Restoring 1967 B-LION catamaran

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

  1. BMcF
    Joined: Mar 2007
    Posts: 1,173
    Likes: 182, Points: 63, Legacy Rep: 361
    Location: Maryland

    BMcF Senior Member

    I sure don't recall. It's been 30 years....:(
     
  2. onekiwi
    Joined: Feb 2015
    Posts: 18
    Likes: 0, Points: 1, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: california

    onekiwi Junior Member

    Thanks I thought it may be a longshot, I have trouble remembering what happened yesterday sometimes!Just doing a dry run assembly on the B-lion and in the process of nutting things out.
    cheers
     
  3. normancook
    Joined: Oct 2012
    Posts: 4
    Likes: 0, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: Rhode Island

    normancook New Member

    Norman Cook Composite Engr.

    Good day: I own and have owned 2 B-lions have the original Plans and am friends with the designer let's talk!
     
  4. normancook
    Joined: Oct 2012
    Posts: 4
    Likes: 0, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: Rhode Island

    normancook New Member

    Own a B-Lion
     
  5. Tom.151
    Joined: Jul 2009
    Posts: 195
    Likes: 10, Points: 18, Legacy Rep: 38
    Location: New England, USA

    Tom.151 Best boat so far? Crowther Twiggy (32')

    Plans? Very interested. Are the plans for home building?

    What type of construction... cold-molded?, tortured ply?, strip-planked?

    You mention you know the designer - could the plans be available?

    Would be great to revitalize a design like that.

    Thanks
    TomH
     
  6. onekiwi
    Joined: Feb 2015
    Posts: 18
    Likes: 0, Points: 1, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: california

    onekiwi Junior Member

    Hi Norman sent you an email, I got a LOT of questions
    Carl
    Email bounced back, my email is crazyonbikes@yahoo.com
     

    Attached Files:

  7. normancook
    Joined: Oct 2012
    Posts: 4
    Likes: 0, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: Rhode Island

    normancook New Member

    Tom: the answer to your questions are: yes I know the designer....good friend and a mentor...his name is Dave Hubbard of Stamford CT ...he and his brother were the top designer in the early 60s Jerry retired but Dave is still quite active as he designed tell wingmast on Oracle the Americas Cup cat.....COOL yes?
    The boat was originally designed for home building which made it very affordable to the public...later it was built by American Fiberglass of Norwalk CT....then later by NcNair Boats of Deep River CT ....later the Tornado cat came out and that was the end of the breed....sad! Today Tornado cat would cost a sailor $25K !!! Not for the average Sailor by a long shot! Recently , I spoke to Dave Hubbard but he did not have the plans any more so I sent him a set for his records. I however, as you suggested thought it would be great if the class could be recreated and updated to be competitive as MATERIALS available have changed. So I have modified a original hull to create a advanced design based on the original concept for homebuilders. I will take a picture of it as it sits in the College Classroom where I and my class in Composite Engineering have constructed it. ALSO , I have Sail Set if you do not and if you were closer, I have a Spare Trailer for a B-Lion
    Give me a call so we can talk ....Norman
     
  8. Doug Lord
    Joined: May 2009
    Posts: 16,679
    Likes: 349, Points: 93, Legacy Rep: 1362
    Location: Cocoa, Florida

    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    B-Lion

    Fantastic reading your discussion of this great boat-thanks!
     
  9. warwick
    Joined: Jan 2012
    Posts: 423
    Likes: 7, Points: 18, Legacy Rep: 63
    Location: papakura south auckland new zealand

    warwick Senior Member

    Good luck in reviving the class.
     
  10. Gopherit10
    Joined: Dec 2020
    Posts: 4
    Likes: 0, Points: 1
    Location: Michigan

    Gopherit10 New Member

    My father and brothers and I had a B Lion in the mid and late 60s, I am very familiar with it. We used to race against Sherwaters and later Tornados. 235 SF with either 30 or 32’ mast, 20’ x 10’ now, hinged to trailer.

    Broke the hinge bolt regularly when we flipped it or caught a big gust, it supposedly was intentionally designed as the weak link to not take out the casting, which would have been catastrophic. Always carries a spare in a bag hanging from the bottom that would bang on the strut tensioning the hinged crossmember joint.

    It took three of us to erect it, it was a real chore for us since we were 8-12 years old at the time.

    It was a light design and with so much mainsail it was a rocket taking off in a gust. Which surprised the skipper of a Sherwater one day when he swapped boats with my dad to see whether it was the skipper or boat that made the most difference (the Sherwater had no cleats on the mainsail so we watched him and one of my brothers frantically jumping up and down on the upper hull as it flipped over).
     
  11. Gopherit10
    Joined: Dec 2020
    Posts: 4
    Likes: 0, Points: 1
    Location: Michigan

    Gopherit10 New Member


    Was very hard to tack with the 10’ beam and minuscule jib.
     
  12. Doug Halsey
    Joined: Feb 2007
    Posts: 640
    Likes: 212, Points: 53, Legacy Rep: 160
    Location: California, USA

    Doug Halsey Senior Member

    I could have sworn I had an article about sailing B-Lions, but I haven't been able to find it so far. I think it was one of Bob Smith's series of articles in One-Design Yachtsman called "A Boat Is A Boat ..."

    I did find this photo, at least:
    B-LionSailing.jpg
     
  13. Gopherit10
    Joined: Dec 2020
    Posts: 4
    Likes: 0, Points: 1
    Location: Michigan

    Gopherit10 New Member

    That’s the older version, it does not have the bow crosstube we used to switch hulls when coming about when we weren’t running the jib.

    Of course balancing on that crosstube while crossing over was quite difficult! We fell off regularly, usually resulting in having our heads hit by the main crosstube or being sliced by the tensioned guywire or center strut.
     
  14. Doug Halsey
    Joined: Feb 2007
    Posts: 640
    Likes: 212, Points: 53, Legacy Rep: 160
    Location: California, USA

    Doug Halsey Senior Member

    Why were you doing that?
     

  15. Gopherit10
    Joined: Dec 2020
    Posts: 4
    Likes: 0, Points: 1
    Location: Michigan

    Gopherit10 New Member

    Dad would dive across under the boom and whichever one of us was on the jib would go under the jibstay (since it was faster).
     
Loading...
Similar Threads
  1. Time2Tri
    Replies:
    8
    Views:
    4,680
Forum posts represent the experience, opinion, and view of individual users. Boat Design Net does not necessarily endorse nor share the view of each individual post.
When making potentially dangerous or financial decisions, always employ and consult appropriate professionals. Your circumstances or experience may be different.