gbkersey
Member
Racing beachcats is the best training. Just sailing around on one is better than nothing...
Can a C880 safely cross Nantucket Sound?
- Thread starter Canoer
- Start date
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- #26
Easy to choose, whichever one I can find used.
Sailabout
Super Anarchist
Do US insurers look at the CE ratings to determine where you are insured and where you might not be?
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- #28
I researched the Nacra cats last night. I hadn't known them before; I had been stuck in the past, thinking about Hobie 16 only. The Hobie 16 is still awesome, but the Nacras raise the bar a lot. Now, I see why you recommended beach cats - Better sailers and learning platforms than the Weta tri, more skills to master.
If I go with a dinghy, the Weta won't be on the list after all. I will look for a beach cat only. I wish I lived at some Mediterranean coast, a beach cat would rock.
I might also check out a small keelboat like the First 18SE.
Or maybe a Pulse 600.
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Any Nacra will be a great learning platform but the bigger ones are very powerful. I'd very highly recommend a 5.2 or even 5.0. Any Hobie or Prindle will also serve quite well. If you spend more than 2500 on it you will be a kook. I sold my last Nacra, a 5.5, last year for around that price. 5.2 s are just about perfect. You can singlehand, bring a friend, some gear in a bag etc. It handles like a very well-tuned sports car. A perfect feedback machine. Commit yourself to learning in that boat, get rides on other people's boats and if you put in the hours you will be a competent sailor and might even be able to make a semi-rational decision about which boat to buy next. Maybe...
MultiThom
Super Anarchist
Good luck with that. Best you can hope for is an informed emotional decision.
While buying a beachcat isn't a bad idea assuming it gets used to learn on...I was thinking more of crewing on a race boat (keelboat beercan series is likely the best bet since keelboats need lots of peeps to race effectively). But if you want to move up to a C880 eventually, nothing wrong with an old F24 to learn on...they were designed for newby's as were the trailertri's.
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I think I cannot go wrong with a used beachcat. I can sell it the same price if it turns out to be a poor decision for me. No other sailboats can compete with their practicality.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, the majority of my meaningful experience is at lakes. Around Cape Cod and such seas, I'll be sailing the coastal ocean locations, which I don't know much about. Would it be a good idea to find myself in water at every 5 mins there? I tend to feel safer in something like a 600 Pulse or a First 18SE in those waters, but what do I know? Both are trailer friendly, easy to rig, and good for learning. I would love to hear some opinions on this - even though I am already sold for a Nacra.
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Myself and many others sailed beachcats to and fro in the area around the Channel Islands in California for decades. Look at the most recent Worrel 1000 for more evidence. Beachcats can sail anywhere! Yes, you'd probably be safer on an ocean liner but you won't be learning to sail at the buffet.
MultiThom
Super Anarchist
Things you will learn on a beachcat that you won't use on a C880--hiking, righting the boat, launching and retrieving a spinnaker from a snuffer... Things you won't learn on a beachcat that you will need to learn to sail a C880...parking with an engine, how to use a winch, how to unfold a trimaran; launch and retrieve spinnaker from a bag or furl/unfurl a screacher...
Actual sailing can be learned on pretty much anything. I wonder if any VR programs exist for sailing...that'd be cool.
Sailabout
Super Anarchist
Beach cat will teach you those instincts you need on a multi like going down in a puff with a spin, sailing in apparent wind etc.
If MultiThom's cyberpunk dream of a VR sailing system comes to fruition then my only demand is that it includes a pair of electrodes to be attached to your private bits and will administer a strong shock whenever you make a driving error. In real life you often flip in the worst possible place so it seems like a fair tradeoff to me.
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- #36
I don't think either the C880 or sailing to Nantucket will be in my to do list for possibly many years to come after all. This thread has changed my mind.
So, the beachcats are on the top of my list. I still consider a Weta. Something like a 600 Pulse is seducing me as well; I can't help it. I will stop my contemplating at this point. I'll move there and eventually make up my mind.
Thanks everyone.
So, the beachcats are on the top of my list. I still consider a Weta. Something like a 600 Pulse is seducing me as well; I can't help it. I will stop my contemplating at this point. I'll move there and eventually make up my mind.
Thanks everyone.
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Wess
Super Anarchist
Didn’t want to say anything but when you asked that original question and were thinking of buying a big tri all I could think was OMG no. Munt steered you right. Get the beach cat and learn to sail it well. Any cheap used beach cat will do. Just go sail the crap out of it and make tons of mistake. Don’t bother with crewing on a keelboat but if you can get a crewing ride on a Corsair by all means snag it. Oh and good luck.
Loose Cannon
Super Anarchist
My F242 is for sale in NJ. I trailer and set it up myself and have had a blast. https://newjersey.craigslist.org/boa/d/mount-arlington-corsair-242-trimaran/7518212447.html
MultiThom
Super Anarchist
That is a well cared for F242.
