HELLO to all catsailors !

In a previous topic named "speed", WOUTER replied about maximum speeds that could reach beach cats...and supposed they could hit sometimes 30 kt !

Well, the only reliable figures that were registered decently came from english Weymouth & french Brest SPEED WEEKS. These 500m track average speeds were recorded with the help of the ISAF's WSSRC measurement devices, including cameras with virtual lines and high precision chronometers.

The highest 500 m speed ever recorded for a standard catamaran was at Brest on a Tornado skipped by Yves LODAY which reached 21.34 kt. All other beach cats, HC 16, NACRA 5.8, Supercat were hitting always 18 kts to 20.5 kts approximatively.

Standard catamarans could hit 1.2 to 1.5 times TWS at the maximum polar extent around 115 to 125° TWA, with a flat drifter, high-ozed sails and a lot of twist in main !

The quickest "beach cat class" is certainly the "C-Class" with average speeds of 22,5 to 23 kts on a broad reach course of nearly 2.5 miles in ONLY 12 kt TWS ! I was following 1991's LAC event at Melbourne with Christian Février, the french reporter and the boats could reach easily 2 times TWS with their double-slotted wings !

Even with "C-Class", standard hulls are progressively sucked down in water dur to hull's curvatures and the boat stop accelerating when the Propulsive Force reaches 1/3 to 1/3.5 of the maximum Side Force that could hold the cat. Duncan Mac Lane himself told me that his "Patient Lady 5" never run over 26 kt !!!!

FRIENDLY YOURS,
Frenchie