Southern California small boat market catboats?

[vince]

Learned something today trolling through the classifieds. I'd not heard of a "catboat" but like the concept of a smallish, beamy, gaff-rigged, forward single sail plan to practice sailing with.

Seems most of the info I gather from the internet associate East coast waters with catboats.

Are catboats common in SoCal? specifically San Diego? San Diego and (even better) Mission Bay might be a great, safe place to sail a catboat. Just a thought.

[Rachel]

I spent some time in San Diego, and I don't remember much cat boat presence. They're definitely an East Coast phenomenon (e.g. Cape Cod Catboat).

If you happen to find one out there (or buy one elsewhere and bring it in), I don't see any reason why one would not be fun to sail there though. They are a bit different than a sloop, cutter, etc. what with having just one big sail (which needs a bit of managing, I believe).

If you're thinking "newish," I know a few people who've bought the (trailerable) Com-Pac 17' "Suncat," and are quite taken with it. There are used ones available.



Sails well, has a decent cabin for its size, and has a neat mast system for easy trailering (the boom stays on the mast stub and the mast "breaks" above the gooseneck and folds down and aft).



If you want to get more of a feel for the small catboats, you might try the Catboat forum that's part of the Trailer Sailor board - it's an active forum with some friendly catboaters.

You can find it here:

http://bbs.trailersailor.com/forums/catboat/index.cgi

[bcooke]

You see a lot of catboats in the northeast because they are extremely shallow draft boats. In areas where the coastal waters turn into dry mud flats at low tide this was very important to the fishing industry of a century and a half ago and continues to be a big plus today.

Catboats are great boats that fit their environment well. Simple and (initially) quite stable with their huge cockpit areas, they have a lot of appeal. I really like them.

However...

If shallow draft is not a concern then you can find boats that sail better and are safer. I am not saying catboats don't sail well or are unsafe either.

If you want one because they are cool looking and they 'get' to you I say go for it. They probably aren't the only boat type to consider though. If the water is deep and you can find a nice keelboat you might appreciate the increased stability, the slightly higher pointing ability, and the smoother ride in rough water.

Different boat types are favored in different localities for a reason. A good rule of thumb is to look at the most popular designs around. There are probably good reasons they are popular. And stick to the older, classic, boat types that have been around for a while.

I am biased and this is why I am posting on the Plastic Classic Forum

[rshowarth]

Try this web site.

http://69.6.215.191/

Lots of information available about catboats and has a good For Sale list, although few in California.