I picked up an old but working Sol Cat 18 yesterday. Took her out for a sail for a couple of hours and the only problem that I experienced was trying to learn to tack properly and a little water in the hulls.

I found out that the halyards are a bit frayed (steel) so they will need to be replaced. I think 1/4" halyard line might fit but need to check on that.

Anyway, I am located at Lake Worth, Texas.



Edited by ftworthsailor on Sep 08, 2015 - 11:35 AM.

Minor fraying where halyard goes over mast head sheave is normal. Pete

I own a Solcat 18, Great boat. For the minor leaking get some silicone and add a dab of Silicone to each rivet for the tramp. That is where the water is getting in. Then add a long bead of Silicone along the metal piece holding in the Tramp under and over. The other place to silicone is around the Bung Plugs. I would redo this every 2 years.

Another tip is get 2 blocks , 2 steel boat hooks and about 6 feet of line.Use the blocks to help pull down the sail Cunningham. Cleat it and take the block and tackle off. That will take out all the wrinkles in your sail at the mast. This will reduce the luff and help on Reaches tremendously. ( add ad least 1 - 2 knots!) The manual one for the boat is not strong enough.

Tacking, Use the Jib to pull you around, Keep the Jib full on until it luffs, then tack the Jib, Not prior. Once you get the hang of it, it will be much easier, although all Cats have a difficult time tacking.

Last tip. Boat is very heavy and extremely difficult to right, don't tip the boat over. If you do make sure your Center boards are attached by a bungee to clips on each side of the Jib Blocks.

Have fun and good luck with the boat.



Edited by hamish66 on Sep 13, 2015 - 04:13 PM.

Hi all! Thought that I would take a minute and update you on my SolCat 18 progress.

I figured out where the water in the left pontoon was coming from! Apparently this boat had some poorly done transom work and when I beached her, the rudder pulled the transom away from the hull. We have since repaired the transom and I purchased two used rudders to replace the broken one.

I am planning to add epoxy to the holes that are designed for the bungy chords because they look like they expose the pressboard use to make the rudders.

I am also looking for a couple of the missing battens needed for my sail, as well as a trapeze kit.

Looking forward to completing the repairs and getting her back on the water (as soon as it starts to warm up).

Good that you found the leak, I believe the SolCat transom design did make it a week point, seen sever over the years with bad transoms.

Watch the classifieds for battens or try contacting pbegle through one of his classified ads or by Private Message.
http://www.thebeachcats.c…earch.php?searchid=29176

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Would Hobie Cat 18 battens be the same as I need for my SolCat 18?

I purchased a very nice white SolCat mainsail for $75. on Craigslist but no battens. It needs the full battens for it. I happen to have 1/4 inch Sched 40 PVC at the yard and found that they fit into the batten pockets and do stiffen up the sail like it should be. I suspect that installing 8 of these might be too much weight for the sail. So now I am looking for wood or some plastic that might do the job.

Any thoughts?

You need real battens.