Are old catamarans designs still a viable option today?

[Sippe]

I want to start this off by explaining that I have in no way any experience with boat building or sailing at all basically.

However my late grandfather was a huge catamaran enthusiast that both built and sailed catamarans in his lifetime. When he died he left behind some old catamaran molds and schematics and I have recently started to take interest in these things.

The stuff he left behind are all based on Hugo myers designs, since he and my grandfather were old friends.

The question I guess I want to ask is IF one were to decide to try and learn how to build a multihull would these old designs still be a viable choice or is it better to just try to start with more modern designs?

[Richard Woods]

Nearly 30 years ago I was sailing in Norway and saw a Myers catamaran called Sunbird. Was that your grandfathers??

The Tornado was designed in 1965 and is still considered the boat to beat. However its rig has been updated and I would suggest that if you keep the Myers hulls you also change the rig.

In part because, as always, design is based on available technology. Big roached fully battened sails really only became feasible once the sail cloth and sail hardware (slides, battens etc) could cope with the big leech loads. So older designs were forced to use triangular sails and often were masthead rigs to keep sail area high on a short mast.

Myers cats tended to be lightweight and have open decks. Also they were designed for rolling Pacific Ocean swells, not North Sea chop.

So in brief, if you want a fast, deep ocean, seaworthy boat with limited accommodation that you plan to keep light then the Myers designs may still suit. But if you want to sail in Sweden and/or carry lots of gear then a different design philosphy would probably be better.

Hope this helps, and I'm curious about Sunbird

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

[Sippe]

Thanks for the reply Richard, in answer to your question I just recently started digging in this part of my family history and all the old seafaring tales I heard as a young boy are quite muddy by now.

What I do know is that the Sunbird design is what my grandfather brought with him from the states and he finished building one while I was still a young boy. This is after you saw the Sunbird though. However I am not entirely certain that this was the only Sunbird catamaran my grandfather built so it might be possible he had a hand in the boat you saw. I doubt it was him sailing it at that time though.

I will make some inquiries about it since this was slightly before my time. Who knows it's a small world after all.

Was the sunbird you saw a cruising catamaran or a racer? I think my father said that the sunbird design was more of an ocean cruiser rather than a racer like the seabird but I am not entirely sure about this.

Anyway I appreciate your input.