I have come accross an Alfa Cat catamaran in fairly good shape. Of course needs a new trampoline and some fiberglass work. Sails are in good shape, May need some parts here and there. I am looking for any tech advice or anyone who is familiar with this type of vessel or anyone who could point me in the right direction. I have tried to search on the internet but have'nt had too much luck. Thanks in advance. Roy
1972-9, more or less. Tom Roland design, the company was BEachCats or Coast cats or something like that until 1974, then was later to become Tom Roland Racing Catamarans, then Nacra, and now Performance Catamarans.
Rumour has it the molds burned in an accident and the bows were unsalvagable, then the lot was redesigned to the Nacra 5.2 spec with an eye towards trailerability over extreme performance.
Alpha's are much more open-ocean oriented in design than later Nacra designs, but they also have absolutely no built in safety... and are old...
The biggest thing you'll need to deal with is the beam, 10' does not trailer flat, which was the downfall of sales of this design. Either disassemble every time or tilt-trailer, both of which have their hazards.
#1 mod is to change the mast-base and ball to the newer Nacra design with a capture-pin for safety in rigging.
For parts and interchange, most hardware, rudders and daggers from a Nacra 5.2 will fit. However, those are pretty difficult to get info on as well.
Sails and tramps need to be either redesigned or copied from what you have. The is one at Berekeley Yacht club called HelleCat that has retrofitted Hobie 18 rigs.
Roller furling the Jib as was spec is a must for easy depowering, Mine has a reefable main... 285 sq ft of sail area is a bunch in a 400lb-ish boat, but then you get the wide beam to help.
I have a large file of esoteric info, plus an email address to one of the Tom Roland partners who still keeps in touch with one of the old builders.
Love to see pics if you've got 'em!
Mike corseted@hotmail.com
-- Yep, I sail for pay, not beachcats though... Charter, see the Url --
