What happens to performance when an A cat has a 250 pound skipper? How much speed is lost?

--
John

Nacra 5.0
CT
--

There are many, many variables to that question. Which A are we talking about? What weather conditions? I would say a modern A isn't going to suffer much of a performance loss until you are at 200 lbs or so. Something like a Boyer Flyer or Nacra A2 may take a hit at about 180lbs.

In 20 kts of breeze, 250 lbs on the wire is going to be a rocketship upwind. Downwind, you probably wouldn't be trapping but you'd also have healthy margin to push driving from the tramp.

The other factor is mobility. A's are demanding boats to sail as they are powered up, lightweight boats that move in the slightest breath of wind. At 250 lbs you weigh nearly 100 lbs more than the boat, so its pretty easy to pull the boat over on top of you if sailing in low to mid range puffy conditions and you need to be quick on your feet to stop it.

The last issue is rig, you would want a stiff mast and sail cut designed for a heavy sailor.

Will you be competitive in a competitive A Cat fleet? Probably not, but I would venture to say boat speed won't be your issue in breeze, and most folks will suffer defeat in a relatively competitive A fleet as there are a lot of heavy hitters in the class, and it seems more getting involved every day.

This is great info, thank you.

--
John

Nacra 5.0
CT
--

For your weight, my recommendation is find a Marstrom A cat. They handle weight the best. All others will not be so kind!

--
Master UniRig Sailor
--

If you can find a DK17. It was designed specifically to have enough hull volume to support a larger sailor.

Yep on the Marstrom and DK17. I believe the latter molds still exist so you may be able to get a new boat built.

The next best bet is a Tool or DNA.

Thanks guys.

--
John

Nacra 5.0
CT
--

Not too many As come up here in the time I have been looking. Where else does one find these?

--
John

Nacra 5.0
CT
--

http://www.a-cat.org/?q=content/classified

https://usaca.info/classifieds/