I'm thinking of buying a 16 ft catamaran to sail in the Richmond river at Ballina. There are a few Hobiecats & Maricats available. I'd like one with a jib so can sail in light winds. I ride a wngfoil when there's more than 10 knots.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of each as well any pitfalls or things to check before buying? I've seen reviews saying the Maricats are heavy.

Thanks in advance,

Greg.

Select to expand quote

gregwho said..
I'm thinking of buying a 16 ft catamaran to sail in the Richmond river at Ballina. There are a few Hobiecats & Maricats available. I'd like one with a jib so can sail in light winds. I ride a wngfoil when there's more than 10 knots.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of each as well any pitfalls or things to check before buying? I've seen reviews saying the Maricats are heavy.

Thanks in advance,

Greg.

Get something with centre boards trapese and a jib. Maricats were slow as.

If you already ride a wing foil anything less will bore you to death. Also kind of depends whether you plan to sail one up or two up or occasionally more like kids. If strictly single handed there were some ply racing cats without jibs that went very well.

I have had two Hydras which sailed beautifully although would be hard to find one let alone one in good nick. My second one still sits in the yard but needs a bit of work.

Had a Hobie 16 once. Wasn't impressed. I found my NS14 more exciting to sail.

Select to expand quote

julesmoto said..

gregwho said..
I'm thinking of buying a 16 ft catamaran to sail in the Richmond river at Ballina. There are a few Hobiecats & Maricats available. I'd like one with a jib so can sail in light winds. I ride a wngfoil when there's more than 10 knots.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of each as well any pitfalls or things to check before buying? I've seen reviews saying the Maricats are heavy.

Thanks in advance,

Greg.

Get something with centre boards trapese and a jib. Maricats were slow as.

If you already ride a wing foil anything less will bore you to death. Also kind of depends whether you plan to sail one up or two up or occasionally more like kids. If strictly single handed there were some ply racing cats without jibs that went very well.

I have had two Hydras which sailed beautifully although would be hard to find one let alone one in good nick. My second one still sits in the yard but needs a bit of work.

I definitely want a cat that would take at least 2 people. I realise it won't be as fast or challenging as a foil but we have plenty of 5- 9 knot days where yachts are having fun while we're landbound.

Windrush 14 with jib and trapeze are pretty good. Cats aren't ideal in light winds tho.

Taipan 4.9
I had one as a teenager it was my second cat after having a mari cat before it sailed so much better than the maricat you can't even compare the 2 boats
The taipans are fast lightweight
Sail very well
Hold the value very well
Good class if racing is your thing
Daggaboards so the tack and point well
Can be sailed as cat rigged just the mainsail for single handed
Or Sloop rig main and jib for double handed
Or in f16 spec with a spinnaker
I had mine set up as a f16 and mostly singled handed it sailing it was alot of fun
Check out taipan.asn for more information

Prindle 16. Nicely put together and fast and exciting. Came out after the Hobie 16 and all the bad bits of the Hobie sorted!

Select to expand quote

Madmouse said..
Windrush 14 with jib and trapeze are pretty good. Cats aren't ideal in light winds tho.

Very slow with two people though. Especially in light airs. Need a 16 footer for 2. A 14 footer just doesn't have the flotation without digging in and bogging down for the weight of 2.

Select to expand quote

Ramona said..
Prindle 16. Nicely put together and fast and exciting. Came out after the Hobie 16 and all the bad bits of the Hobie sorted!

Yes that would be my pick of a non centreboard cat. Being American I think they had a reasonable sail area as well for light airs but I think they were less area than a Hobie so the sail area might be worth checking for light airs.

I always lusted after the original nacra back.in.the.day but I think they were 17 or 18. These three American cats were typically quite heavily as well (compared.to.aus or UK designs) Relevant because you inevitably end up manoeuvering a cat around a beach without the trailer sometimes - like when the tide goes out.

It's not that easy to find cats with trailers in reasonable nick now so he might have to make a short list.

Select to expand quote

kurt88 said..
Taipan 4.9
I had one as a teenager it was my second cat after having a mari cat before it sailed so much better than the maricat you can't even compare the 2 boats
The taipans are fast lightweight
Sail very well
Hold the value very well
Good class if racing is your thing
Daggaboards so the tack and point well
Can be sailed as cat rigged just the mainsail for single handed
Or Sloop rig main and jib for double handed
Or in f16 spec with a spinnaker
I had mine set up as a f16 and mostly singled handed it sailing it was alot of fun
Check out taipan.asn for more information

That's more like it. Looks like there's a few for sale too. Although not cheap via club here tho. You get what you pay for.

www.taipan.asn.au/taipans-for-sale/taipan-49-aus-38

Funny how often with boats it is that if it looks right it is right.

The Taipans look good so no doubt sail well but are out of my price range. I'm just looking for something simple and reliable to play about on. If I really like it, I may take it away on holidays sometime. I'm not interested in racing so don't need a top notch boat.

I've found a Stingray 18. Any opinions or advice on these?
Thanks,
Greg

Select to expand quote

julesmoto said..

Madmouse said..
Windrush 14 with jib and trapeze are pretty good. Cats aren't ideal in light winds tho.

Very slow with two people though. Especially in light airs. Need a 16 footer for 2. A 14 footer just doesn't have the flotation without digging in and bogging down for the weight of 2.

I was a lot younger but me and a young woman seemed to zoom around on it ok. Could also handle surf quite well.

One up in trapeze.

There are lighter cats but not many are as rugged as the surf cats.

Select to expand quote

julesmoto said..

Ramona said..
Prindle 16. Nicely put together and fast and exciting. Came out after the Hobie 16 and all the bad bits of the Hobie sorted!

Yes that would be my pick of a non centreboard cat. Being American I think they had a reasonable sail area as well for light airs but I think they were less area than a Hobie so the sail area might be worth checking for light airs.

I always lusted after the original nacra back.in.the.day but I think they were 17 or 18. These three American cats were typically quite heavily as well (compared.to.aus or UK designs) Relevant because you inevitably end up manoeuvering a cat around a beach without the trailer sometimes - like when the tide goes out.

It's not that easy to find cats with trailers in reasonable nick now so he might have to make a short list.

The one I had was an American import and had foam sandwich hulls. I raced a season with it cat rigged solo. The sandwich hulls made it eerily quiet through the water. The Australian ones had solid 'glass hulls. The only downside with the Prindle and the Hobie 16 is the weight of the masts, they are very heavy. The Prindle has a good mast raising set up but it is still a big job.

Select to expand quote

gregwho said..
I've found a Stingray 18. Any opinions or advice on these?
Thanks,
Greg

I've only sailed against a very poorly sailed one, but they have a good reputation. Like most Australian cats, they are lighter than the US/European boats. As a centreboard cat, they'll tack much better than a 'boardless Hobie/Prindle type. A good choice!

Another boat to look at if the Stingray doesn't work out is the Mosquito; like a smaller Stingray, very light and possibly with a better rocker line. The Mossie can be sailed one up or two up, which is an advantage.

The Taipan is a great boat (we had one before the F18) but as you say, expensive and pretty powered up. The advantage is that it can easily be sailed either one up or two up.

Other boats like Nacra 5.8s and F18s are big beasts and can be a complete PITA to rig up and get to the water. The Hobie 18 is sort of like a heavy Stingray in many ways.

Another thing could be the 14' Arrow. They are very light ply boats and popular around the northern rivers, but designed as a singlehander although they could take two lightish adults. They are the most popular cat in the area.

also there is the Cobra cat

I've been advised to stretch my budget to something more modern & lighter that I can sail & right on my own. There are a couple of Nacra available. What's the difference between the Nacra 16 & the Nacra 16 square?

I think the 16 and 16 sq are the same thing. I have a nacra 14 square.
The 16 square is fine but I wouldn't call it light and it has a deck sweeper sail so might not be great for two.

Having said that the Nacras are quite nice boats and quite durable. If 30 years old now

Select to expand quote

gregwho said..
I've been advised to stretch my budget to something more modern & lighter that I can sail & right on my own. There are a couple of Nacra available. What's the difference between the Nacra 16 & the Nacra 16 square?

There's not many cats that size that are lighter than a Stingray from what I can recall. The Nacra 16 Square, for example, has a listed weight of 135kg, the F16 is 127kg, the Stingray is 130. When it comes to moving a cat around, one big thing IMHO is the quality of the wheels and tyres on the roller. Our 104kg Taipan with a trolley of cheap plastic wheels without bearings was harder to move around than our 185 F18 is with inflatable tyres and proper bearings.

The "Nacra 16" is probably the Formula 16, a modern boat with spinnaker. Many types of F16 are designed to be sailed one up (without jib) or two up (with jib), which is great, but the spinnaker takes a long while to set up each use; you normally have to attach the pole at the crossbeam and the bridle, attach the stays, run the halyard and sheets, poke the retrieval line down the chute, etc. You can of course sail F16s and F18s without the spinnaker but they tend to have very high aspect mainsails that don't perform all that well downwind without the spinnaker.

The 16 Square is an older boat, with just a main and designed for singlehanding. As MM said, it has a decksweeper sail that takes up space but I've seen typical middled-aged couples sail them OK. It's quite popular in Qld and some mates have (or do) owned them and like them. It's dramatically simpler to rig than the F16 type. I've never heard that it's particularly hard to right.

Righting cats over 14ft can sometimes be a problem.I've had to rescue singlehanded F16 sailors who couldn't right their boats on at least two occasions, perhaps three. One of them was the former national champ, who is a light guy, but the other one (or two) were 80kg+. I've seen him use a righting bag which worked perfectly one time, but not at all the next time.