Sun Cat...the perfect boat

[Bob23]

I've never lost at the lottery. My secret? I don't play their game! Are you seriously thinking about the Suncat in NC? Seems like a great deal. I wonder if anyone here is close enough to take a look?
Bob23

[Sunapee Sailing]

Hi Bob23
I need to hold off on anything long distance for the moment.
I need to get a tow vehicle first.
Somehow, I do not believe that my little Toyota Celica is up to the task.

[Neil D]

Sunapee,

I too was interested in that boat in MD and actually paid to have a surveyor take a look. Based upon the survey and asking price at the time, I opted out. To me it was a "project boat" and I didn't want to put in the time. Also no motor included.

Sometime later a Suncat was listed for sale in Charlotte, NC. I went to look at that one as well.  It may still be available. It just needed alot of elbow grease to polish up. Came with a electric motor mount and 6hp motor. The price was fair, but I started to have second thoughts for reasons cited below. If memory serves their asking price was $8,900.

One word of advice is that you will want to get lazy jacks setup if the boat does not already come with them. Will make raising and lowering that big piece of canvas much easier, and if you haven't sailed a gaff rig before, there is definitely a technique

Ultimately I began to put more value on easy garageability over cabin space. The "garage kit" available from Hutchins is a good long term / seasonal solution but I need to get a boat in and out quickly for short day sails at my local lake. My garage height would not allow that to happen, I have not other at-home options, and did not want to pay for monthly storage.  So, having come from a sloop being my previous boat, opted for a Compac Legacy.  I'll be picking it up next weekend. Like my last boat, I believe that it will serve my mostly day-sailing needs well, and will find that it indeed sleeps two---once. :-)

Good luck with your search!

[Sunapee Sailing]

Neil I am not sure if I understand you.
Does the additional "garage kit" add extra time to setting up the mast when launching?

Also, I do have gaff experience but in larger boats where lazy jacks are a definite plus if not a necessity.

[jdklaser]

Gaff rigged cat boats aren't all that hard to sail.  Generally the center of effort tends to be aft causing a bit of weather helm.  Lazy jacks are nice to have.  The boat has a nice line and should handle well in most conditions.  I'm kind of curious how it will handle downwind in a steep chop of 4 to 8 feet.  Hopefully the boat should keep from pearling downwind.  Another factor is the cement that was used as ballast.  Up north the constant freezing and thawing can turn that cement into mud.  If someone puts antifreeze in the bilge, that may be a hint that you could have a problem.  Keep looking.  I am convinced that it is a sweet ride.     

[Ken J]

I am wondering about the garage kit as well - don't you just lift it off the sleeve and lay it over ?

Ken J

[Tom L.]

I am not all that familiar with the garage kit but I seem to remember some sailors that had it and it was considerably more complicated than not. In addition to lifting the mast stub and booms with all the sail off and on to the deck,  the gallows also had to be lowered. All and all the owners of those rigs thought they were good for boats that were going to be moved into longer term storage, not so good for moving the boat out more often. But as I said I am not experienced with that set up. Call Com Pac and talk to Jerry or Mat and get all the info from the horses mouth. They are really very helpful. They are responsible for  good customer service which keeps the Com Pac brand so appealing.

I honestly do not see the need to garage these boats. They are so easy to tarp. When the mast is down it serves as a ridge pole and a simple tarp covers the entire boar stem to stern. In Florida we used the really cheap heavy duty silver tarps with buggee cords to the trailer. Good for two years and then for $35.00 throw it away and get a new one.

The silver tarps keeps the boat from getting too warm protects the gel-coat from the intense sun and of course keeps the water and dirt off the deck. When I talked to tarp people on line they were very knowledgeable concerning boat storage. I thought I wanted a white poly tarp but they convinced me the silver poly was better in this intense sun. N.H. may be a different story.

Tom L.

[Catawampus]

I must respectfully disagree with lazy Jack's on the Sun Cat. I found them to be a nuisance while sailing. Managing the sail at takedown is not difficult without them:
1. Allow the boom to rest on the gallows
2. Cleat the peak halyard to keep the gaff parallel with the lowered boom
3. Pull all of the sail to one side between the gaff and boom (port or starboard, your preference)
4. Find the middle batten and begin rolling the sail, continuing until you reach the boom and gaff
5. Tie the first sail tie to include the sail, boom and gaff near the outer/peak end of the gaff
6. Tie the rest of the sail ties
Not only easy, but without the lazy Jack's there will be fewer wrinkles in the sail.

[Tom L.]

That,s the way to do it as Steve described. No Lazy Jacks required or desired.

Tom L.

[Neil D]

Didn't want to start an uprising... Sorry if I did. Comments about lazy Jacks direct from a long time Suncat sailor that I sailed with in the Potter Yachters who swore by them. So I guess whatever works best for you.  Having witnessed the procedure, at the time it made sense to me. But I do see the downsides from this discussion.

Information on the garage package and similar arrangements can be found by Googling, but one such thread (old) is here :

http://forum.trailersailor.com/post.php?id=971704

As for the need to garage the boat, in my particular case no available backyard space or access and my HOA does not permit driveway storage, leaving my only options to store hidden in my garage or pay monthly to store elsewhere. Some may have similar constraints.

I only have about 7'4" vertical garage opening  clearance so that was a factor.

Don't get me wrong, I see the Suncat as a superb and extremely versatile boat. I also like the Horizon day cat and the Eclipse sloop.

Hutchins makes a great selection of pocket cruisers!