Category: Do-It-Yourself

A lot of you have done a lot of catamaran sailing this season with the normal wear and tear on your boats. Sometimes the wear (or tear) is a little beyond the "normal" category. When that happens, don't forget your fellow catamaran sailors who might have the same situation in the future.

As you do your repair, or fix your problem, please take a moment during this stressful time to take pictures and make a few notes about how the problem happened, any warning signs, and how you fixed it.

Nothing fancy is needed, a phone camera, disposable camera, or professional SLR will all result in pictures to tell the story. As soon as you have the pictures, upload them to an album in the Beachcats Technical section of the photo gallery to help the next sailor with the same problem. You can easily come back later and add more detailed information to the pictures.

If you are currently struggling with a problem on your boat, check out the Beachcats Technical and you might find a solution.

Repairing a dent in a mast sail track.

I have had two masts that had a dent near the sail track, and was able to repair them with this method. Here's a photo of the Prindle 19 mast that I just received. As you can see, the area is pinched enough to cause problems when raising the main.

I use thin hardened metal as spacers to spread out the pressure that is applied with a tapered device. In other words, I drive a screwdriver in between a couple putty knives. To keep the straight side from getting damaged, be sure to use a thicker piece of metal as a backer on that side. I started out with two putty knives and advanced to a heavier piece of stainless steel when the track was opened up a little. As you can see in the mast dent repair photos, it does a great job of opening the track back up.

When you have a straight opening in the groove, you might touch up the area with a fine metal file.

Good luck,

Jack Hoying
Fort Loramie, Ohio

Amateur sail building..

Scene: The sails on your catamaran looks (and pulls) like they have been trough both WWI and II. However you are seriously short on money, as the "admirals" priorities have your boat a long way down on the list (mortgages on the house, food, electricity and even gas are higher on the list, go figure..). So, what do you do? You gather all the creativity and initiative you normally pump into your sailing sessions, make a good deal on some sailcloth, keep on chanting "Navigare necesse est!" and build your own sails.

When we bought our current Tornado in 2001, a set of sails from year 2000 came with the boat. The Tornado class changed their sailplan after the 2000 Sidney Olympics, so these sails were a first generation cut. We used these sails both for training and competition until 2004, when we bought a well used asymmetric spinnaker from the Swedish Olympic Tornado team. Strangely enough, there was a huge difference in the power and speed this asymmetric developed compared with our 2000 asymmetric (I'm being ironic).

After this discovery, we began studying our main and jib with a critical eye. Compared to other T's, we were lacking both power and windward ability. A common problem with sails where the draft has moved aft. When hit by a gust, the boat wanted to heel instead of squirting forward, no matter how much we "massaged" the downhaul during gusts.Wanting to stay competitive with the fleet on the beat, it was time for some new sails. Besides, the old sails were literally falling apart. The luff tape on the main was so worn that hoisting and unhooking the main was a chore at every outing.

The reintroduction of the Hobie 17.

I have sailed the Hobie 17 for 16 years and this is great news for the best solo catamaran that I have ever sailed. There is an opportunity for the makers and owners to make some non-performance modifications to make a great boat even better . Lets begin with things on the boat that have failed on me and the possible remedies.

Cross Beam inner gunnel securing bolt bearing plate .
Fault - It's small size and relative fore and aft alignment of the bolt hole and pop rivet securing holes causes the cross beam to crack around its underside at this point. Remedy - Make this plate " U " shaped , wider and longer to separate this hole alignment and give the bolt more support .

I put this little beastie together when my first Hobie 17 tore itself apart . After 12 years sailing Hobie 17 catamarans and being quite partial to the comfort and mechanical advantage of trapezing from a wing, returning to a Hobie 14 while my 17 insurers decided what to do with me (and I had sailed Hobie 14's from 1972 to 1987) was going to be quite a letdown .

Not so, as this is only recreational sailing (there isn't any 14 competition in Western Australia any more), I could put wings on a Hobie 14 catamaran and go like a striped ape! That is indeed how she performed, with a VMG to windward far better than the local Hobie 16 catamarans.