Has anyone ever heard of this make of cat. I can't find any info on them anywhere....They may peculiar to New Zealand, but are 12ft, fibreglass. Any help would be appreciated.

Yes the first time I saw a Cougar cat was in Moscow Idaho. I took a look at it as wonder what in the heck it was because it kind of looked like a Shark with solid decks yet much different. I located the owner and thats how I found out what the brand name was, but it was more like 16 or 18 feet long so may be a different boat that what you are asking about.

There were quite a few of them scattered around the east coast and eastern Canada in the 60's, along with Sharks, B-Lions, et al. The Shark and Cougar were imported. I know the Shark originated in the U.S. from England and then Dick Gibbs began from Michigan began building them.
While the present Cougar Cat is now in Australia(see their site at http://cougarcatamarans.com/, although not sure it is the same Cougar), it was actually imported from England.

Back in 1950 when other boat builder were content with conventional designs, Roland and Francis Prout of Canvey Island, Essex, England, began to apply twin-hull thinking to boats.
Their first design was the Shearwater in 1952. How about that? It was a 16.5' and was one of the largest classes, next to the Shark, and had around 1000 boats by the mid-60s.

Then came the new and updated cat, The Cougar Mark I, They sailed it in the 1959 Yachting "One-of-a-Kind" race at Miami and won the Class B and took second overall.
Cougar Mark III was next. It was an 18'9" Cat.

It seems like the designs in those days were pretty similar. And you are right.., it does look a bit like a Shark Catamaran.

Mary actually has in her file a newsletter from December 1975 called "Cougar Talk" that was published by the Intl Cougar Catamaran Assn.

Rick

Good Morning Nifty,

If you’re asking about a Cougar Cat Markx…. Then “sail-s” is correct. I currently own 2 Cougar Mark III’s. The Cougar Cat Mark III is a hair under 19’ long and just over 8’ wide. Similar to the Shark class Cat but there are some differences. Solid ****, solid front wing. Very heavy boat but a pleasure to sail. Large roller furling jib. Has all the bells and whistles for tuning. I can come up with some pictures if you need to see one.

Racing: Until 2003 – Mark III had a PN rating, but I don’t know of any one else in the world racing one except me. (check Portsmouth Numbers from 2002). Mark III will run well with a Hobie 14 in light air and run well with a Hobie 16 in heavy air.

Hull #147 = I don’t know when it was made, but I believe it was made in Essex England and shipped over to the US in the early 60’s. Fiberglass hulls, with mahogany deck. My father and I completed a full restoration of this boat about 8 years ago. The decks, are very light weight and the wooden under structure resembled aircraft wing design – very well made – and was very difficult to re-build – but is was fun! Had sails copied and reproduced by Calvert Sail – They did a great job!

Hull #247 = boat was assembled in the US – parts produced in Essex England. Production Date…. I have no idea?? This boat I received as a “basket-case” but all the parts are there. All fiberglass. Restoration on this boat will commence….. when I find some time!

Conclusion = The Cougar Cat Mark III, was/is without a doubt one of the best “family Cats” ever made. Powerful, comfortable, and dry. Whatever happened to the company ….???? I don’t know, maybe someone else can fill in this info! Let me know if you want to see some pictures.

Bobby

Yes I'm pretty sure there was a cat of that name sold in NZ, in the 70's if I recall correctly. I'm sure it's not the same thing other respondents have referred to, and it may well have been built in NZ. I have a vague recollection of a cougar's head on the sail.

I don't have any other information, but you might want to check with Sea Spray magazine to see if they ever did a boat test on it. The fact that I recognize the name makes me suspect that I read about it in there a long time ago.

Mark.

Thanks for the comments, I have yet to find the facts, but someone will know.

I had a mark III. It was made by Lofland and was made,believe it or not,in Kansas, U.S.A. with alot of English parts. When I got the boat it had a large stack of newsletters and class related stuff with it. I loaned them to Mary, don't know if she copied any of them or not. When I got them back I gave them to the person I sold the boat to. Big fun boat.
Todd A. Hart
Todd@teamcatfever.com

Yes, Todd, I copied all of the information, which is why I now have a big fat file on the Cougar. However, it doesn't sound like the boat this guy has is from the same Cougar family.

I know the photo is not great, but in NZ, this is a cougar cat.

Nifty, I can't even SEE it. Can you attach it to a post, and BIGGER?

Sorry about that ! I will have to take a picture when I have put it back together and in the water in the next week or so

An example of the Cougar catamaran we were talking about a few weeks back turned up on the NZ auction site trademe.co.nz. You can see a picture here .

Mark.

Cute, 'cept for the hideous rudders

You guys are on to it! Ever seen these before? They may be peculiar to New Zealand for all I know.