I am thinking about getting an a-cat but have a couple concerns.
the lake that I sail on most, and , that has the best winds in the area, has a shoreline that consists mostly of rock, some jagged rock, boulders, shards of jagged rock, lava, and what we call Arizona sand, which is anything smaller than 1" in dia.
The reason I want an acat, is so that I can single hand when I don't have crew for the I20. Or when I don't want crew for the I20. Also easy setup, and it's an A-CAT!
I am having a hard time wrapping my head around how I am going to land the boat without taking some real chances of destroying the boat. Winds can also be switchy and puffy. Also in the summer, dust devils.
I thought about mooring beach wheels off shore etc.
Coming ashore is scaring the hell out of me!

Anyone have a similar situation and some tips?

How do you get your Nacra's on shore? In theory the A Class being lighter should be a piece of cake to drag up the beach once your on the beach wheels

With crew obviously, one guy holds the boat while the other gets the beach wheels, but solo it's not so easy to do both at the same time.

Is it a shallow run up to the rocks, or does it get deep quickly?

If it's shallow, you could moor the wheels (and hope someone doesn't take them while you're out sailing) or perhaps bring a 8'x 8' scrap of rug to lie on the 'beach' at the water's edge where you can park the boat on the rug while you get the wheels.

OR...place an anchor (a cinder block) with a small float and a line on it just off the beach, where you can tie the boat when you come back, then go get your wheels.

Cary a small mushroom anchor and a fender. Before launching, wade out and set the anchor with the fender tied to it some safe distance from shore. Wheel your a-cat into the water and wrap the fender around one of the forestays at the hull. Take your wheels up the beach while the boat just swings on the anchor. Do the reverse when coming in. I've done this quite a bit when launching the a-cat by myself.

Also what we have found in solo sailing a Wave is to get a handle for the wheels. That way you can stay in front of the boat and with the handle slide the wheels under. No need to go from side to side tying them on. '
The tube that goes on the axle comes with bearings so the cradles always go upside down, which is a hassle. So, what we all did was set the cradles right side up and drill all the way through and put in a bolt. That way the cradles are always right side up.


Here is the link for the handle:
http://www.onlinemarinestore.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=14184&idcategory=
Rick

Ok, some additional info here. In the mornings, the wind always comes from the north. I always set on the lee side of whatever area I choose for obvious reasons. Problem is. The wind generally switches 180*mid day. That's approximate. Sometimes the wind changes closer to 90*. So what was the lee shore, is now windward shore ore parallel shore.
Depending on water level, sometimes I can find an area that has a gradual slope, sometimes not. Due to the lake being a reservoir, water levels fluctuate fifty feet over the course of a year. So, different times of the year, we launch from different areas. Sometimes I can find a gradual slope. Other times the water will be chest deep 8' off shore.
With the old cats this wasn't a huge issue. I could bring the cat in find a softish spot and plan on a bottom job once in a while. The I20 , I usually have crew to hold the boat while I get the beach wheels. Depending on wind direction and water depth this can be a bit hairy at times, but the inter can handle bumping a rock. I also have thick foam pads that I beach the boat on. Also, the boat weighs enough that if there is a weird puff, it will stay put till I can roll up the main.
A carbon fiber a cat on the on the other hand , am I over thinking this?
What my mind wants is to have a simple single handed sailing solution. And what my mind is ending up with is a boat survivability nightmare.

When landing on a lee shore: make a transit of the beach and select a spot to land, sail to a point directly up wind of that spot and bring the boat head to wind, stop, bring up all the foils, uncleat the sail, position yourself as far forward as possible bringing the transoms out of the water. The boat will drift slowly to the selected landing point. Step off and tie the boat to your mooring.

I think you may have missed my point . Big sharp rocks. Lee?

When the wind is blowing toward land. In that case it can be hard to stop the boat, so if you drift down slowly you'll have more control. Same procedure leaving shore with a strong wind behind you.

Big sharp rocks? If you were able to launch over them then what's to stop you from landing? If you come in slowly with control where is the danger?

I guess I'll just have to see how it goes. I just dont want to get the boat messed up. Submerging the trailer and tying it down that way is also an option. I don't like submerging the axels for long periods either. I guess re packing the bearings is cheap in comparison to potential damage.

Lots of floating docks on the market. A cats are light, shouldn't take much to knock one (dock) together.

https://www.google.com/search?q=diy...=tblfVMmAFoXmsAT81YCYCg&ved=0CDsQsAQ

Can't put a dock on this lake. I would need to take it home when I leave

Your problem is insoluble.

And yes, you are overthinking this...

This is one of the better threads we get here. Lots of practical info to address a real cat sailing problem. Keep the ideas coming guys; and azcat, don't be afraid to keep asking questions until you're comfortable with a solution.

Mike

yep & in a BIG way !!!


Your launching from multiple areas isn't doing you any favours at all either, be better to use one or two main areas and get to know those spots much better, even clearing unwanted debris from them will make your life much easier in the longrun

Its also a bit odd to me that "With the old cats this wasn't a huge issue" .... so why is it a sudden issue with a new cat ???
So I take it that you didn't take much care of the old boat and are treating the new one with kid's gloves ???
Just how bad are the scratches etc on the old boats

As for a cure.....

I launch from a couple of ugly beaches too although their issues aren't like your lava lake problems they do have issues that aren't at all 'hull friendly'.....
Might I suggest you head down to the local carpet wholesaler and ask for some old carpet, these companies often do large job-lot replacements, and will 9 times out of 10 simply trash the old stuff, at the lake simply roll the carpet out into the water and forget it, over time the carpet will trap the finer "sands or silts", it will assist with aquatic vegetation growth whilst it makes the sharpness of the volcanic stone much more tolerable to sit a boat on and walk on too, the best bit is it will slowly breakdown over time and wont be an issue to the environment as it does so....

If you cant leave the carpet there for what ever reason, then try for a synthetic carpet,(like they use in outdoor sporting venues) this wont "water-log" as such and once the boat is on the cradle the carpet could be rolled up and stowed on the trailer to do the final draining as you packup

I use a couple of 'strips' of shag-pile carpet, each bit is around 5metres long by a metre wide (~6yards by a yard), it works a treat and is cheap as chips

"so why is it a sudden issue with a new cat?"
It's a longshot here, but I'm guessing the previous boats were all double-handed where he had someone to hold the boat.

Simple........ Move to a better place to sail.

that may be one solution but unless you own the lake, that's called criminal dumping and in Maricopa County AZ. is a crime with up to 6 months imprisonment & $2,500 fine or to one year if charged as a Class 6 Felony –

Also carpet is typically made of plastics and nylons... not exactly free of "issue to the environment" - i would be pissed if someone threw that in my local waterways