Built for Messing About

 

Second Reef in Smoke

Note: This particular entry acts as a companion piece to  video I did which you can find HERE.

  The sail of a catboat is one of it's most iconic features. It is true that a gaff rig is not a requirement of being a catboat per se, it is a feature most identified with the breed. And the FatCat 2 is no exception. This is a tale of two sails and how the FatCat 2 #1 came to wear a bit more laundry then what she was designed with. 

 If we look at the sail plan of the FatCat 2 which according to the plan sheet #3 originally drawn in December of 1996 the vessel sports a sail of 138sqft. (Foot of 13'9", Leech 17'5", Head 10' 6", Luff of 8' 6") This was the sail that the then Julia L. was launched with. The first sail of the boat was polytarp and by all accounts did a very fine job. In fact during the boats maiden outing at the 2009 Rend Lake Messabout the designer Jim Michalak got to sail aboard with it's creator Mike Sandell. You can read the account of this excursion on the plans page for the design on Duckworks. The one thing I would like to draw attention to is Jim's closing sentence NOW, I gotta tell you that I sailed a bit with Mike and the boat struck me as being light with a really big sail, so don't skimp on the reef points! While i don't disagree with the need for reef points I'd like to discuss a bit more how this boat has handled in my experience. 

 Traditionally the shallow draft of a catboat is combined with weight down low and a good centerboard. I've had the opportunity to sail a few different catboats and while my experience isn't vast I'd like to think I've got a decent handle on what they feel like as a sailor in the interior of the Rocky Mountain west. One thing they all have in common from a Beetle to a big Crosby is they pull like a draft horse. But by the same token they'll settle down nice if you reduce that sail area. And the FatCat 2 is no different. I think this unfortunate wording in the boat description may have put potential builders off the design. And that is a shame. 

 According to the plans page the maximum degree of list before you go over is 50 degrees. Kat Boat is equipped with an inclinometer and I don't think in the almost five years of sailing the boat I've seen over 15 degrees. Sure it could happen but that's the same on any boat. The fact is there is so little submerged displacement in the hull the boat will loose leeway before it heels. The sure sign your over canvased is you just stop sailing well. Trying to sail the boat flat will give you the best results and pushing for heel to go faster is a fool errand. The vessel will lie hove to quite nicely, a common quality in catboats, and as I've often said on these pages has no ill manners I've yet found. 

Original boom and Dacron sail

 

 So what does this have to do with the sail? Sometime before June 2011 the Julia L. acquired a Dacron sail from the Duckworks loft. That was the sail I purchased the boat with. After two years of sailing the decade old sail needed some work and was ready to be retired. I asked David Grey of Polysail to craft for me a new sail about ten squares bigger using the same spars. He obliged and from his shop emerged the new sail for the boat. Two seasons later I ordered a Dacron sail from Duckworks to those specifications with the work being completed in tanbark by Really Simple Sails. The result was just what I wanted and it makes not only for a very aesthetically pleasing boat but a very functional one too. 

 I think this sail is now a far more correct size for the boat. We move along in light airs with authority at full sail, have no issues under a single reef in about ninety percent of the conditions I've sailed and double reefed I've yet to encounter an issue where I'm unable to sail if the rig is set up right and that is the goal for the moment. My finest sailing yet was under second reef heading across the lake. It was fascinating screaming along at hull speed with such a small amount of sail up the bow of the boat shouldering the waves aside and the whole craft a living thing. 

 It should be noted I've also altered the rudder with less depth and more length, straightened the  position of the lee board a touch as suggested in the design page, added a much stouter boom then stock, and tried to optimize the rig for the type of sailing I do. But I can't think of a better boat in it's class for the work. And I wish more people would get to know this fine boat. The lack of ballast has not hurt my safety if taken as an encompassing theme. That is to say we may not be serious sailors but we sail seriously. We understand and do our best to mitigate what risks we can and ensure skill when risk finds us. If there is a boat I think could do the Texas 200 well it's this one and am surprised no one has built one and attempted. As a solo or couples overnight gunkholing boat it's great. It would shine as a family day sailor or a kids first "big" boat. It'll teach you what you need from the construction to it's sailing.

 I'm pleased to be the current caretaker of such a boat. We stand as an oddity from our sail rig to our design. We're not quite somethings but we definitely are other things. We turn heads wherever we go and the amount of appreciation we garner is always satisfying. Not to mention cameras always seem to find us along the Yacht Harbor dock. And I'm okay with that. 

The FatCat 2 is perfectly designed for simply messing about in boats.