Ant Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Just wondering how a Calypso 14 compares to a maricat or windrush? Anyone sail them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berny Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Pretty ordinary boat as far as I can tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted March 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Really? The Yardsticks have it similar to a maricat or windrush as far as I can tell. Anyone know what they're really like or know someone who does? Ant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dood Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 The calypso 14 is actually a good boat for novice and youth sailors and small adults. The boats were built in Brisbane Sandgate. There were two types of calypso 14. 1 was called a turbo, it had a taller mast and trap wires, mostly sailed one up. The other type was standard mast with a jib.They should have on them the longer rudders. The short round ones rudders were for the Hire Calypso. They are very strong boats and do not have any problems with things breaking. The Calypso campared to the maircat and the Windrush are all simular in performance. As all three classes were built around the same years. I would say the Windrush might be the faster of the three. Berny--- Before you make coments like you have above you might like to do some research on a class before making coment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl J Barrett Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 At the risk of offence, (and I will obviously be criticised for what I am about to say), I have to say that I agree with Berny. The Calypso 14 is/was "pretty ordinary" as were/are the maricat and the windrush, and as were the Hobie, the Kula cat, and several other cats that were all conceived and built around the same time and all built, with small variations, as “commercial copies” of the Hobie 14 (the Calypso at least did move away a little from this agenda with it’s appearance, but its performance didn’t). They all took their "inspiration" from the Hobie and didn't innovate or advance any basic improvement over the Hobie, They were all clones of and alternatives to, the Hobie 14, and as such lost a golden opportunity to be considerably “better” in their all round performance if they had instead been based on good design rather than variation copies of the Hobie 14. I think Berny has the right to call them “ordinary” when he has gone out and designed and built a 14’ cat that puts all of the afore mentioned cats to shame as concerns innovation and outright excellence in performance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal gray Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Darryl and Bernie, you guys crack me up!... never missing a chance to slip the boot into the thing that originally got the whole cat scene fired up. Oh... and actually the Calypso 14 with taller rig was the "14A". Hobie had the "Turbo" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl J Barrett Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Not slipping the boot in Mal, just telling it like it is (in my opinion). I don't say that there is anything wrong with any of the cats that came from that era. They were great for what they were originally made for, and that was simply as good commercial, fun, off the beach, suitable for the novice/ family to have an enjoyable day on the water with, "toy". For that criteria they filled their place to perfection, and you are right, they did help lead on to the generation of (fibreglass) cats about today, although, cat racing had been very healthy in Australia long before any of these “plastic cats” as they were called then, came onto the scene. It is when people started to "race" them together with the more performance orientated cats at that time that their limitations became apparent. In their original concept the idea of "formalised" racing around the buoys was not even a consideration, and so none of them had/have anything more than a similar (to each other) and "ordinary" racing performance. I am saying that the Calypso had the opportunity (due to the relatively later time that it was designed) to cross over into a (plastic) cat with a reasonable racing pedigree, but that never evolved. I will repeat that, when compared to the “racing” cats of their time (mosquito, paper tiger, arrow, Qb2’s, all the many other Cunningham designed cats, Stingray, Tornado, and many many more) they were and are “pretty ordinary”. For a fun, family cat, built hardy to take sailing up onto the beach with the rudders still down, minimum maintenance, put it in the shed and forget it until your ready to take it out again cat then they are without peer. Because of their “hardiness” it’s probably why there are still so many of them still active today,. All of that is good, (but still ordinary) People race/raced family cars as well, but when compared to ANY true racing car, they also are “ordinary” within the field of comparisons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal gray Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Calypso did make a higher performance 4.4 with a planing hull and daggerboards.It was a good performer in the right hands, unfortunately, it suffered like most of the other 14footers when the sport hit the skids in the late 80s/early nineties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dood Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 The word (Ordinary) means -- according to the common, Unusal: of the usual kind, Customary: of common rank: Plain, Undistinguished commonplace. plain looking. I think we should get back to the Question Ant asked. That was what they compare like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl J Barrett Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 I think Ant’s question was answered in the first few posts? They compare mostly to the Mari and Windrush (performance and construction wise), although if Ant wanted to race he would probably be better to go with something like the Mari as they seem to have the most active "association" (particularly if he is in NSW). As a personal preference (only personal) out of the three, I have always found the Windrush to be that little more exciting and satisfying when sailing. So one could say that it is "six of one, half a dozen of the other". If it came down to a choice, the condition of the cat and what comes with it for the price should be Ant’s main concerns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted March 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Thanks to all for the feedback. A calypso 14 sounds the ticket for me. I know of someone who has one in storage for a number of years and am trying to find out if they want to sell. I haven't really sailed for about 15 years since I used to stooge around on a maricat 4.3. I did buy a H16 last year but it was just a bit too much of a handful for me at the moment. I just want something simple to stooge around on again, re learn all that has been forgotten and just have some fun. Maybe down the track I'll do some not very serious racing and then if I get right into it I'll get something that's competitive. So I'm looking (Bris-vagas area) for a maricat, windrush and now calypso. Don't really like the H14 with the raised tramp (sorry Mal) you either like 'em or you don't, or p'raps I'm just not a good enough sailor to make the most of them...dunno. Anyway, the main prob for me is availability because these boats are so popular. Thanks again for your info, at least I know they're a good boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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