Fair winds,

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Steve Fisherkeller
P19MX
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stevefisherkeller

Dom,
Welcome to Clearwater! It's a great place to sail year round. Weather has been a little tough this year with all of the storms, but spring, winter and fall are fantastic. I am guessing you are sailing out of the Clearwater Sailing Club which is a short sail North to Dunedin. You will find a majority of beachcat sailors in this area launch off of the Dunedin Causeway (go up to Curlew Rd and go West)
If you are into camping you will see camp sites set up on the spoil islands in the intercoastal between Dunedin and Clearwater.
If you see us on the islands or the causeway be sure to stop and say hello.
Fair winds,

I think I saw you guys a few weeks ago. I was swimming at Honeymoon island state park and I saw all the cats along the causeway. I saw the cats on the shore and like two seconds later you guys were in the surf. My wife and I couldn't believe how fast the boats were.

I am sailing out the the Clearwater sailing club. I just joined so I probably won't be buying my own cat for a year.
After I finish my membership I'll be sure to explore the local areas.

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After I finish my membership I'll be sure to explore the local areas.

Don't wait, as you have seen from the warm welcome from Damon, most of the people here are pretty easy going. If you see a bunch of Cats at Dunedin, go out, introduce yourself, & you will be invited for rides/crew/beer, (as long as you are not an insufferable prick, with green skin.)
These people will quickly get you some time on water in different boats, you can then decide what would be the best boat for you to buy.
And hey, if in the end, you decide to buy a J22, only a few will chirp you for it, & you can safely ignore them. It's like up here in the frozen north. Many ski, many snowboard, & a few idiots hate those who don't slide the same way. I teach alpine skiing at advanced levels,(downhill) part time, & figure the more people we have in any aspect of the sport, the more power we have politically.
Don't be put off by the low performance of the Wave, that boat is tough, light, cheap to buy, & a hell of a lot of fun. Solo, you can fly a hull, one poster here does 16kts on his.
As a famous author once postulated, there is simply no better way to waste time than simply messing with boats.

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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I started taking some sailing pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dsrphotography/

DamonLinkous

In a way, sailing is sailing, once you learn the basics you can sail any boat just keeping in mind that sailboats have different personal characteristics, handling, and the lines are in different places.

A couple of metaphors arise.

Sailing a cat after sailing a monohull is like:

...playing tennis on a grass court after having learned on concrete. Same game, but the grass changes virtually every aspect of the game a little bit.

...being behind the wheel of a Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S, after having learned to drive in a Camry. It is still driving, but every aspect of controling a 400+ hp car capable of 0 to 60 in 5.3 seconds is a little different.

...responding to your mother-in-law's request to help "move a few things in the house" and realizing that she is talking about walls and the ceiling, not furniture. Her definition of moving things is a little different than yours.



Edited by klozhald on Jul 15, 2013 - 05:06 PM.

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Bob
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Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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We had decent wind here today 15-20 mph. For a change I took out a sunfish...man those things are a pain. It was fun when everything was going good then I flipped it twice. After a good session of boom ducking I headed back in and took out the wave..Man that thing was so much fun. I got the windward pontoon a good couple of feet into the air.

I have raced catmarans and mono's out of there ... it's a good spot and he is actually in a fantastic spot to meet locals with all sorts of boats. they even have Hobie Tigers available at the sailing center.... he is limited to sail in clearwater bay, and not leave the bay ... but that is a big area with diverse islands and more ....

not to mention membership at the center is pretty expensive ... money well spent

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Don't wait, as you have seen from the warm welcome from Damon, most of the people here are pretty easy going. If you see a bunch of Cats at Dunedin, go out, introduce yourself, & you will be invited for rides/crew/beer,