I'm thinking of buying a beach cat, however I sail on thin ( sometimes less than 3ft) tidal muddy water and usually alone. My main worry is capsizing and getting the mast stuck. It would be a long lonely swim home.

Plenty of H14s Prindles H16s and Darts around to buy, but firstly without a mast top float how deep does a H14 mast top go when capsized and if I fit a mast float other than having drag and weight in the wrong place are there any disadvantages?

I use a fender, much cheaper and probably lighter
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pelqd5CKUgI
The only disadvantage is that it gets on the way of the camera.. (it's usually cleaner than in the video..)

Some cats have tear drop floats on the mast top. Do they float level with the water surface on a capsize? Are they reliable. I have a fender on the top of my Laser mast, works fine, but boat is very different.

I've seen fenders installed on top like the tear drop floats too, probably better because they don't swing around and the tip stays probably 5cm higher. Mine sinks a bit, just the tip, not a problem. What is important, with or without mast float, is to keep the mast sealed. If water gets in you may be able to keep it horizontal or maybe bring it from turtled to horizontal, but I doubt it's possible to right it from there.

I think you need a purpose built mast float (Hobie Bob) over a fender, particularly if you want to keep the mast head as close to the surface as possible. It will have more flotation than a fender, and being rigidly attached to the mast will also help keep the mast out of the mud.

And a second on the importance of a sealed mast, even with a float.

I like the baby bob by Hobie. It's smaller & looks more proportional to mast & boat & somewhat aerodynamic. The bracket can be bent to fit most masts. It's around $100 & used ones can be found for $50. Pete

Thanks for the replies, the critical aspect was to keep the mast tip very close to the surface as getting stuck in the mud would be a real problem for me and I would probably need to be rescued. So I'll look for a baby bob or similar for an H14 which seems to be the most likely boat to get.

Why not get the boat first? Seems like the cart is getting in front of the horse.

--
Tim
Collierville (Memphis), TN
Supercat 15--sold :(
Hobie monocat--given
Vanguard 15--traded for...
Nacra 4.5--sold
Nacra 5.7
Hobie 14–sold to make room for...
Supercat 17–sold
--

Getting stuck in the mud might be fatal so I wanted to explore the issue. Also where I am cats like the Unicorn come up. They have dinghy style flexible tapered masts which have far too little buoyancy to float and would need a mast top float but are so thin that a fast capsize might rip the top of the mast off. The conversation above has helped me to eliminate those sort of boats even if they are cheap and almost next door.

Never heard of unicorn cat before, looks pretty cool.

What about something like this? Maybe a couple of them
https://www.wetsuitoutlet…-float-10085-p-6522.html
I don't understand why you need 100% of the mast out of the water, a few cm submerged shouldn't be a problem as long as it doesn't turtle. I mean just a few, with 20 cm it will likely go turtle.



Edited by Andinista on Sep 15, 2017 - 08:05 AM.

Andinista

What about something like this? Maybe a couple of them
https://www.wetsuitoutlet…-float-10085-p-6522.html

Interesting... they have one for 9 liters and one for 40(!) liters. A liter of fresh water weighs about 1 kg or 2.2 pounds... you get a little more displacement from the density of salt water. That's about 20 pounds displacement from the 9l float and almost 90lbs for the 40l float. I think you'd be hard-pressed to drive that big float under at all! One of my masts came with a Hobie Mama Bob and it displaces almost 60 pounds. You can sit on it and drive it under a little, but not much!

I was surprised how quickly my H18 'sailed' on its side, suspended by the float. I never got around to moving the Bob from the comptip mast to the aluminum stick I usually use.

Randii



Edited by randii on Sep 15, 2017 - 02:40 PM.

Mast floats are not much to look at. Does anyone have an opinion how much they affect performance?

I definitely need to seal the mast this year. When I had my capsize earlier in the summer it took on quite a bit of water that took several minutes to decant from the bottom of the mast through a small hole for that purpose.

--
Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
--

tominpa

Mast floats are not much to look at. Does anyone have an opinion how much they affect performance?

i do

Quote

What about something like this? Maybe a couple of them
https://www.wetsuitoutlet…-float-10085-p-6522.html

I don't understand what i am looking at
https://cdn.wetsuitoutlet…r-Mast-Float-10085-1.jpg

what does this mean
"N.B. Not suitable for boats without anchoring"

I think it means if you don't use an anchor on your cat you're not an eligible customer..

MN3

tominpa

Mast floats are not much to look at. Does anyone have an opinion how much they affect performance?

i do

I would try to pry it from your cold dead hands, but I figure you might have something to say about it?

--
Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
--

oh yea,
they are windage but who cares
degrade performance, sure ... a little but who care

if righting your cat is what worries you most, get a hobie bob or baby bob

If you care about racing... get a hobie rotomolded boat - they all have floats

Andinista

I think it means if you don't use an anchor on your cat you're not an eligible customer..

I meant what does N.B. Mean? but found out

"Nota bene"



Edited by MN3 on Sep 16, 2017 - 05:49 PM.