The other thread, "What has time and technology done for you?" has gotten bogged down in a discussion of stiffness.
I'm still interested in the original question, so I came up with a list of the categories in which there have been some technological changes in the last 50 years. Which do you think have had the most impact on small cats, for better or worse, and why?

• Rope
  Blocks
  Masts (designs and materials)
  Sails (designs and materials)
  Spinnakers (Not spinnakers, per se, but the design of the asymmetrical spinnaker, which made it possible for spinnakers to be used effectively on multihulls).
  Daggerboards
  Rudders
  Traveler systems
  Crossbeams
  Hull shape
  Hull construction
  Trampolines
  Life jacket designs
  Trapeze harness designs
  Drysuit designs and materials
  Hydrofoils (not relevant because still in development stage)

Please add anything I may have forgotten.

Yeah....I kinda hijacked my own thread back there....

I think the single largest advancement that has been brought to the catamaran is the asymetrical spinnaker (and possibly what we'll see from the hooter in the future) and all the supporting equipment that makes sailing them less physically demanding to nearly everyone can do it; particularly the advent of the ratchematic blocks.

Although not actual "boat equipment" the GPS has enabled sailors to be more efficient with regards to time in distance racing.

Yeah, Eric, you're right. I had that on the list, but I took it off since it is not really related to technology for the boat itself.

Fiberglass reinforced plastic gave us mass produced affordable boats for the masses.

For the racer...sails.

David
H20

What about the sails? Shape, material...?

The advent of sythetic, high modulus fibers and films:

Mylar
Kevlar
Spectra
Dyneema

And their application to sails and FRP construction.

And while not a synthetic fiber, carbon fiber has made a dramatic impact in the weight and strength of all sorts of structual pieces. While still considered "exotic" by some, it is much more affordable than ever.

I think it is fair to generalize that the greatest benefits in general came from the continuous development of lighter and stronger fibers, starting with glass fiber, then better glasses, then aramid, carbon, UHMWPE, Vectran, PBO, etc..

Here is a list of developments made possible due to the new or improved fibers.

Sails:

-Lighter sails with better retention of shape.
-Square top mainsails
-Asymetrical spinakers (in part)
-Longer lasting cruising sails

Spar

-Lighter Carbon masts, booms and bowsprits
-Lighter and cheaper syntethic shrouds, backstays and halyards

Hull

-Cheaper hulls (glass)
-Lighter and stronger hulls (carbon, kevlar, etc.)
-Lighter and stronger beams (carbon)

Foils

-Lighter rudders and daggerboards

Hardware

-Lighter parts made of carbon

Ropes

-Lighter and stronger ropes, replacing stainless steel.

Cheers,
Luiz

Okay, what I want to know is, have these technological "advances" in hull construction and sail materials resulted in getting more people involved in sailing and racing?

If not, what's the point?

>>>Okay, what I want to know is, have these technological "advances" in hull construction and sail materials resulted in getting more people involved in sailing and racing?


Yes, in 1974 (5 years after the introduction of the H16 and large scale glass use) more people were sailing cats as every before (the timber years) and in 2004 even more people are sailing and racing catamarans.

I seem to remember Hobie cat Corp making big splashes about how the 2004 H16 Worlds was the largest ever. But even it is wasn;t that that worlds in Dubai (1996 ?) was and theirfor in the 90's the cat sailing as reflected by the worlds was bigger than the Worlds in the 70's and 80's.

Then please add to this fact that in addition to these H16 worlds we have had 155 boat F18 worlds as well, forgetting for a moment about A-cats and such, and I think you get the picture as without technological advances the F18 class (and A-cat class etc) would never have been. I think it is safe to say that not all F18 sailors and such would sail H16's or even cats at all if the only choice around were the H16's or P16's


>>If not, what's the point?

Yes, well the point is that you have a very fixed believe that everything has gone to hell due to technology. The whole way you wrote the last post breaths that. Still, if you look around I'm sure you can get enough evidence that the reality is more nuanced than that. How big is the A-cat class in USA when compared to 15 years ago, do you think that many of these sailors would RACE a H16 or P16 if no A-cats were available. Not everybody likes the same dish, so offering a menu of different dishes is garanteed to entlarge your cliental.

Therefor if OD racing like H16 has grow over the years as Hobie Corp claims AND technology has created more classes like the A's and F18's with noticeable following than the whole catamaran scene has grow as a direct result.

If your believe is that the technology driven classes have destroyed the old OD classes than we are faced with the unanswerable question of wether all sailors that moved out of the old OD classes would still be in these classes today if they were forced to eat the same meal for years on end ?

With kind regards,

Wouter

Rhodysail is right, the single largest change since 1954 on Mary's list has to be hull construction. FRP brought catamran sailing to the masses. Everything else on the list is insignificant by comparison.

One way to look at it is, what if we were still flying the Wright Brothers first aircraft?!!?

Not related to sailing, but its a way to look at what technology as done for the entire world. Even the internet, invented in the 70' and if it werent for that technological advancement, we would not be able to have this discussion.

When a thread named something like "What has technology done for you,", appears, it seems like racing would only be one small part of the total audience. But when somebody like Mary Mary says something like:


Well, that just aced me right out of the entire consideration. Will racers never learn that non-racers can be catamaran sailors and enthusiasts too?

And by the way, the gps, that was removed from the list, has being absolutely the best thing that has happened to my cat sailing. I can now navigate the ocean with much more confidence, pleasure, safety, and sea-worthiness than before I used the gps.

Second most important is the water-resistant hand help vhf radio.

Next would be the 406mhz Personal Locator Beacon.

After that I'd say that less stretchy sails have increased my ability to depower and remain more in control and faster.

There is however one thing that has drastically improved my cat sailing more than any of those mentioned. My Solo~Right has allowed me to save myself in the case of a single handed sailing capsize and gives me the confidence to know that I can right my capsized boat even if my crew breaks his arm or leg.

So just in case anyone wants a non-racer's point of view on what technology has done for him, I can offer my own view for those who value it.

I have made 13 successful voyages to Channel Islands National Park, 11 of which were multi-day trips. I have made some 10 or so trips to Catalina Island, usually two or three day trips. Sometimes solo. I would have done none of it if had I not obtained the gps and radio. And of course, no solo trips without my new first mate, SoloRight.

Un-woven polyester reinforced, mylar sails have drastically improved the quality of my catamaran sailing adventures. Regardless of all the other technological improvements in safety that I enjoy, the sails have made it more fun.

Rick's book "Catamaran Sailing for the 90's" allowed me to learn to take better advantage of the sails.

GARY

Grrr.

Off topic, but I've got a pet peeve - the Wright Brothers weren't the first - check out a guy named Gustave Whitehead. Did it years before Orville and Wilbur, did it better, and did it for free, sharing his engine and multiple designs with whoever wanted them. The Wrights were in it for the money, and their decendants and the state of NC took legal action to get Gustave wiped from history.

Thus endeth the rant...

Very interesting. Did the Wright Brothers use Gustave's technology? And where was Gustave when the Wright Brothers were doing their thing?

This is not totally off topic, since sailing and flying are closely related.

But back on the topic---

Gary: that is why I specifically said “sailing and racing,” to include all categories of sailors.

All: I was sailing a fiberglass-hull catamaran from 1962 onwards, long before Hobies were invented. It's not like the masses of the world were out there waiting for FRP.

The only reason the "masses" were drawn to catamarans was because of the marketing genius of Hobie Alter and the huge spread he managed to get in Life Magazine.

Obviously, FRP made it possible to build the boats economically, but it is not what made people want the boats and buy the boats.

However, the Hobie phenomenon is over now. Most of the existing beach-cat sailors started on Hobies. We have a closed group, with few new sailors coming in from the outside.

The A-Class cats were the high tech boats of the 1960’s and they sort of went underground during the big Hobie era. The class resurfaced in the mid 1990’s and have been building ever since. Their longevity and their current success is because even though they are a formula class and a development class, they are perceived to be very one-design in terms of the equality of the boats, and they are organized and race like a one-design class.

So I have to repeat my question, but in terms of recent years:
Have technological "advances" in hull construction and sail materials resulted in getting more people involved in sailing and/or racing? (The accent is on MORE people, not just moving the existing people around from boat to boat.)

It's a yes or no answer. (And it might be different depending on what part of the world you are from, so please indicate.)

Just looked it up, I'll be damned. Yes off topic, but very cool. So who invented the catamaran?

God invented the catamaran. I know, because my father used to say, "Thank God this boat was invented before I was too old to sail it."

The Polynesians?

Mary, That's a great quote!