Seawind 24 control lines, Sails

For the Seawind 24 cat I got in form of beaten up hulls and mast plus some assortment of rig hardware, I am working on the shopping list.
First,
any recommendation for the sailmaker working for catamarans would be appreciated. I am in NE USA, NY/New Jersey area.

Second, as I will most of the time sail alone/small crew, the mainsail controls are a bit daunting. The original setup (I guess here) is not the most convenient and comfortable to work from the hulls, it is supposed to be cleated to the center console (again, my guess from the parts I've got). My guess is, some 8:1 purchase at least plus traveler that could be dumped/tightened from the hull seats is needed. My experience/knowledge is not up to the task...
Any advise?

Thanks a lot

 

I strongly recommend Dave Calvert for multihull sails

http://www.calvertsails.com/

8:1 is the most purchase you can reasonably handle. However I prefer a bit less to reduce friction so use 6:1 or 7:1.

A 3:1 traveller purchase is sensible, again if you have more purchase the load may be less but friction is greater and you have more rope to get tangled, remember catamaran traveller ropes are very long

You certainly want to have everything easy to uncleat from any position

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

Ah,
not that I do not trust your expertise, mr. Woods, just what I've read here
http://hem.bredband.net/b262106/Boat/controls.html,
left me perplexed and confused.

 

Martin is very experienced sailor who I have known for at least 25 years. He sails his boat very hard

I sailed a Firebird with Graham Goff when we won the 1994 UK National championships. So I know the pros/cons of the cascade system

I don't see anything different between what Martin says and what I wrote earlier. He has a basic 6:1 mainsheet and worries about friction. The only difference is that he can "fine tune" his mainsheet by pulling on the cascade system and increasing the purchase for a short distance, typically used when sailing to windward.

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

Yep,
it is obvious even to me, he is a very experienced sailor.
But, between him and some hardware manufacturers pages (the natural place to gain knowledge when I will need to buy the hardware anyway) I've got this strong feeling of inadequacy. Like, was it on Harken page where "Hobby cats" should use 8:1? Or, like J/24 with main tune and fine tune? You see, nowhere I found suggestion like "to improve the old Seawind 24, do this and that..." Especially, when the old arrangement was 4:1 right to the winch, and I would rather not sit right there on the winch while trimming the main while going upwind.
Btw, I may be wrong again (the details are lost to me), but I do not think Martin is using the 2-speed system.
Moreover, even more concerning me is the installation. Since I can not go on the friends cats and see what I like/what will not work for me, nor I want to redo the installation after struggling season or 2

Could anybody more experienced point me,
what works,
which blocks are not good
where do you sit while sailing downwind vs upwind,
did you ever had the line stuck and unable to dump the mainsheet in a puff...???

 

It all, depends what you want to do with your SW24.
It is not a racing boat, so don't try to soup it up with racing sails or extended mast.
Take Richards advice re: the mainsheet tackle.
It is a great daysailing/weekend cruising boat.
I even came across a guy who was living in one.
It is relatively wide for it's LOA and the fairly fat hulls make excellent divisions for two couples on board, or a nuclear family.
Watch out for corrosion on the cross arms, especially at the stainless steel bolt holes. If you are prepared to do the hard work it willl pay to strip everything off the cross arm tubes, scrub them well with a 3M abrasive sponge pad, treat them with an aluminium etch primer, then two coats of a good marine polyurethane paint. Don't use epoxy paint as it is degraded by sunlight.
The full bows ensure that it doesn't "Hobbyhorse", but on a choppy day with a fresh wind it can be a bit wet if you are lounging on the net between the beams. The cockpits in the hulls behind the cabins are pretty dry. With a decent 10hp outboard pivoting from the centre console it makes a great motorboat on those windless days.
Back in the 1980s a used SW24 in good nick would sell for $8,000.00
So much for the effects of inflation.