jimi
Well-Known Member
Never sailed a cat before except Darts and Hobies but we're chartering a Nautitech 44 for a family holiday.. how do I know when to reef? Do I wait until I'm flying a hull?
How do I know If I'm going to tip a cat?
- Thread starter jimi
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Sybarite
Well-Known Member
French safety standards stipulate that sail area alone cannot tip one. You won't fly a hull in a Nautitech!
mandlmaunder
Well-Known Member
Jimi
If you get to fly a hull on a 44ft cat then you are past the point of worrying about anything else as she has already got to the stage of cat sailing we call OH ****TTTTTT!
As with any boat the first time that you think that it is time to reef then it is time to reef, no questions asked.
Cats go faster when the wind blows that is the rule, they do not lean over they just get quicker, until your nerve or the mast gives at the weakest point.
When you are going so fast that you or the cat are shaking because of the pressure on the sails then it is time to reef.
When some one on board is complaining about the unsteady motion on the boat then it is time to reef.
When your charter cat fly's through a wave and comes clean out the water 3/4 of the length of the hull, then it is time to reef.
When you awake in the morning and it is blow for all its worth and you still want to go out and play with your new toy then it is time to reef.
So in short when ever you would normally reef the boat you usually sail is when to reef the cat until you learn the finer points of the cat you chartered.
Modern cats are very stable and charter cats more so as they do not usually come with the 100% power rig they were designed for.
Just have fun and try not to set any one day milage records and all should go well.
Mark
If you get to fly a hull on a 44ft cat then you are past the point of worrying about anything else as she has already got to the stage of cat sailing we call OH ****TTTTTT!
As with any boat the first time that you think that it is time to reef then it is time to reef, no questions asked.
Cats go faster when the wind blows that is the rule, they do not lean over they just get quicker, until your nerve or the mast gives at the weakest point.
When you are going so fast that you or the cat are shaking because of the pressure on the sails then it is time to reef.
When some one on board is complaining about the unsteady motion on the boat then it is time to reef.
When your charter cat fly's through a wave and comes clean out the water 3/4 of the length of the hull, then it is time to reef.
When you awake in the morning and it is blow for all its worth and you still want to go out and play with your new toy then it is time to reef.
So in short when ever you would normally reef the boat you usually sail is when to reef the cat until you learn the finer points of the cat you chartered.
Modern cats are very stable and charter cats more so as they do not usually come with the 100% power rig they were designed for.
Just have fun and try not to set any one day milage records and all should go well.
Mark
Boathook
Well-Known Member
If you think about a reef put one in. The cat will normally sail better and faster.
sarabande
Well-Known Member
depends if you feel the service has been purr-fectly good enough, surely ?
Sailfree
Well-Known Member
only if the cat has given exceptionally good service and never more than 10%. Don't want to spoil them.
sailorman
Well-Known Member
The best tip for a cat is a No9 boot 
RichardS
N/A
I'm sure I've read somewhere that, for safety, big cruising cats are designed to break the rigging rather than capsize from wind force alone.
Large breaking waves (more that half the boat length) can capsize a cat especially beam-on, but the wind would probably be the least of your problems!
I've tried putting a reef in before necessary just to see the effect and, for some reason, it seems to make much less difference to speed than it does with a monohull so there's very little penalty for being safe rather than sorry!
Is your cat a Lagoon 440? When I look at our 40 next to bigger cats it's the extra width which stands out. The 46 and 47 foot cats look like floating football pitches compared to ours!
Have a great time and let us know what you think!
Richard
No, it's not a Lagoon - should read more carefully!
Large breaking waves (more that half the boat length) can capsize a cat especially beam-on, but the wind would probably be the least of your problems!
I've tried putting a reef in before necessary just to see the effect and, for some reason, it seems to make much less difference to speed than it does with a monohull so there's very little penalty for being safe rather than sorry!
Is your cat a Lagoon 440? When I look at our 40 next to bigger cats it's the extra width which stands out. The 46 and 47 foot cats look like floating football pitches compared to ours!
Have a great time and let us know what you think!
Richard
No, it's not a Lagoon - should read more carefully!
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The engineer
Well-Known Member
look at the wake of the windward hull. If it is diminishing you are starting to push a bit hard i.e. the leeward bow is down. If a cruising cat goes (which it won't by wind action alone) it would trip over it's leeward bow. I was taught this before embarking on a 10k mile trip on an old lagoon 4200 and it proved to be spot on. Reducing headsail is as important as reefing the main as this tends to lift the leeward bow.
I have observed these same phonomena in many thousands of miles on several different cats and it seems to stay true.
I have observed these same phonomena in many thousands of miles on several different cats and it seems to stay true.
Tranona
Well-Known Member
You should never need to tip a cat - the relationship is the other way round - he is master and you servant (as my new 4 month old kitten keeps reminding me).
Jeannius
Well-Known Member
Your family will love it. Once they've been on a cat you may have trouble getting them back on a mono.
I've never sailed a Nautitech but I have been aboard one. I think the 44 has exposed helms so if you are going somewhere hot you'll need to take plenty of sun protection.
On the subject of reefing... Same as usual, reef early, reef often. As someone else said you don't seem to lose much speed reefing, things just become more comfortable.
LittleSister
Well-Known Member
A friend's Fontaine Pajot cat had a table in the manual (or was it on a plate over the nav table?) which specified the reefs to put in (e.g x knots 1/2 genoa, y knots first main reef, etc.). (Mind you FP certainly didn't stick to that on the demonstration sail!)
Maybe the Nautitech will have similar?
Maybe the Nautitech will have similar?
Talbot
Well-Known Member
Capsizing a modern cruising cat is extremely difficult, however, sailing too fast downwind can be a problem, and where the boat overtakes the wave ahead and buries a bow under water, things become a tad more dangerous.
Otherwise, you will find that the biggest problem in your cat will be lack of realisation just how much conditions have deteriorated.
Your other problem will be the crew liking the experience so much that a mono just won't cut it anymore.
Otherwise, you will find that the biggest problem in your cat will be lack of realisation just how much conditions have deteriorated.
Your other problem will be the crew liking the experience so much that a mono just won't cut it anymore.
E39mad
Well-Known Member
Some clever large cats have a breaking strain built into the blocks so if overloaded will release and depower the sail.
snowleopard
Well-Known Member
Just don't cleat the mainsheet with a locking turn as one crew member once did on my boat (he wasn't invited back).