My Modular, Configurable, Trailerable, Containerable Cat Design pics are up!!!

[Squidly-Diddly]

check Boat Design Gallery.

I'm using Solidworks to sketch out the general idea, as I'm not qualified to fine tune the hulls under the water line.


Here is an older post of mine on this idea.

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Here is my idea for modular big trailable sailing cat.
"The Cat in the Box would be a 40' cat with 40' x 4' hulls connected by poles decked with either a tramp or some sort of solid removeable decking.

I'm thinking of a aft wishbone mast cutter rig with a third windsurfer type sail aft. I'd use spare sails to construct a 3 sided tent on deck.

In either boat I'd consider using the trailer frame as a aft wish bone mast. I'd even have provision for detaching the wheels and tires and mounting them on the flat on the deck as fenders so nothing would need to be left on shore.

I think it would be possible to carry the tow vehicle itself on the deck of a Cat in the Box, including ramps for on-off loading. The 'killer app' would be to tow the boat to the beach, launch the boat, expand the scissors (poles) to separtate the hulls, use the trailer as the mast, drive the tow vehicle up ramp (or pull up with winch) and sail away. Reverse at next land fall."



I'd also want it to be Containable with standard 40' x 8' box....while still on the trailer. No "standard boat yard operations" needed to launch or pack for shipping.

I'd want a generic simple way of connecting the hulls to the beams, so more hulls could be added, or even use 8' wide hulls. I figure once you are into towing one 40' trailer, another trip isn't a big deal.

I'm aiming at a 'system' that could go from a fast, bare bones cat with only accommodations in the two narrow hulls, to a "Fat Cat" with 8' wide hulls, to a 40' x 30(?)' flat platform onto which a 40' x 30' x 10' tent could be erected for massive temporary living space.

My target market would be everything from:

Weekenders wanting a big fast cat they can tow with normal big pickup and use without berthing fees,

to resort/special event operators who would like a modular shippable system with additional dedicated Head and Shower OR Kitchen and Dining hulls,

to work/business boats.

One BIG draw back would be no obvious built in pilot house or helm, as the deck would start off being flat across the beams, so this might not be good for cold weather.
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Any thoughts?

[Fanie]

Any thoughts?

A 40 footer or 12m200 is not going to be easy to trailer. From a practical point of view, unless you live close to your launch, it's going to be a bastard. Since I'm also doing a trailable cat I've been checking on some issues and practicalities. In normal city trafic it's going to be difficule to make some corners with such a long boat.

[Scrumble]

Originally Posted by Squidly-Diddly

check Boat Design Gallery.

Any thoughts?

Its been done here

http://www.cat2fold.com/index.php?page=pictures

Regards,

[Squidly-Diddly]

because I hear 40' is about the smallest reasonable size for off-shore.

Here in America every other male accountant in the suburbs has a super-duty F-350 4x4. We also got lots of 39'(legal limit) RVs(housecars) often towing 26'+ boats. We also got lots of people towing big boats(although 40' is rare) all over.

As long as it can be trailed and launched without any special boatyard sling-cranes I'll be happy. To get it into a 8' high container the wheels might have to be removed and the frame slid in on dowels, but actually containerizing and shipping should be rare, or just get a 9' or 10' box.

What is the difference between Americans and the rest of the world? Americans think 100yrs is long time, and the rest of the world thinks 100 miles is a long distance.

We have a 3 day weekend and there will be hundreds of people towing their huge boats with their huge pickup trucks from SF to Lake Tahoe(200+miles and 6000ft), and then back again.



Scrumble, I've seen the Cat2Fold and that would deploy a lot faster than mine, but I'm going for a more extensible concept, with the primary feature being the OPTION of a flat "build-able" surface that wouldn't require much extra thinking or adjustment for land-lubbers.

I'm also wanting to be able to go from a fairly light version with maybe total of 3 beams of fiber-glass or aluminum supporting mostly trampolines, all the way up to a full deck of 9 or 10 beams of steel for a surface that can take unlimited abuse(with cheaply replaceable decking of appropriate thickness). On such solid surface could be mounted any sort of land based dwellings, but probably a 'structural tent'.

I'd start out with 3 light beams, but want to be able purchase extra aluminum or steel beams of a standard in-stock size and just drill some holes.

Yipster has a photo in his gallery of a 'stack of sticks' house style framing built on a platform of multiple pontoons which I think he posted as a joke, but that is exactly what I'm after, sort of.

Another issue I'm wrestling with is how to deploy my design once the twin hulls are off the trailer and in the water. I'm thinking of an auxiliary, TEMPORARY set of expanding braces like Cat2Fold, just until the first two, or even one, beam is bolted into place. I can't think of any neat way to use the beams as sliders that would hold the hulls upright but not bind.

Overall, I'm going for more of a motor-sailor, with emphasis on the motor.

Not all configurations will be meant to do all things, one with the deck covered with 8' standing headroom tent wouldn't be an off-shore boat.

I'm not trying to optimize the design for a single boat, but create a standardized system like Tinker-Toys. As long as the deck-bolt/beam hole pattern's dimensions are the same, different builders could build their own hulls of various materials and designs, and everything above deck could also be different.

I think one of the big 'scares' in buying any boat whether for personal use or as a resort operator is they are all 'different animals'. Not only is the condition/operation of each one a mystery, but they can't realistically be added to or subtracted from, and their components have little value unless the entire boat is working correctly.

More drawings soon.