Any cat sailors in the Anne Arundel county (Glen Burnie to Annapolis) area out there?

Yep! West River Catamaran Racing Association and West River Sailing Club both have large, active fleets of catamarans and are located in Galesville, closer to the south end of the county but boat storage is cheaper down here...

Whatcha looking for in particular?

Doug, I have my Prindle 18 at the Poickory Point Marina. It is just around the corner from Sandy Point State Park towards the Magothy River. There are about seven other beachcats there. Most of us do not race and like to sail recreationally. The facility has mast up storage and has a sandy beach directly on the bay. It also has a pool, clubhouse, showers, grills, and covered and open outdoor tables. You pay for the amenities but it is a very nice place to hang out in the summer and the people there are very pleasant.

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Scott
ARC 21
Prindle 18
Annapolis, Maryland
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@ Samc99us and Spoulton
Wow folks. Sounds like you're exactly the kind of people I'm looking for.

I sailed a Trac 14 (with my buddy who had a Prindle 16) back in the day. Now that I'm done raising kids, I recently moved to Glen Burnie and am hoping to buy a cat and re-enter the sport.

Problem is, I'm in a townhome and a cat won't fit in my garage. I need to find a place to store it that doesn't cost a fortune, or better yet, keep it on the beach with the mast up.

I'll look into Poickory Point. Sounds promising.

I'm considering this one, here on Beachcats:
http://www.thebeachcats.com/classifieds/catamarans-for-sale/p14844-1988-prindle-18.html
Any thoughts?

Thanks for your inputs!
- Doug

Doug, sorry for the spelling error. The marina name is Podickory Point Yacht and Beach Club. The email address is podickorypoint.com. Looked at the post of the Prindle 18 in Pennsylvania and it is priced well, especially for having two storage boxes on the trailer. I have had a Prindle 18 for about six years and it is a good boat to start out with. I am moving up to an ARC 21 next season. If you go to look at it make sure the hulls are solid as delamination can be a problem. Make sure there are no soft spots and tap around and make sure there are no dull sounding areas. Look at the bottom of the hulls to make sure there is plenty of fiberglass there as repeated beaching of the catamaran can cause wear and make those areas thin. Make sure the mast is strait and that the sail tract in the mast is not bent in. The rigging, lines, and tramp can be replaced if needed and the cost is not overwhelming.

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Scott
ARC 21
Prindle 18
Annapolis, Maryland
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Hey Scott, Thanks for your inputs on the PA Prindle and congrats on your upcoming ARC.

I looked the marina up and called them. I was a little surprised that the fees they quoted for one year would cost more than the price of my boat!

Works out to $140 a month to go sailing a couple a weekends per month -- and that for only 5-6 months a year is kinda hard to justify. I don't anticipate using any of the amenities -- especially during the winter. We can find nice beaches and picnic areas anywhere in AA county. I live in a planned community and already pay monthly fees for a much larger pool and a super nice clubhouse/gym.

I wish they had a different levels of membership like the Md Yacht club, one of which is under $500 a year. (sigh). I'm not a hard core racer -- just interested in zipping around the bay and adjacent rivers and creeks.

I may end up just trailering my $1500 boat back and forth to Fort Smallwood. Hope to see you out there.

Douglas,

West River Sailing Club has reasonable rates, $42/month for parking, and low annual membership. We offer most of the same amenities as Podickory Point (except the pool), are a friendly bunch and yes, we have some of the most experienced racing sailors on the bay. This also means receipt of sound advice, though Scotts is pretty spot on, and lots of help if you need crew etc. There are some other options locally for mast up storage that won't break the bank, I suspect you won't use the boat as much if you have to trailer sail.

-Sam

Doug! Welcome to the cat-scene. As you've heard there are options and folks sailing in the area. Podickory is nice but as you found out a bit pricey. Great if you want the amenities. West River is a great place to be. You might also want to check out places like Fairwinds Marina on the Magothy River. Not too far from Podickory, you could get mast up storage there and use the launch ramp. They're under new ownership, not sure what the prices would be. Trailer sailing can be more time consuming, but consider keeping the boat at a storage facility and launching at Sandy Point State Park. There's a beach launch area and trailer launch ramps.
Now I'll pitch West River a bit. You'll find a bunch of experienced cat sailors in Galesville, and you can find bouy and weeknight open class beer can racing as well recreational sailing. Check out http://www.wrcra.org and http://www.westriversc.org.
Also, there is a WRCRA Google Group where you can connect with the West River crowd and find out what's going on, including crewing opportunities. And, there is a WRCRA FaceBook page.
Don't be intimidated by the Racing aspect - for the WRCRA stuff out goal is to be laid back enough to not be intimidating but competitive enough to keep it interesting. There's a lot of great knowledge there just waiting to be shared, and folks sail whenever they want in addition to the racing.
And, while we're discussing things, I have a nice Nacra 6.0NA I'm looking to sell.
Where in AA County are you?

Cheers,
Keith

Hi Keith, Thanks for the super helpful intel!

I will definitely look into each and every one of the resources you've listed. I'm very familiar with the West River region -- that's where the cat bug bit me back in the 80s. We beached our cats (a Prindle, Hobie and my Trac) on a little sandy beach at a children's summer camp where the Rhode and West rivers meet. It was perfect, but that was 25 years ago and camp ownership has changed hands.

I now live in Glen Burnie, 4 miles from the water as the crow flies. 15 mins from Fort Smallwood.

I know Sandy Point really well too. That's where my buddy and I taught ourselves to to windsurf.

If I can't find a nearby beach where I can keep the mast up -- at a price point that doesn't quickly exceed the cost of my boat -- I'll probably end up getting a Starboard Airplane (more performance-oriented inflatable windsurf) and just roll with that.

Hope to meet you on the water sometime.
Cheers.

Doug,

I would be happy to take you for a test sail and see if you might be interested in one of my two new beach cats. Visit www.redbeardsailing.com to see if you might be interested. We are located just north of Baltimore, we are not far from you at all!



Edited by bohemian on Apr 03, 2017 - 12:19 PM.

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Alex Caslow
Red Beard Sailing
Portable Sailboat Distributor
www.redbeardsailing.com
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douglasflather

I'm considering this one, here on Beachcats:
http://www.thebeachcats.com/classifieds/catamarans-for-sale/p14844-1988-prindle-18.html
Any thoughts?

Thanks for your inputs!
- Doug

Hi Doug,
Do you have any sailing experience?

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
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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