Thinking about buying a Sun Cat

[builder6831]

I am thinking about buying a Sun Cat and would like to ask how well the boat sails and what modifications and problems you may have had with the boat.

The bow spirit on Nemo's boat is a nice addition to the boat, but does it help with performance?

[Billy]

I'm pretty sure that is the only reason he added it....

[capt_nemo]

builder6831,

Answered your questions regarding Sun Cat Bowsprit, and impact on performance in a detailed e-mail.

By the way, I still remember our "Demo" sail aboard my Sun Cat "Frisky"!

capt_nemo

[cavie]

Don is a frustated sloop jocky. If you looking for performace, a Suncat my not be right for you. Suncats are designed for laid back, easy to sail, don't spill the beer kind of sailing. I did not make up the beer thing. I was told that by both the Hutchins brothers. I tried to get them to install a Horizon cat rig on a Suncat. That ain't gonna happen. I enjoy my Suncats ease of rigging. Ease of sailing. If I wanna race, I fine another Suncat or two. I believe it will be my last boat.

[capt_nemo]

Why I wonder, did Butch (known to us here as "cavie"), that laid back, beer drinking (spilling) Sun Cat sailor, even try to get the Hutchin's Boys to put a Horizon Cat Rig on a Sun Cat?

Apparently, at that time, HE WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE PERFORMANCE of the intentionally underpowered design of the stock gaff headed mainsail rig.

Why else would anyone even try such a modification? Unless, of course, they didn't know how else to spend their hard earned (he still works) money?

Oh well, different strokes for different folks (sailors).

IN A GIVEN WIND CONDITION, UNTIL THE BOAT APPROACHES THEORETICAL HULL SPEED, BEND ON MORE SAIL! (Without adversely affecting Rig Balance.)

capt_nemo

[cavie]

 NAH, Just trying to go faster with only one string to pull. Too hard to drink beer with more than one.

[Tom Ray]

I am thinking about buying a Sun Cat and would like to ask how well the boat sails and what modifications and problems you may have had with the boat.

The bow spirit on Nemo's boat is a nice addition to the boat, but does it help with performance?

That's a good question and performance questions like that one are the reason that Sun Cats are an unlimited development racing class with a very broad class rule. The rule is: you must sail a hull that is arguably a Sun Cat hull.

Anything else goes.

The preliminary answer to your question is that a larger mainsail is faster than a jib, based on the results of last year's Sun Cat Nationals. Don has added new sails since those races and last year's race had enough wind that even stock boats were able to perform pretty well.

The date has not yet been set for the 2012 Sun Cat Nationals, but I guess I should get a round tuit soon. One of these years, I'm going to show up to race with a modified Super Sun Cat, probably based on one of the 1970's boats.

[capt_nemo]

I would like to correct and clarify the post immediately above regarding the erroneous preliminary conclusion that, based on the results of last year's Sun Cat Nationals, a larger mainsail is faster than adding a jib.

My Sun Cat "Frisky" WON THE FIRST RACE at last year's Sun Cat Nationals with only her STOCK MAINSAIL at full hoist. At no time during that race was a headsail of any kind flown from the headstay. Scott Widmier in "Suitsus" came in second with a reef tied in his SUPERSIZED MAINSAIL. One could say that the effective sail area presented to the wind was approximately the same.

Scott, being the excellent racing sailor that he is, shook out his reef and went on to take first place in the remaining races to earn the well-deserved title of overall Champion at the 2011 Sun Cat Nationals.

Although "Frisky" was sailed with stock mainsail most of the time, during one of the races I threw up the 38 sq ft Nylon Drifter on a reaching leg just to see what would happen against other Sun Cats in the same wind conditions. It did make a little difference in that I gained slightly on others ahead of me. However, as soon as we rounded the last mark for the windward leg to the Finish Line the Drifter came down.

I have since made other headsails and am anxious to try them out against the competition.

capt_nemo

[Tom Ray]

I think my conclusion is preliminary but not necessarily erroneous. We have had exactly one leg of one race to compare so far, so any conclusion is preliminary.

Beginning of the reaching leg and here comes the jib. That's Butch on one side and Tyler in the Sunday Cat on the other.



End of that leg, and there's the same group of boats. These were taken from my boat, which has the stock rudder and a rather tired sail and is generally sailed with the long pin in place. We were still ahead because I brought in a ringer to drive.



During that same leg, Scott left us so far behind that I didn't even take a second picture of him. It looked to me like the big sail did better than the jib.

That's one leg of one race, so it tells us something, but very little. It could be that if we ran a series we would get a different result.

I don't think we'll ever really know about that orange drifter because both of Don's new sails seem like better ideas to me. I expect that we'll be seeing one or both of them at this year's races.

I'm starting to think a giant wing sail and amas with lifting foils would look good on one of those old boats.