Hi, I'm new to catamarans and sailing in general. I just bought a 1981 Boston Whaler SuperCat 17. It's in rough shape but there are no major structural issues and I got it for next to nothing from a redneck who wanted to turn it into a pontoon boat.

The most obvious issue to me was the mainsail has a rip in the Luff. Is the sail recoverable? If so, how would I go about repairing it?

The standing rigging is also in rough shape with some fraying of the wires. I've been told standing rigging lasts a while but in its current state, I don't trust it to hold up the mast. is there a good place to buy new rigging for such an old boat or would I have to retrofit some Hobie rigging?

Last question: The running rigging is completely rotted. I can get new lines form West Marine, but the guy I bought it from had removed all the ropes to tie the mast to the trailer. Is there a diagram for the rigging or a PDF of the owner's manual I could use to re-rig the boat?

Sorry for the cavalcade of questions! Any help would be greatly appreciated. The SuperCat 17 doesn't have a ton of info about it online and ya'll on this forum seem to be the only ones who know what you're talking about!

Where ya at?

I believe Aquarius Sail is still in business and can help with all of your rigging questions...may be time to invest in new Sails.

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Pete
2001 NACRA 450 SOLD
2000 NACRA 500 TOTAL LOSS
2004 NACRA INTER 20 SOLD
2016 NACRA 500 Sport
DeLand, FL
--

One thing you must remember about restoring old boats: "The sum of the parts can be greater than the whole." The SC 17 is a popular legacy cat, and you should be able to find parts but if you're in a hurry you can easily spend more than the boat is worth. There's a place in Miami (can't remember the name offhand, but they've done good work for me and I'm sure some readers have used them) you just send them the old wires and they copy them. And there's nothing wrong with good wires from another boat and adjusting them to the proper length. It's hard to comment on the rip in the luff without knowing the extent of it but that's a high stress area and considering the age of your dacron sails they're probably stretched out anyway. Take them to a sailmaker for advice. If you can't get the measurements, you can approximate the lengths of the mainsheet and the jib sheets. Use some old line or cheap cordage from the hardware store for a template. Push the clew of the sail all the way out with the traveler out and give enough extra that you can easily reach it even if you're well forward. The diameter is more subjective as long as it is within the limits for the blocks. A few years ago, the SC 17 was being made again by a company with acronym ARC? Could be a source of parts?

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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Hope these helps:
https://owners.aquarius-s…phpbb3/viewforum.php?f=3
https://www.facebook.com/supercat17
https://www.thebeachcats.…319&g2_imageViewsIndex=1

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Brgds
Lars

Frankentri 5.8/5.5/Inter20
Aerow trimaran foiler

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1192604934176635
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jack108136

Where ya at?

Oklahoma

revintage

Hope these helps:
https://owners.aquarius-s…phpbb3/viewforum.php?f=3
https://www.facebook.com/supercat17
https://www.thebeachcats.…319&g2_imageViewsIndex=1

thank you! exactly what I was looking for

shortyfox

One thing you must remember about restoring old boats: "The sum of the parts can be greater than the whole." The SC 17 is a popular legacy cat, and you should be able to find parts but if you're in a hurry you can easily spend more than the boat is worth. There's a place in Miami (can't remember the name offhand, but they've done good work for me and I'm sure some readers have used them) you just send them the old wires and they copy them. And there's nothing wrong with good wires from another boat and adjusting them to the proper length. It's hard to comment on the rip in the luff without knowing the extent of it but that's a high stress area and considering the age of your dacron sails they're probably stretched out anyway. Take them to a sailmaker for advice. If you can't get the measurements, you can approximate the lengths of the mainsheet and the jib sheets. Use some old line or cheap cordage from the hardware store for a template. Push the clew of the sail all the way out with the traveler out and give enough extra that you can easily reach it even if you're well forward. The diameter is more subjective as long as it is within the limits for the blocks. A few years ago, the SC 17 was being made again by a company with acronym ARC? Could be a source of parts?

thanks a ton!
I'll try and find that place in Miami, it sounds like exactly what I'm looking for.
I'm beginning to lose faith that the mainsail can be recovered. I'll probably get a new one so I won't have to worry about it.

I appreciate all the advice, I've got a long few months ahead of me!

The main sail is likely toast, but post a Pic and folks can certainly guide you, to see if it's even possible at all. Standing rigging is 100% toast if you have any fraying wires. That can easily be re-made by a number of riggers. The idea of testing the length of line you need is really spot on, but a little searching should find you the line guide for the boat. You'll Be able to get lines cheaper than West, though I've got nothing against them, personally.

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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
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If you're looking at repairing a sail in Oklahoma, there's no one better than Roger Kerr of Kerr Sails in Tulsa. He's the best! He'll give you an honest evaluation of your sails, a firm quote, & expert repairs. He also makes new sails :) He can give you advice on the rigging issues.
I had to replace some standing rigging on a Capri 25 last year. I was unable to source it through the normal vendors. I took the old rigging to Industrial Splicing in Tulsa. I ordered the fittings online, took them to IS & they cut the wire ropes, roller swaged the fittings, & I was installing them the same day.
I've used West Marine for my running rigging replacements for many boats. The store in Tulsa has the recommended lengths & sizes for many multihulls. Online experience is different; call the store close to you & ask? Order a few extra feet, it's easing to cut than splice

Chuck

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Chuck Miles
1978 Hobie 16
1991 Hunter 23.5
TsaLaGi Yacht Club, Jackson Bay Marina
Fort Gibson Lake, OK
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Found this guide to your boat
https://www.thebeachcats.…oadItem&g2_itemId=133319

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Chuck Miles
1978 Hobie 16
1991 Hunter 23.5
TsaLaGi Yacht Club, Jackson Bay Marina
Fort Gibson Lake, OK
--

Some people implied, but I don't think directly said. Tom Haberman is the owner of https://www.aquarius-sail.com/ is the Supercat guy. I think he has been involved in the supercat products for most/all of their existence and as somebody mentioned currently sells the ARC line of boats which are modernized Supercats.

He sells parts to maintain the fleet and you can get new rigging from him. Just give him a call/email. I will say that he is "old school" and is a bit slow to respond sometimes if he is working in his shop, but he will get back to you and is super helpful when you do get his attention.

For standing rigging he will need to know if you have a roller furler for correct forestay length. And he will need to know if you have the big self righting system highfield levers for correct sidestay length. I have seen Supercat rigging on e-bay from Salty Dog something or another, but he is not terribly helpful and I think his rigging wasn't setup for the self righting system(and he wouldn't make modifications). I am sure his trapeze lines and bridle wires are probably fine.

Somebody posted the Supercat manual which has all the running rigging lengths but the standing rigging is not publicly documented. I have seen 2 versions of the manual and one is definitely a bit newer because it had features my boat didn't have.

I am not terribly helpful on the sail questions. Tom can get new sails made but they will be white "race style" and not classic colors. I don't see used sails come up very often, and I definitely could use newer ones.

And, they've got some good info. on their forums, just not visited frequently, it appears:
http:// https://owners.aq…a45cd1b5c2e891103d4f46e

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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
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Boy, I wish you lived closer to Reno, Nevada. I have an '81 Supercar I'd like to part with, along with a bunch of extra parts.

Supercat 17'



Edited by spitfire4040 on Feb 03, 2023 - 09:50 AM.