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Reply to: 2001 Escape Playcat (don't make fun of me!)

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[quote=c9reeves]Ok,

First of all, thanks for the positive response.  I didn't know if people would say I bought a "toy boat."

damon,
The boat is already together, so I can't take any pictures, however anyone who has to assemble their playcat is welcome to contact me for some advice / help.  The trampoline is the worst part.  You have to screw in the sides using an aluminum strip that slides down inside the tramp.  If you follow the directions exactly, it's close to impossible to get it together.  On mine, the holes on the tramp didn't line up on both sides, and I had to drill new holes in the aluminum strip as they didn't even correspond with the holes in the top of the boat (on one side only).  After some custom work, it's all in together fine now (minus the two screw holes I need to retap).  Also the mast pin broke, but it doesn't affect the sailing.

Mpalmieri, 
I purchased the boat from a small dealer in Newport / Croydon, NH called "Alden of Sunapee." [url=http://www.aldenofsunapee.com.]http://www.aldenofsunapee.com.[/url]  The guy I bought the boat from, Don, was very helpful, friendly, etc.  I bought this boat on clearance, and he has some others (monohull / kayaks) if anyone else is interested.  He also sells new Wave/Getaways, but I think I got the only clearance Cat.

Yellowhulls, 
I have noticed that tacking is as you say, a beeyotch.  It really doesn't do too well upwind, and I notice I have to tack a lot more than the supposed deadzone requires.  (Not that I mind of course).  I'll try releasing the sail a bit as you suggest.  Overall, mine feels heavier than 200lbs.  My wife and I could barely lift it on to the trailer after assembly, but the front end is significantly heavier than the back.

Overall, I would recommend this boat to another person if they found a good deal on it.  A couple of days ago, someone was selling a used one on ebay with a trailer for around 2000.00 so keep your eyes peeled.  If you can get one already assembled, all the better.

The sailing itself:  I live on a very small lake.  It's only about a mile long.  The good winds can only be found in the middle.  However, even along shore, with very, very light winds, we keep moving a long.  A couple of times we almost got it up on one pontoon (which scared the crap out of my wife by the way).  Once the wind got over 5-10 we started flying.  It was a hoot.  This is my first cat, and it is very easy to set up and sail.  Getting the mast raised sucks, but everything else is easy.  I'm going to try it out on Lake Winnipesaukee tomorrow and I'll report back.  For those of you non-New Hampshire residents (all of you?) it is the biggest lake in the state (takes about 2 hours to drive around it completely) and it has (as the local boat dealers say) "big winds."  I was out on it yesterday in a kayak and saw quite a few H16s buzzing about.  I'll report back next weekend (I'm up there camping the rest of the week).

Very random side note: When typing in the 'quick reply' box, it keeps jumping up to the top of my post before I'm finished reading or typing.

Happy sailing all

P.S.  On my lake, I buzzed past 2 monohull sailors out there and a lot of people gave me the "what the heck is that thing" look as I blew past them.  [/quote]

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