Restoring 1967 B-LION catamaran

Discussion in 'Multihulls' started by onekiwi, Feb 1, 2015.

  1. onekiwi
    Joined: Feb 2015
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    Location: california

    onekiwi Junior Member

    Hi all brand new member here.I recently bought a 1967 B-LION cat to restore,it is in pretty good condition for a 40 yo boat.I figured with all the knowledge and experience here some may know something about these cats, how they sail,pros and cons etc.
    Thanks in advance
     
  2. rcnesneg
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    rcnesneg Senior Member

    I have never heard of it until just now. A quick google search reveals this:http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=5766

    It looks a lot like a Tornado, a much more common catamaran that is mostly the same. Tornadoes are crazy fast! Looks like you found a good boat! I would also check with the guys over at http://www.thebeachcats.com/ That seems to be the best database of cat stuff.

    Pros: Crazy powerful and fast(for it's time)
    Cons: Can't trailer it because it's too wide, hard to find parts.
     
  3. onekiwi
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    onekiwi Junior Member

    Thanks for the reply, I am a member at beachcats, we have a few photos and specs but nobody owning or sailing one.There is a member (BMcF) on this forum that used to own but I do not know how PM him.They fold in half for trailering!
     
  4. Doug Lord
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    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    --------------------------
    Look in the members list or just click on his name in any post he's made. I think you have to make 5 posts before you can PM anyone...
     
  5. onekiwi
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    onekiwi Junior Member

    Thanks Doug , I guess I need to reply to my own thread 5 times!
     
  6. Doug Lord
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    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    Well, you only need two more. Just saw the info RC posted about the boat-do you have any pictures of the boat you bought? Sure does resemble a Tornado...
     
  7. onekiwi
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    onekiwi Junior Member

    b-lion

    will see if this photo uploads
     

    Attached Files:

  8. onekiwi
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    onekiwi Junior Member

    b-lion

    and this
     

    Attached Files:

  9. Doug Lord
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    Location: Cocoa, Florida

    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    Looks good!
     
  10. onekiwi
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    onekiwi Junior Member

    Quite looking forward to sailing it,sail a 5.8 nacra at the moment so will be goid to see how far things have come!
     
  11. BMcF
    Joined: Mar 2007
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    BMcF Senior Member

    That sure brings back some fond memories. I don't recall exactly..but maybe 1983 or so, our university sailing club/team received a beautifully built, but almost never sailed B-Lion, and the special trailer you need to haul one of those around folded up.

    I was the only "multihull" sailor in the group at the time, with my Cougar MKIII, so I took over custody of the B-Lion naturally. ;-) They are a real handful....very fast, of course, but with the extreme beam, one of the most difficult to tack that I ever encountered. Unfortunately, that B-Lion was destroyed beyond reasonable repair when a group of folks (4 or 5..don't recal) took it out on a windy day and the cross-structrures failed... Lightly built...can't overload them.
     
  12. onekiwi
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    onekiwi Junior Member

    BMcF,thanks for the reply,I felt a little like a stalker after reading a post of yours mentioning the B-lion and then trying to get your attention !
    We bought it to do some ocean races off the coast in California this summer,boat was in pretty good shape considering it is 40 years old,there looks to be a few upgrades done to it including the third crossbar at the bows and reinforcing done around the shroud mounts.I would have thought the cross structures were pretty strong ,I guess a 10' beam puts a lot of stress on the boat,we may upgrade the bolts on the hinge.Yes I could see how it would be hard to tack ...the jib looked pretty small.Now I HAVE to go google Cougar MK111
     
  13. BMcF
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    BMcF Senior Member

  14. onekiwi
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    onekiwi Junior Member

    Looks like comfy cat to sail
     

  15. onekiwi
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    onekiwi Junior Member

    I have a question for you BMcF, any chance you remember how the traveler worked on the B-lion? Started assembling the boat today.
    Cheers
     
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