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Author Topic:   Did BW make a sail cat?

captbone posted 05-03-2003 09:10 PM ET (US)
There is a SuperCat 16 ft, looks like a hobie cat but the owner says it is a Boston Whaler and it has the stickers. Did BW make a sailing cat and where can I find out more details. It is on Ebay motors. Thanks
Dick posted 05-03-2003 09:42 PM ET (US)
captbone
Search around the forum, there is a discussion about it somewhere.
If my memory is working tonight BW didn't make the boat it was built by a company in California that they owned.
Dick
spotsnspecks posted 05-04-2003 12:32 AM ET (US)
Yup they did. News to me too. Another reason to have the CD Rom cuz it's there, (Thanks Tom and Co.).... I'm sure the item is being watched pretty closely now.
I wonder if someone at Bruswick is burnin the midnight oil to bring a BW offshore power boat to market. How boat a name for the very first BW power cat?
spotsnspecks posted 05-04-2003 12:35 AM ET (US)
Didn't realize this very topic was being covered in another thread, sorry.
doobee posted 05-04-2003 06:41 AM ET (US)
At the time it was billed as the fastest production sailboat ever built. Something about the hull design causes an annoying little trickle of water to fly up over the crew when the boat gets up to speed. The last I knew(early ninties), the boats were still being built in Minnesota, the multihull capital of the universe.
jimh posted 05-04-2003 08:19 AM ET (US)
Last summer I had a chance to see Don M's big Whaler Super Cat. It is quite a piece of machinery. Sailing one of these is not for the novice or beginner. It looks like a very powerful and fast boat.
dfmcintyre posted 05-04-2003 08:37 PM ET (US)
Whaler did, indeed make (read buy the rights) what was known as the SuperCat. The concept boat was custom built by two Pratt and Whitney aircraft engineers (actually P&W manfactures aircraft engines, not total aircraft...I digress) that had, ahem..... had virtualy unlimited access to a mainframe (keep in mind folks, that this was the late 70's, very early 80's, and the IBM was still working on getting the first PC ready to hit the market), and with some time on their hands, wrote a program to create a fast hull. These guys were no dummys, and were top rated Hobie Cat sailors in the southeast.
Once the hull configuration was done, they then applied their research to sails. Then they built one. In the open class, the 20' Supercat was way out in the lead.
About this time, two things happened:
BW noticed all these sales of Hobie 14's, 16' and 18's.
and
Engineers rarely have the sales and company gene also. They were struggling with a vastly superior product, and needed help.
BW bought the rights and production tooling, and manufactured first the 20 then a year later, the 19 and 17' cat, right in Riveria (sp?) Beach, Florida, where it was started.
BW had a hard enough time marketing _powerboats_ let alone a mono hull sailboat, and now the dealers had to contend with those crazy cat sailors too. For a brief period, the sailboats were tossed to the Erickson Divison of whatever the parent holding company was. Erickson staff knew even _less_ then the BW division and both the monohull (which, btw is an excellent hull, and foamfilled. If someone wanted to teach their kids sailing, this is one of the best boats to start them with)and cat series.
The cat tooling was sold to a company in MN, and I can still get parts from them. They also make two or three larger boats (27, 30?), complete with a forward tramp and spinniker. Can get them in carbon fiber, for those of you with more money then brains.
Gail and I used to do some light racing of a Hobie 18, in the early 80's. Saw the brochure for the 20' Supercat at our local Whaler dealer. On vacation, we stopped at the factory and Doug Roberts, one of the P&W engineers gave us a tour. It was an expensive boat, around 10-11 grand around 1982-83.
I found ours on the old factory supported BW forum. Drove over past Rochester NY and brought it back. Replaced the tramp, and jib, and have done some repair to some dings and cracks in the hull. We're planning on re gelcoating it this next winter.
Is it a fast boat? Oh yea. I've had it at mid 20 knots. Supposed to hit over 30. And on a cat that's _flying_.
Is it a "wet" boat? If anyone wants to come to Port Huron on a strong west wind day, I'll show ya. But bring your mask and snorkel.....
If anyone was interested in getting into beach cat's, that 17' listed on Ebay is about the
best beach cat ever produced, in my opinion.
Why?
1 - Roller furling jib (so it can stay on the boat for the season, one less thing to screw with at the end of the day).
2 - Mesh tramp (sand drops through it and water does not pool, always a problem with the Hobie line).
3 - An open footed main (with an open main, at the end of the day you just unclip the main from the block/tackle and drop the main. The 16' Hobie has a _closed_ footed main, meaning the sail is attached to the length of the boom. To take the main down, means one has to take the boom off the mast; and to take the boom off, you've got to take off the block & tackle. Hassles.
4- The 17' Supercat does not even _have_ a boom. Slick.... the main attaches direct to the block & tackle.
And thats the cat lesson for tonight.....
Best - Don
dreid posted 05-04-2003 08:56 PM ET (US)
We definitely need some pictures of this beast in Cetacea, Don. How about it?
Hobie1981 posted 05-04-2003 09:50 PM ET (US)
CB: The SuperCat(s) are/were serious frigging boats. Having owned Hobie 14, 16 and 18 boats I was really impressed with the Supercat(s). Cat sailors seem to migrate together when meeting on the waterways.
Almost impossible to pitch pole, unlike the Hobie 16.
Solid construction, good OEM hardware (Harken blocks if my memory is correct).
Not for the faint of heart.
Hobie
dfmcintyre posted 05-05-2003 03:44 PM ET (US)
Right at the moment, I don't have any really decent photos of my boat. It will be a project for the summer.....whenever it arrives in Michigan.
As I mentioned earlier, Gail and I used to do some light racing with a Hobie 18. That was a wet boat, but the 20 is wetter. The mesh tramp works against you in chop, with the dolphin striker contacting the top of the chop, and sending it _through_ the tramp webbing. I've gone to wearing swimming goggles in strong wind conditions.
While two people can run it, she really performs best with three. One on the main and rudder, one on the jib and the third just along for the ride. It has a _12_ foot beam, and when the upwind hull is out of the water by 4-5 feet, your really up there. I've forgotten what the ratio is on the mainsheet block and tackle, but it's slow, and you have to be in constant spring mode with flying a hull, or she'll go over. Dumping it is no problem, big enough to be gentle (don't mention that to my wife though), while getting it back upright can be tricky, even with sidestay extenders. You have to climb up 12' to release them.
Don

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Author	Topic: Did BW make a sail cat?
captbone	posted 05-03-2003 09:10 PM ET (US) There is a SuperCat 16 ft, looks like a hobie cat but the owner says it is a Boston Whaler and it has the stickers. Did BW make a sailing cat and where can I find out more details. It is on Ebay motors. Thanks
Dick	posted 05-03-2003 09:42 PM ET (US) captbone Search around the forum, there is a discussion about it somewhere. If my memory is working tonight BW didn't make the boat it was built by a company in California that they owned. Dick
spotsnspecks	posted 05-04-2003 12:32 AM ET (US) Yup they did. News to me too. Another reason to have the CD Rom cuz it's there, (Thanks Tom and Co.).... I'm sure the item is being watched pretty closely now. I wonder if someone at Bruswick is burnin the midnight oil to bring a BW offshore power boat to market. How boat a name for the very first BW power cat?
spotsnspecks	posted 05-04-2003 12:35 AM ET (US) Didn't realize this very topic was being covered in another thread, sorry.
doobee	posted 05-04-2003 06:41 AM ET (US) At the time it was billed as the fastest production sailboat ever built. Something about the hull design causes an annoying little trickle of water to fly up over the crew when the boat gets up to speed. The last I knew(early ninties), the boats were still being built in Minnesota, the multihull capital of the universe.
jimh	posted 05-04-2003 08:19 AM ET (US) Last summer I had a chance to see Don M's big Whaler Super Cat. It is quite a piece of machinery. Sailing one of these is not for the novice or beginner. It looks like a very powerful and fast boat.
dfmcintyre	posted 05-04-2003 08:37 PM ET (US) Whaler did, indeed make (read buy the rights) what was known as the SuperCat. The concept boat was custom built by two Pratt and Whitney aircraft engineers (actually P&W manfactures aircraft engines, not total aircraft...I digress) that had, ahem..... had virtualy unlimited access to a mainframe (keep in mind folks, that this was the late 70's, very early 80's, and the IBM was still working on getting the first PC ready to hit the market), and with some time on their hands, wrote a program to create a fast hull. These guys were no dummys, and were top rated Hobie Cat sailors in the southeast. Once the hull configuration was done, they then applied their research to sails. Then they built one. In the open class, the 20' Supercat was way out in the lead. About this time, two things happened: BW noticed all these sales of Hobie 14's, 16' and 18's. and Engineers rarely have the sales and company gene also. They were struggling with a vastly superior product, and needed help. BW bought the rights and production tooling, and manufactured first the 20 then a year later, the 19 and 17' cat, right in Riveria (sp?) Beach, Florida, where it was started. BW had a hard enough time marketing _powerboats_ let alone a mono hull sailboat, and now the dealers had to contend with those crazy cat sailors too. For a brief period, the sailboats were tossed to the Erickson Divison of whatever the parent holding company was. Erickson staff knew even _less_ then the BW division and both the monohull (which, btw is an excellent hull, and foamfilled. If someone wanted to teach their kids sailing, this is one of the best boats to start them with)and cat series. The cat tooling was sold to a company in MN, and I can still get parts from them. They also make two or three larger boats (27, 30?), complete with a forward tramp and spinniker. Can get them in carbon fiber, for those of you with more money then brains. Gail and I used to do some light racing of a Hobie 18, in the early 80's. Saw the brochure for the 20' Supercat at our local Whaler dealer. On vacation, we stopped at the factory and Doug Roberts, one of the P&W engineers gave us a tour. It was an expensive boat, around 10-11 grand around 1982-83. I found ours on the old factory supported BW forum. Drove over past Rochester NY and brought it back. Replaced the tramp, and jib, and have done some repair to some dings and cracks in the hull. We're planning on re gelcoating it this next winter. Is it a fast boat? Oh yea. I've had it at mid 20 knots. Supposed to hit over 30. And on a cat that's _flying_. Is it a "wet" boat? If anyone wants to come to Port Huron on a strong west wind day, I'll show ya. But bring your mask and snorkel..... If anyone was interested in getting into beach cat's, that 17' listed on Ebay is about the best beach cat ever produced, in my opinion. Why? 1 - Roller furling jib (so it can stay on the boat for the season, one less thing to screw with at the end of the day). 2 - Mesh tramp (sand drops through it and water does not pool, always a problem with the Hobie line). 3 - An open footed main (with an open main, at the end of the day you just unclip the main from the block/tackle and drop the main. The 16' Hobie has a _closed_ footed main, meaning the sail is attached to the length of the boom. To take the main down, means one has to take the boom off the mast; and to take the boom off, you've got to take off the block & tackle. Hassles. 4- The 17' Supercat does not even _have_ a boom. Slick.... the main attaches direct to the block & tackle. And thats the cat lesson for tonight..... Best - Don
dreid	posted 05-04-2003 08:56 PM ET (US) We definitely need some pictures of this beast in Cetacea, Don. How about it?
Hobie1981	posted 05-04-2003 09:50 PM ET (US) CB: The SuperCat(s) are/were serious frigging boats. Having owned Hobie 14, 16 and 18 boats I was really impressed with the Supercat(s). Cat sailors seem to migrate together when meeting on the waterways. Almost impossible to pitch pole, unlike the Hobie 16. Solid construction, good OEM hardware (Harken blocks if my memory is correct). Not for the faint of heart. Hobie
dfmcintyre	posted 05-05-2003 03:44 PM ET (US) Right at the moment, I don't have any really decent photos of my boat. It will be a project for the summer.....whenever it arrives in Michigan. As I mentioned earlier, Gail and I used to do some light racing with a Hobie 18. That was a wet boat, but the 20 is wetter. The mesh tramp works against you in chop, with the dolphin striker contacting the top of the chop, and sending it _through_ the tramp webbing. I've gone to wearing swimming goggles in strong wind conditions. While two people can run it, she really performs best with three. One on the main and rudder, one on the jib and the third just along for the ride. It has a _12_ foot beam, and when the upwind hull is out of the water by 4-5 feet, your really up there. I've forgotten what the ratio is on the mainsheet block and tackle, but it's slow, and you have to be in constant spring mode with flying a hull, or she'll go over. Dumping it is no problem, big enough to be gentle (don't mention that to my wife though), while getting it back upright can be tricky, even with sidestay extenders. You have to climb up 12' to release them. Don