Well, I think Nacra really hit the sweet spot with this cat, shape, simplicity, size and WITH WINGS (I'm sure an "affordable" option). Everything I'd want in a recreational, somewhat higher performance cat. Only problem? You're somewhere around $23-$24K out the door with "options". This is exactly the one I'd want, if I could get one hell-of-a good deal on one...sigh. Yeah, I know - for the low volumes these toys are made and the margin they need to sustain that' "about right", but man!
I just priced it at East Coast Sailboats... Without the wings (but with spinnaker and furling jib) it's almost $21K. Looks like the optional Wing seats aren't available yet. I guess the OP added $2.5K or so for them?
Interesting! It's called a "570" but the specs say "Hull length 5,03 m / 18,3 ft" which doesn't even make sense. 5.03 m is less than 17' and 18.3 ft is more like 5.6m...
NACRA's website is accurate on imperial to metric conversion and lists it at 5.6M. I saw somewhere, though I can't find it now, that the wingseats, as they call them are about 1,750 euros, so around $1800-$2,000 I suppose? I was guessing at the all-up price of the thing with all accessories and TTL. Just a guess at this point.
It'll be interesting to see how many of these actually hit our shores. I hope I'm really surprised by strong market demand.
Yes they do. The housing is two pieces and held together by a hinge at the top and a bungie at the bottom. There is a notch in the daggerboard like rudder along with a bungie. When all the way down, the rudder locks into place.
If the rudder hits ground it will force the bottom of the housing open which unlocks the rudder and the bungie lifts it to skeg height. There is also a line you can pull on that will unlock the rudder.
What I love about them is that even at skeg height, the rudders work fine without excessive weather helm. You can sail over the shallows without fighting the tiller.
The down side is they are a bit fiddly. There are three screws that regulate the sensitivity of the kick-up mechanism. If it's too sensitive, the rudders will kick up when you are sailing fast. If not sensitive enough, then you can't unlock them before hitting ground.
When racing, you want to be able to kick up the windward rudder but not have to worry about the leeward rudder tripping at speed. If you aren't racing, then it doesn't much matter. No matter where the rudder is, you have decent steerage.
I've sailed for several hours with the rudders up at skeg height during low tide with no problem.