[quote=benedict]I'll toss in one other reason to buy a used cat, especially if you plan to build one:
I've looked at building a cat for years (the last few years were spent leaning toward the Tornado design.) There are some excellent plans out there, and if you have the skills, the tools, and the copious workshop space required, it's entirely within reach.
In the end you will have two hulls and possibly two rudders. The rest of what makes a boat a boat typically isn't woodworking. It's castings, extrusions, forgings, etc. If you're rolling your own boat, the choice of mast, sheets, sails, tiller assembly, etc. either means you also take on a bunch of metalwork and sewing or you pick up parts off another boat, as Damon mentioned.
Get a used boat now, and you have a donor rig waiting for your hulls to be done. Meanwhile you're picking up sailing skills. This also gives you an opportunity to pick another designer's brains, so to speak, by seeing what works for you and what you'd rather change. When you do move your rig to your new hulls, the hulls off your old boat will be just what someone else is looking for after a crash, or after realizing their soft hulls couldn't be fixed with a drill 'n fill.
I didn't wind up making my own boat. I'm simply not a good enough woodworker. Instead I picked up what's considered to be an extinct cat. No class association, no fleet races. No rules, essentially. If I want to change something on my boat, there's nothing stopping me. There's a lot of freedom there. Not as much freedom as you'll have building one from scratch, but I can certainly see the appeal.
Best of luck to you! And yes, please post pictures. Looking forward to it!
Tom[/quote]
