___Big Red Cat______________________________

I have introduced some models that are ‘cat rigged’ even a one (a way back) as a cat boat, (using the first mast step) this model, is designed closer to the real thing cat boat, it features a custom cabin that adds shear to the bow, at the same time it places the mast step way up front, where it ought to be. Let's start off with a definition of ‘cat boat’.

Defining the cat boat -> A broad-beamed sailboat carrying a single sail on a mast stepped well forward and often fitted with a centerboard.

A catboat is identified by a single mast, traditionally is gaff-rigged, and stepped well forward. The mast position, and a wide beam width, provides a roomier cabin or cargo hold compared to other sailboat designs of the same length. Historically, catboats have been used for fishing and transport in the coastal waters of New England and New York. Around the turn of the 19th century they were adapted for racing. Today they are used for day sailing and cruising, and have the virtues of roominess, stability and simple handling, though many catboats have poorer upwind performance than well designed sloop-rigged craft.
The terms ‘catboat’ and ‘cat-rigged’ are often confused with catamaran. Catamaran describes the hull structure of a boat ( two hulls side-by-side ) whereas cat-rigged and catboat describe the sail plan. To add to the confusion, some catamarans are cat- rigged and both terms are abbreviated ‘cat’.
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The cabin was cut from a piece of 1 x 4in. (cedar), the profile of the bow was traced onto the board, then cut with a scroll saw set at the same angle as the hulls flair.
The mast step (1/4in.) was only partly drilled through the cabin, stopping about 1/8in. from the bottom, a smaller drill bit was then used to go through the rest of the way.
The hole for the step was drilled at a slight angle to rake the mast, a simple feature to add when you make your own.
The mast step forms a pocket for a small brass wood screw (just like the one you get for the rudder) that will help hold the cabin in place up at the bow. I made the cabin long enough to cover the first mast step, the large brass screw is run up through the step holding the cabin on at the aft end.

- I have seen pictures of work boats with tiny cabins up in the bow like this, no room for luxury, just a hole for the fishermen to crawl into when they find it necessary. Most of the more traditional designed cat boats have larger cabins, midships, perhaps my next cat boat will too. As this one is solid wood, I kept it small.

The cabin is screwed into place right after it had been rough sawn out of the stock, it then gets rough sanded, then smoothed to blend in with the hull.
After that it was taken off, and using a chisel, I pared away the sides to form a bit of deck that swoops up to the stem, defining the ‘cabin’ proper. The bottom surface of the cabin should be sealed, primer paint, or what ever you have, to keep water from soaking into the wood.
An alternative to using the long brass screw would be to use a short tight fitting length of dowel and just pin it in place, once the dowel gets wet, there’s no way it will fall off, and be a touch lighter to boot!

Note- I prefer to make models that have features like cabins, added on in a way that they can be easily removed, that way, if you decide to try something different, you can. Removing things applied to the deck with glue and screws, requires sanding, filling and painting to remove the scars left behind.

The hull is rounded up at the sides of the bow to give it lift, and at the stern. the length, and side profile, is unchanged.
I used a basic centerboard (like the one you get with the kits now) the rudder attaches under the hull, and reaches up above the waterline.

I used thin plastic table cloth material for the sail, red obviously.
The sail, was laced up, and notice the somewhat small gaff, I find the smaller gaff more manageable than longer ones, with less twist. Also, the sail is sheeted right from the end of the boom, this gives you more leverage to control a big sail like this. (The boom stretches the full length of the hull)

The sail can be adjusted for draft easy enough, but it lacks the ability to be reduced, even when scandalized, due to the length of the gaff. (The sail could be lowered and bunched up to the boom with clips, I suppose, I haven’t tried it yet with this material.) As it is, the model has sailed in some pretty stiff wind and proved more stable than expected.

The cabin that comes with the kit will give you the same mast position, so if you don’t want to dive into this much woodworking, you don’t have to.

Like a cat with nine lives, this model was built on a double ender hull that had been rigged in a number of ways. This version is going to stick around for a while.

Performance Rating:
Stability (no ballast)...Good
Windward Ability...Good
Swiftness...Good
Manoeuvrability...Good
Lateral Resistance...Good
Sail Adjustability...Fair
Ease of Construction...Difficult (cabin)

__Seader Cats!______________________________

While we are on the subject of cats... here is our catamaran model the (Mk-IV) Seader Cat !

Basic features - The twin cedar hulls of the model are 16in long, the arms separate the two hulls giving it a beam width of 9in. Spanning the two arms down the centre is a length that has a trunk for a centre board and a mast step. There is a great deal of flexibility built into its design as you can see in the drawing.
1 - Side view
2 - End view
3 - Top view - the two arms are screwed onto the hulls, the brass screws slip into slots at the ends of the arms so that all you have to do is loosen the screws and slide them off. Handy for taking the model apart for transporting.
The centre length and the arms have aligned holes drilled through that let you pin them together with either a mast or a peg. (The pegs have holes drilled at the top so that they can double as fairleads.)
-At the stern, a small brass screw is placed in each hull, a length of line spans between the two screws, at the centre, a ring sliced from plastic tubing is where the control line runs through.
This is a simple procedure, no knots required, the line loops through itself over the ring, each end of the line is turned around under the screw head, then tighten down the screw, and its done!
4. The centre span can be put in place with its mast step fore or aft, here it is shown set back giving you enough room to set a jib.
-Similar to the stern, two small fairleads are set into each bow at the stem. A line stretches between the two (with a loop in the middle) that the tack of the jib is tied to (the peg that attaches the center span to the arms doubles as a fairlead for the jib sheet.)
5. The arm assembly can be shifted fore-and-aft anywhere you like (within reason), you just need to put in some starter holes.
6. Here we have the arm assembly being held together with two masts! (note the peg / fairlead position)
7. 1 + 1 = 2 .... Two hulls offer twice the lateral resistance as a single hull, as the hulls themselves have a foil shape the model sails fine without a centerboard, provided the sail plan and hull are reasonably balanced. The centerboard gives a boost to lateral resistance / windward ability and lets you balance your design ‘on the fly’ but it also adds weight and drag.
8. Twin hulls also add directional stability, but you can add a single rudder, screwed to the bottom of the aft cross arm, or add one to each of the hulls.

This cat example is lateen rigged, the mast stepped back from the cross arm, sailing without centerboard or rudder.

Light catamarans are often shown in magazines, movies etc. heeling over and riding up on one hull, these models do not, one hull will rise up occasionally, but just for a second or two, then plop down where it belongs.
There is an obvious difference between a model with solid wood hulls, and a full size one of foam and fibreglass with a live person on board to keep it balanced. The weight and beam width keep the model vertically stable, that’s what you want... a lighter weight model would be constantly capsizing.

I have just begun working with the Seader Cats, and have yet to explore all the possible configurations, it’s a never ending process, drop in this summer when we will have some feature models to show!