First Timer on a Sunday Cat

[Southold]

I will be picking up my Sunday Cat this weekend.  The dealer is going to take us on a demo sail-weather permitting.  My only prior experience sailing has been on a sunfish.  Any words of wisdom or warning?

thanks

[TedStrat]

I don't have a Sunday Cat ( have an Eclipse) but I can say these Compac's ail great - nothing like the sunfish experience. You will love it. Best of luck. Your handle "Southold".....Long Island?

[Southold]

Southold Long Island it is.  We're on an estuary named Goose Creek.  We like the Sunday Cat because of the ease in which the mast can be raised and lowered.  We have to duck under a bridge on our way to the Peconic Bays.  thanks for the good wishes.

[TedStrat]

I know goose creek - we have our best friends on Pine Neck Dr one creek over. Wow, finally another Long Islander With a compac!  We live in Huntinton and keep my Eclipse in Huntington Harbour. We spend a lot of time in Montauk too and I was planing on a sail up the north shore and around the north fork this summer. The Sunday Cat is perfect for your area with the shallow draft and mastender system to duck the bridges. My email is tstrat@earthlink.net if you have any questions after the sea trial

[Southold]

Your friends wouldn't be the Maroni's of the Northport restaurant?  I used to live in Huntington.  My buddy is on the water at Eaton's Neck.  It beautiful there.  An old friend of mine, Paul Eliea, used to race his sailboat regularly out of Huntington Harbor.

thanks for the offer

[Dogboy]

The Sunday cat is much more stable than a sunfish.  Its easy to launch/rig, doesn't need much for an outboard, and the storage is just right to keep boat toys, lifejackets, etc. on board.  Sailingwise, its REALLY easy to tighten-up the sail too much and stall out.  I came from sloop sailing and the concept of letting out the sail to go closer to the wind because I'd stalled the sail took some retraining.

The boat moves well enough, but she really prefers a steady wind.  Light air can be an exercise in frustration, especially if you are fighting powerboat wakes.

Make sure the rudder is fully down.  It makes a big difference if it is not quite all the way down.

If you plan to use the boat as a swimming platform, know that it is a major pain to use the tiny stainless steel ladder and crawl around the gallows to re-board the boat.

As you add weight to the boat, water will shoot up the jam cleat for the dagger board.

Make sure you put a safety chain on your outboard.  The poly motor mount on mine cracked, and I never trailered with the outboard on the motor mount.

When raising the sail, the halyards are different.  The peak halyard is 2:1, the throat halyard is 1:1.  I pull both, then pull the throat halyard, then pull both until the throat halyard is fully hoisted, then I set the peak halyard where I want it.

Human ballast has a great influence on the sailing.  Keep it pretty flat if you can.

I expect you are going to greatly enjoy the boat.  Its a lot of fun for my family and I.  Fair Winds!

[Craig]

Anything is more stable than a Sunfish!

[TedStrat]

Southold,
they live next door to the Maroni's to the south...small world. We are in Bay Hills - right across from the neck. Great sailing in the entire area

[Bob23]

South:
   Let us know how it goes. I think you'll love your new boat...don't hear too much negative stuff about Compacs!
Bob23 in NJ

[FireDrill]

Southold,

Congratulations on a great choice of sailboats.  You will love it. 

To get the most out of sailing a catboat and make some helpful modifications I'd recommend you download "Catboat Guide and Sailing Manual"...  Google it and get a free download... Its quite informative in many different ways and pretty detailed.  It is a pdf- about 200 pages with good table of contents... I learned about it on this forum and it helped me a lot when I got my SunCat (mine is the full cabin model) but the details apply to the SundayCat and many other catboats.  You'll find a few simple modifications like improving the reefing system, making Lazyjacks, and details on how to set the sail, heaving to,  some accessories to make or buy and much more. 

Enjoy your summer and fair winds ! 

[Jon898]

Try this post: http://cpyoa.geekworkshosting.com/forum/index.php?topic=7604.0

[FireDrill]

Thanks, Jon898...That is the same manual I was referring to and a direct link...(no need for Google search) and has the updates mentioned !  Great book!

[Southold]

Thank you all for the advice and words of encouragement.  We had our first sail and it was not as challenging as we thought it would be.  A lot learn, but we are sure we will have fun along the way.