Cat Ketch Rigs

[WALT SCHERF]

Cat ketch designs, like the Core Sound 17 or 20, seem to have some real virtues, like no standing rigging, docility, low CG, and self-vanging. What are the downsides of this rig. Why do we not see more of them? The B and B people, who designed the Core Sound boats, say that a lot of current design stems from conformance to rating rules for racing boats. Is this true or is there some large performance penalty connected to these rigs?

I am not a racer, but plan to be a daysailor. Am currently building Oughtred's Acorn 15 to practice up for the larger dayboat.

[Tom Lathrop]

Walt,

I assume that you have read B&B's link about cat ketches in their web site. I agree with everything said there. Well, I should since I had a hand in it. Anyway, for a daysailer, I think that the unstayed cat ketch is the best rig. It gives up very little in speed performance and is superior everywhere else.

Mainly, It's a joy to set up and use.

[N. Scheuer]

There is another reason. There are a lot of people in sailing that never get beyond "conventional wisdom". Heck, I could say there are a lot of people IN GENERAL who never get beyond CW.

You've got to be a bit of a student of sailing to even learn about the existance of non-conventional sailboats. Whwn I discovered DOVEKIE in the early eighties, I could see plenty of intelectual reasons for buying one, and none against, so I did. When we wanted a larger boat, we naturally got a Shearwater, and never regretted it. But we meet people around the water all the time who just can't see past the unconventional rig and leeboards to understand what the advantages really are.

You sound like someone who would appreciate what that perticular boat has to offer.

Too bad! Their loss! Moby Nick

[johnw]

There was a period of interest in cat ketches in the 1970s. It started with Jerome Millgram's boat, Cascade, which exploited a loophole in the rating rule regarding cat ketches. After they changed the rule to eliminate the loophole, there was still interest in the cruising community, and Freedom Yachts made a lot of them. The type popular then had both masts about the same height. In my experience, cat ketches with two masts the same height don't go to windward terribly well. On ketches, the mizzen isn't as efficient as the main, but it improves the flow off the main. The biggest advantage to two masts the same height is that it's easy to work with the balance of the rig to manuever the boat. Most of my cat ketch sailing has been on sharpies, and they are a real joy to manuever. If speed to windward is important, I'd make the main big and the mizzen small, but if manueverability is your highest value a sharpie rig is nice.

[Tom Lathrop]

Most of B&B's cat ketches use the same size mast for convenience. The foremast is stepped higher near the stem and the mizzen is stepped on the keel. The extra exposed length makes the foresail larger. Works well.

[Mike Field]

There's a little bit of discussion of this rig at http://media5.hypernet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=001659

WoodenBoat carried an article on the Block Island cowhorns in Issue 22.