ainut wrote:
thats a nice looking rig you have there, the yacht has really nice lines and looks really comfortable for two people
I doubt Cat Boats are very popular in AU. However that solitary mast with the (now popular wishbone boom, like on the Wyliecat) was possibly the forerunner for the Windsurfer and (if I may say) prolly a lot of that concept of a single mast, single sail went into designing the Islands' rigs. The Horizon is gaffed rigged with a solid boom, yet I believe that is part of the charm of these lovely boats)
One of the main reason for the cats popularity from the past century was that the single mast could be lowered on a hinge design to get underneath lowly slung bridges without major derigging issues. Their beamy freight capacity was also a way to shorten the boat, saling with minimal crew and decrease lock time (and charges) in the canals.
Also note the keel. Great for sailing in shallow waters.
To counter the less deeper keel, these boats are very beamy. Consider that as bonus living space below. Every Cat Boat owner I've met has nothing but praise for their boat's 'liveability'
Looks like life repeats itself, by need, sometimes
Regards
Fred