First cat advice

[JP.]

Hi all,

I am hoping to get some advice on a first cat to buy. I have been looking online mostly at Caper Cats, Maricats, and Calypsos. I haven’t got a heap of sailing experience, and my only cat experience is with non-turbo Hobie 14s - so I thought a Calypso 16 and definitely a H16 would be too much to handle.

I have no intention of racing, it would mostly be used for lake sailing at Lake Cootharaba or Wivenhoe dam in Queensland.

I think I'm most attracted to a Caper Cat but had a couple of questions I couldn't find online. How do they compare to the Maricat and Calypso 16?
How much weight / how many people can you get on a Caper Cat? From what I’ve read it seems to be possible to load them up more than a Maricat? It would be good to be able to go out with a couple of mates.
How do they compare in terms of ease to sail single-handed?
Is it easy to get the mast up and rig by yourself?

Thanks in advance,
Jim

[Prince Planet]

I'm surprised that nobody has answered this yet?
If you wanna put more guys / bods on a 14 - then it's the Caper Cat - but it WILL suffer badly once overloaded, be sluggish to respond and will eventually get on your nerves.

It's a camping cat - and excels at that - but it's bigger and heavier to lift, launch and to right after a capsize.

Do you wanna deal with all that? if not, it's a Windrush 14, Maricat 4.30m, or Hobie 14 for you. If you can find a good Calypso 14, they're OK too...

If you want the easiest and most forgiving to sail when the wind gets over 18 to 20 knots it's the Windrush. Boat for boat - given equal vintage (and if you are lucky enough to find a foam sandwich Windrush or Maricat) the Windrush 14 Super Sloop is considered to be the fastest and easiest to trapeze from.

But, the top sailors in each class can give each other a run for their money. 1 muffed tack - for example can make a BIG difference when racing any class - particularly catamarans.

I can rig my Windy single-handed, but like any boat - you need to know the correct technique.
It'll probably come down to what you can get for a reasonable price. Just be aware that buying a cheap-as-chips 'clunker' - in any of the popular classes - will be false economy.
Because it'll feel slow - probably have few leaks, need a new trampoline, standing and/or running rigging - and it will 99% be a 'dog' to sail and will need thousands of $$$s to upgrade - if you want an enjoyable / safe / exciting sailing experience.

You can get lucky of course and find something good for under $3K - but generally good boats will cost between $4K - $6K on trailer... sometimes more depending on age.
PP