I built a small beach cat

[Rene Amyot]

Hello again ; It's been almost a year since my last post. (page 5 to build a small beach cat ) I spent the better part of the season building my cat. Though not fully complete , I'll post some pictures showing various stages of the build. Some changes from my original plan include extending the hull length to 10' and a reconfiguration of the pedal drive. The mast, spars, furling systems and sails have yet to be built. I am looking for some advise on mast height and sail areas for this setup. The design calls for a jib and main sail.

 

[tpenfield]

Yes, I checked out your initial thread, which did not seem to go far. Looking forward to the pictures.

 

[Rene Amyot]

Hello again ; It's been almost a year since my last post. (page 5 to build a small beach cat ) I spent the better part of the season building my cat. Though not fully complete , I'll post some pictures showing various stages of the build. Some changes from my original plan include extending the hull length to 10' and a reconfiguration of the pedal drive. The mast, spars, furling systems and sails have yet to be built. I am looking for some advise on mast height and sail areas for this setup. The design calls for a jib and main sail.

 

[upchurchmr]

That's pretty nice looking.
Were you going to keep the center seat and peddles when you put the sail on?
Is this your design? I ask because you said "the design calls for a jib and main sail".

Were you going to use some kind of a centerboard (etc) with the sail?

 

[Enter Miles]

A windsurfer rig might be of good use.

 

[Vantage475T]

That does look good.
I'd be very interested to hear /see more about your pedal drive system as I could really do with something to put in on F16 cat for longer trips and getting out of trouble end of day when the winds dies off leaving me high and dry.

 

[Rene Amyot]

That's pretty nice looking.
Were you going to keep the center seat and peddles when you put the sail on?
Is this your design? I ask because you said "the design calls for a jib and main sail".

Were you going to use some kind of a centerboard (etc) with the sail?

The seat has an adjustable back and will swivel 90 deg. to either side to counter heel on a tack. If this proves impractical ,( as in needing to hike out further ), one bolt removes the seat. The pedal drive lifts out but also tilts to allow the prop to clear the water when not required. The design is mine completely but may be similar to others. The proposed sail plan calls for a self tacking furling jib and a boom furling main. when I find the way I will post a drawing of same. I will post more photos of details and the build when I learn how to do so. Thanks for the interest

 

[upchurchmr]

It looks narrow.
Unless you have a really tiny sail area, you will need to sit on the windward hull.
You are going to need a board of some kind to prevent leeway.

10' is too short for very much sail area, due to the issue of driving the lee bow underwater.
If you want to use a small area, you would be better off using a Sunfish type lateen rig.
Sunfish size rigs would probably be too much area, since a Sunfish is 14' long.
IMHO.

 

[Rene Amyot]

That does look good.
I'd be very interested to hear /see more about your pedal drive system as I could really do with something to put in on F16 cat for longer trips and getting out of trouble end of day when the winds dies off leaving me high and dry.

 

[Rene Amyot]

The principle of this drive was derived from ideas on the internet. I don't have photos of it alone but I will post an exploded sketch in the future. It basically is made up of the pedals,crank, and cut off lower end of a standard bicycle frame, inserted into a rectangular alum. extrusion. The extrusion is bolted to the head and 90 deg. gearing of an inexpensive 4 inch angle grinder (motor and case removed ). The smaller bicycle sprocket was fitted to the grinder head ( in place of the grinding disc ) and the prop shaft, a 3/8 steel rod fitted, ( threaded and pinned) to the head where the motor was formerly attached. There are many details that have not been addressed but my sketch may help.

 

[Rene Amyot]

It looks narrow.
Unless you have a really tiny sail area, you will need to sit on the windward hull.
You are going to need a board of some kind to prevent leeway.

10' is too short for very much sail area, due to the issue of driving the lee bow underwater.
If you want to use a small area, you would be better off using a Sunfish type lateen rig.
Sunfish size rigs would probably be too much area, since a Sunfish is 14' long.
IMHO.

The sail plan will be set on a mast of about 12' or 13' ( 1 1/2" alum extrusion with a sail track ). The jib is approx. 10 ' high with a 32" foot. The main is approx. 8' to 9' high, a 19" flat top and a 54" foot. The hulls are only 10' long and 5' apart on centers. There is a dagger board ( which tilts back and up when not needed) and is located on center just behind the mast. Both sails are furling and fully adjustable. The area may seem excessive but I used an only slightly smaller rig on an 8' modified sit in kayak with a 50 " long outrigger with a centerboard. It sailed quite well with almost no tendency to tip. Only under strong winds did it want to drive the bow down.

 

[Rene Amyot]

Here are some photos that may answer your questions. I also show my kayak outrigger version that I sailed before.

 

[Rene Amyot]

 

[Rene Amyot]

That does look good.
I'd be very interested to hear /see more about your pedal drive system as I could really do with something to put in on F16 cat for longer trips and getting out of trouble end of day when the winds dies off leaving me high and dry.

Check this file. Hope this helps.