First timer needing cat design advice

Greetings to all the fine folks here, I live 3 blocks from lake Champlain, and I'm looking to start my first build, and decided I'd like to build a 14-18 ft sailing catamaran, to hold my girlfriend and myself, and our gear, so around 800-900lb capacity, I'd like to do this using the stitch and glue method, as it seems to be the most beginner friendly and cost-effective method of building. I also would llike it to be easy to setup as well as break down to rooftop it. I'm willing to put in the build time, but my budget is limited to a max total of $400, is such a build doable? I've been doing a great deal of research, but havent found any stitch and glue plans quite meeting my needs... Could anyone give me some direction or advice? Thanks so much in advance!

 

Honestly it probably isn't possible in your budget. You might be able to find a donor catamaran for the rig for a couple hundred bucks, but you would still be looking at $500 or so minimum for materials for the build. And I don't know of any designs that have that much load carrying capacity at this size.

 

Okay, fair enough on the pricing, so if I were able to get to a 500 budget and say 650 to 700lb capacity is about as low as I can go on the weight for the two of us.... Unfortunately there isnt much to be had for up here in general as far as used boats or donor vehicles, which was my main reason for wanting to try my hand at this... Thanks!

 

I have tried the same equation over and over again in my head and to be honest, it just doesn't work.

Im very sorry to report that to you. Im just trying to save you what took me years to figure out. I tried everything, called the pros a**holes and idiots, whatever it took. I had it in my mind that a 28ft tri wouldn't cost 30K-60K to build, impossible!

But that is the truth of the matter.

Your rig (ie, mast, rigging, sails) alone would run you $500 on the best bargain garage sale parts alone.

Im not saying its impossible... because ANYTHING is possible in this crazy world. Im saying it is not plausible.

In a hands down budget build, go lauan ply, pick the best sheets you can find and coat it well! You will get a number of serviceable years out of but repair any scratch through the paint/epoxy ASAP. You MIGHT be able to build 2 16-18ft hulls of basic V shape for around your target. Rig is a whole other ball game.

Good luck. I wish you the best in your efforts.

 

I'm sure you have already seen my Quattro 16 beach cat

http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs/1-beach-cats-and-dinghies-/7-quattro-16

which uses 6 sheets of 3/16in (4mm) plywood and about a gallon of epoxy. Thats pretty typical for a beach cat. So you can get a price for the hulls quite quickly.

As a guide, I recently bought a sheet of good okoume 4mm plywood for USD34 from Edensaw (opposite side of the US though) So 6 sheets say USD200. A Gal of epoxy on ebay USD100 plus some timber and glass tape, say USD100 max

That's your USD400 gone already and you haven't bought even a used rig yet - never mind the plans!

Another thing. There is a big difference between 14 and 18ft. By and large the 14ft size is for youths or a singlehanded adult. 18 ft hulls will be challenging to cartop. And you'll also have a 28ft-30ft mast to deal with (although you can get a 2 piece mast)

There is a Solcat 18 near you on Craigslist for $700

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

you can build a small catamarn for about $300-400 if you get creative on your materials. For example you can use a plastic tarp for the sail, use duck tape rather than sew it. Make your own wooden cleats and a wooden mast, use lumber yard AC plywood, deck screws and gloss acrylic paint.

it will sail and be fun to use, but it will not last as long as boat built with much higher quality materials (that costs much more). Here are some free plans for a simple plywood catamaran made with hardware story type of hardware.

http://svensons.com/boat/?p=SailBoats/Hobby_Kat

 

In this budget range/weight requirements would I be better off trying to build a monohulled dinghy? I' have the added issue of being 6'6 and weighing about 340 lbs, which makes a lot of smaller designs unsuitable for me... But I want to get out on the water so badly, hence exploring my options... Thanks to everyone for the advice thus far!

 

cheapest way to get on the water is search craig's list or storage yards for used sailboats.

 

A friend of mine and I enter a boat building contest every summer. In it we build a tri-maran sailboat for about $150 in about 12 hours. Our combined weight is over 500 lbs, plus the weight of the boat.

I once built a 14 ft sloop for about $35 of salvaged lumber and supplies for a $50 boat contest. We won that too and we have also had well over 500 lbs of passengers on it. It actually came out to be nice sailing dingy, I still have it.

If you want a boat that looks like everyone else's factory fiberglass boat, than you can not do it on your budget. But if you scrounge and salvage materials, and get creatives with them, you can build a fun day sailor for well under your budget.

 

Stitch and glue is an expensive way to build because it uses high price epoxy/fiberglass and needs better quality plywood. You can build a cheap skiff for that budget by getting exterior plywood and lumber from the building supply. A 4X4 can be made into a mast and used sails that can be cut down are often available. A lug or sprit rig are the cheapest to make

 

Don't know how much it would cost to build but a Rebel Cat, might be worth looking in to. See rebelcat.com. It's a catamaran made of PVC piping with wooden decking which you can probably make out of cheap 2x4's or so.

Good luck!

 

I'm sure, if you search around you can find a used Hobie cat for $400.