[quote=benedict]Not many. Not by Hobie standards, anyway. If it's any indicator, Hobie Alter owned a P-Cat before he got into boat design. From the stories I've read, a number of the design decisions that went into the Hobie 14 were a direct result of his son's experience on the P-Cat.
They went into production some time around 1959 and continued on through the 80's. At some point in there the second rev of the boat came out, the P2-18. This had a much higher aspect ratio rig, almost identical to the Tornado. I don't know when that change happened. I'm pretty sure mine dates back to the late 60's, and was originally purchased by a guy who bought a bunch of them for use at Waikiki Beach. Your hull number pre-dates mine, so chances are it's even older. (Though the gel coat on deck looks to be in better condition than mine! Benefits of life in a forest as opposed to life out in the sun.)
The P-Cat went out of production before digital cameras hit the market, so there are almost no pictures of these things online. Still, you can find them in the occasional postcard and in a film here and there. "The Endless Summer" has a segment showing a bunch of P-Cats sailing around Waikiki, but they're all double-digit sail numbers. Earlier than mine, by a good bit.
Have fun with the excavation!
Tom[/quote]
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