Jarcat 6 verions, modifications etc.

Well you say that. When I saw the waller TC750 years ago I made some enquiries and I can not see how that boat is trailerable in Queensland. I keep reading on forums like this that these permits exist but when I talk to the transport people and read their websites I can see no path for a light vehicle to tow something that wide. It is all built around heavy vehicle permits. Over 4.5 ton.

I have not looked closely at Victoria because I'd never be interested in sailing down there. I live in south east queensland and have family in nsw so that is my area of interest.

Queensland has a special allowance for loads to 2.9 meters, 9'6". No permit required, just a oversize sign and flags, lights at night. Over 9'6" you are into wide load. I'd love someone to show me something official that says you can tow a wide load behind a light vehicle in Queensland or NSW.

The waterline beam is 600mm on a 7 meter waterline so a bit better than 10:1. It wouldn't be "fast" but it'd sail ok. There are many considerations, prismatic coefficient, rocker, bridgedeck clearance. I got it to meet all the conventional benchmarks and the accommodations ergonomics everything fell nicely into place. It seems to be a sweet spot for sizing a cat. Everything just worked out really nicely. I think the payload was a ton or so.

I wouldn't be towing up north. I was born up there. God's country but wild as. Mind there are plenty of terrifying drivers in the south of the state. Nothing puts fear into the hearts of southerners like a queensland licence plate...

 

Guzzi3. Attached are some NSW and Victorian documents from the road authorities that basically say, if its under 3.5 meters wide and 12 meters long and has the appropriate flags and signs and is being towed in daylight hours in most of NSW and Victoria by a light vehicle (read 4 wheel drive). No pilot cars etc are required. The word document is a copy of a chrome doc on a victorian web site. It requires simple permits which can be annual. I agree its still a pain to tow but but it is possible.

 

Thank you very much for that. I looked for documents like that for ages.

I am an engineer not a lawyer but it looks like those are the nsw and victoria equivalent to our queensland oversize regs, which limit the boat to 2.9 meters.

 

Hello All,

I've a Jarcat 6 that I'm thinking of taking to 2.9M beam, it needs a fair bit of work and the love of my life would rather have a queen size (or close to that) berth, plus the added stability for greater safety.

I'm toying with the idea of adding a little width to the hulls to increase displacement as well. Looking to have some coastal cruising capacity, carry extra water for up to six weeks out.

This boat needs a good deal of work, and it wouldn't be a totally silly idea to put the effort in, I think. Looking to leave the length at 6M. I've a small diesel engine and marine gearbox and was looking to emulate Ross Turners original setup on the CC29 with a centre nacelle mount and an articulated shaft.

The existing trailer can be modded, I've got a nearly new rig (came with the boat). The J5 I have needed a bit of work and I love these boats, even as they are. So much boat for the length....

Yes, I'm a bit of a masochist.......

 

My opinion is worth what you pay for it...

Build a new hull from scratch. Make it longer and more headroom. Make it hirondell size. Use your rig and fitout but ditch the hull. Consider getting foam and glass from utek in china and doing it in foam sandwich. Never worry about rot again. No stringers. It would be a very nice boat.

You could scale up Ray Kendrick's version but I'd not use the bridgedeck centerboard personally, nor the conventional rig.

Plans for the Double Shuffle catamaran http://teamscarab.com.au/5.6Des.html

Make that hull 7m long 2.9 wide and raise the vertical measurements by the same amount. His plans are VERY complete so growing the boat shouldn't be that hard. It has prettier lines than a jarcat.

2c

 

Some interesting ideas here. We just launched a 7.7 by 3.5 powercat in foam and glass. A retirement design after living on a sailing cat for many years. Does 20 knots with twin 30 tohatsus with four on, board lightship but full fuel. My reply here is about the trailing aspect and my question is why bother. A trailer for that size boat is expensive and as we know after the novelty wears off its not the size vessel to be launching/retreiving on a daily weekly even monthly basis. We decided to forget the trailer all together as it is far easier and cheaper to simply use tilt trays to move the boat. This also allows for a 3.5m beam and a lot, if not most, tilt trays in queensland have a permanent wide load permit to 3.5m. If we use the tilt tray to launch and retrieve 3 times a year we make considerable savings over the whole trailer mess. We have built aluminium stub axles with 4 aluminium rims and tyres that mount into the hull in a similar fashion to my dinghy. We can mount them in the tunnel or externally. Whem mounted in the tunnel they fit nicely just inside the tray on a tilt tray so we can just pick it up like they would a car, no crane , no problems and most importantly no rusty expensive registered and braked trailer.

 

How much does it cost each time ?

I would build the trailer in glass not steel. If the distance is small a 2T trailer single axle with override brakes is about $230/yr reg in queensland. Beyond 2T you need breakaway brakes.

You can trail an indivisible boat to 2.9 with no permit, just flags sign and at night extra lighting. I believe you can apply for a permit for 3.3 here but a private vehicle can't tow 3.5 in qld. It's a pita.

The thing is it's all well and good to discuss qld regs, or vic regs, but every jurisdiction is different. Every state every country. It's a giant pita...

 

Cost depends on distance however overall cost also depends on frequency. If you are close to the water it can be as little as 50 dollars each way. Obviously costs rise with increased distance. As I pointed out though this size vessel is not something that you are going to launch and retrieve every day. In water storage for this size vessel is huge not to mention increased maintenance. We envisage two reasonably lengthy trips a year of 4 to 6 weeks. So total cost could be as little as $200 per annum. The other aspect of this size vessel is its ability to traverse long coastal hops in comfort with ease and good speed, for us its as much about the journey as the destination so we are happy to launch in south east queensland and cruise to the whitsundays or south to the clarence river. This system is not as efficient for long distance transport, in saying that however we still feel that a couple of trips from lakes entrance to the headwaters of the murray will still be more economic than a large trailer. It will definitely be less headaches and less maintenance. We are now looking at a 9 metre version of this boat and will use the same system. We will do two long liveaboard trips a year punctuated by overseas travel and family visits. This gives us a safe low cost storage option without the trailer and as we have spent less and less time on our big cat in the last five years we see this option as the best way forward for our particular circumstances. I will however shed more than a tear or two when we sell our Oram catamaran it has been a privilege to own and liveaboard since 2004.

 

Hers a link to the very first trial run with twin 30 tohatsus

 

Looks great, Got a good scoot on in the vid with the 30s and minimal wake

Jeff.

 

Hi Jeff thanks for your kind comments. We came in a lot heavier than we expected, not sure of exact weight but we are pretty sure shes over the ton. Ill have a better idea next time we put it in the water, ill pay attention to the waterline instead of having fun. Looking forward to taking her on a shakedown run to either wathumba on fraser or double island point for a fish. A few minor things to finish and shell be good to go. Need higher tides to relaunch.
Cheers