Got the cat out last weekend, most everything is in good order, had a blast,think that I may have gotten my son and his buddy hooked. AWESOME!!!
One problem, When I tied in the battens on the main, One of the pockets ripped right behind the grommet. I guess there was some sun damage down the trailing edge. so far the rest are holding up.
s there a quick fix for this or do I need to look for another sail?
If i am going to need a new sail, what other cat sails will fit my solcat 18?
Also, if I get new travlers for main and jib do I need to replace tracks also?
How about down haul? is this an option I should install?
The SOL is coming together great. I rebuilt hte trailer also. The first time I buuilt it a little light and it folded up in the middle when I stepped the mast with the winch and then my son(220)his buddy(150) and I (180) jumped on the front of the boat. I beefed it up and I think its solid now. It turnede out pretty good. If I can figure out how,Ill post pics. also am building beach wheels, will also post pics of this if it works out well.
Gotta go watch the Phx Suns game.
Thanks in advance for your help.
One other thing, I think that the best way to run my traps is to drill holesw thru the hull, insert PVC thru,and glue them in. I belive the nacra has this setup.
Opinions and suggestions appreciated.

[Also, if I get new travlers for main and jib do I need to replace tracks also?]
Only if the new travelers won't fit the old track. I believe a Harken traveler would fit that track.

[How about down haul? is this an option I should install?]
Yeah, there was a downhaul on the boat and you will need it once you start understanding which sail shape to use in different wind speeds. See the photo I sent labled "Sol 18_1.jpg". You can't tell much about it but there is a downhaul there.

You will usually not want to drill holes in a hull any more than you would want to drill holes into your head. Since most of us have a surplus of holes there already, go to Plan "B". There should be a hole in each end cap for routing the bungee. Run the bungee through the forward beam. In that same photo you can see that the bungee is routed from the dogbone through the end cap on the forward crossbeam, through the beam, and out through the cap on the other side to the dogbone. You will need a plastic insert of some sort to place in the end caps so that the bungee doesn't chafe on the hole edges. You will have to drill the rivets out of the end caps in order to remove them.

In the same photo on the port side beam cap you can see the dogbone. It looks like a couple of links of chain just above the end cap. The tension on the bungee has to be only enough to keep the bones in place when not in use which should be enough stretch to make the trip out to the hook on your harness.

OK, NEW CHALLENGE!!!
Took the sol out to lake pleasant AZ this weekend, of course had a blast. Winds were off and on, but goodenough to fly a hull solo every time i crossed the lake.
Then came the big gust of wond that knocked me over like right now.
I had flipped her earlier for fun and had no prob righting with two on the righting line but I guess that I missed a couple holes in the top of the mast with the goop and it took on some water so when I flipped for the second time she went turtle within 30 seconds.
When I hit the water, somehow the tramp bolt rope tracks on the hulls popped loose. I think the previous owner had taken her in salt water and the salt corroded the rivets so they just snapped in half. A couple pulled out of the hulls and popped the glass and gelcoat loose around the holes.
Also, got a 6" rip in the sail where it looked like there was some sun damage. this rip is also right next to where one of the batten pockets ripped when I was tying them in.

Whats the best way to repair the hulls and re-attach the boltrope tracks?

Also, will sail tape repair the sail? How long does it last. I think I may just have to buy new sails eventually, but i'd like to get through this summer without doing so.
Also, I have noticed that there are a few holes in the top of the mast withiin about three ft of the tip. The water ran out of these holes when I pulled down the mast. they are pin holes and look like they came from the inside. I think that possibly salt water was left inside the mast for the last 20 yrs and coroded through. Is there any way to prevent further damage? and also, has anyone tried to fill the tip of the mast with expanding foam used to seal up doors and windows? I guess that its possible this is also corrosive or may not be able to dry inside the mast. Maby theres another material that could be used.

GREAT idea with the expanding foam in the mast... why have I never heard of it before? Think about it: doesn't add any buoyancy, but does the job of keeping water out of mast, without the added wind drag of a float-bob.

The foam is heavier than air, so you might want to check by how much... ;')

Anyway, I don't think that foam (e.g. 'Great Stuff') is corrosive, as it's used in contact with all kinds of metals, incl. aluminum.

Don't know what to tell you about the bolt-rope tracks, but you seem to be very crafty at keeping the old gal lakeworthy!

The expandable foam will absorb water over time (if exposed) and will become very heavy and impossible to remove. It also does take away from the buoyancy by adding material inside the mast (air is pretty much as bouyant as you can get). Remove the existing hardware and reinstall it with 3M 5200 sealant or the like and/or plug up the holes with it. You'll be sorry about the foam in a couple of years.

I wouldn't panic too much about the pole down the centre, my previous stingray had one and the block for the mainsheets was attatched to it. If you pad it up you will make a lump that is harder to slide over. You will soon get used to avoiding it if you dont make it any higher. I would take the boat to a club day and let an experienced person look at the beams to see if you can do away with the centre pole, everybody that looked at mine said I could do it no problem I just needed a combined main sheet block and traveller. The only advantage it gives you is when your stepping your mast it gives you secure footing and can make an old tramp last a hundred years because it only droops a little. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Just my thoughts regards

I am here to revive the SolCat thread. Hopefully some of the original contributors to this thread are still around....

I rescued a Sol Cat 18 a few weeks back and have been able to piece her back together. I was able to still get new rigging and a tramp from Salty Dog, and score some used dagger boards in decent shape for spares.

The rudders were complete garbage so I fitted a complete rudder / tiller setup from a H16 to the hulls. This was a bit of a challenge as I had to fabricate new grudgens and tweak the tiller, but over all they seem to work very well on the boat. (On a side note, I have the original rudder castings, grudgens, and tiller parts if someone is looking for replacements / spares)

We got her on the water last week in light air and she sailed well. Ran into two snags however. She is taking on more water than I would have accepted as normal in both hulls and the dolphin striker which was damaged by previous owner tailoring actually broke when putting her on the trailer.

I am making a new spar for Dolphin Stiker as no spare could be found. Only place that in my mind she could have leaked that much was through dagger board wells. Can anyone tell me if this is common on these boats?

One last question, I had one person tell me that they believe that is was common for masts to snap under high wind conditions and that diamond wires should be added to this boat if we plan to sail her hard (we do). My mast does not have diamond wires, and as far as I can tell, never has. Can anyone confirm the Sol 18 Mast as being problematic, and have any recommendations for retrofitting diamond wires? I understand the very basic physics concepts behind how these would strengthen the mast, but up till now have only owned / sailed H16s.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Hey, i have some Sol Cat 18 parts if you need them. ...

Put the SolCat in the water last week and did a nice easy shake down cruise with no problems. Went out after work last night in gusty 0 to 20+ hammer gusts. Heard a few pops out on the water which I knew could not be good from past experience. Popped the forestay bridal attachment out of the port hull (the bolts held, but the bar up under the lip of the hull popped through leaving a pretty good hole). Also snapped aluminum bar on the dolphin striker. The bridal attachment is going to be a challenge to fix, does anybody have any good ideas?

Ajnawrocki, I may be interested in you rudder castings and hinge pins. Shoot me a pm if you are interested in selling them.

About the mast, I have not snapped it in 20 yrs, and sail a lot in wicked gusty conditions. But if you are sailing ocean, or a lot of heavy swells it may be worth beefing it up.

ridge_pilot - I PMed you but I think the PM did not go through. It is not showing up in my sent PMs.

E-Mail me if you are interested in the rudder castings.

ajnawrocki_at_gmail.com

Ajnawrocki,

I owned a Sol Cat from 1974-1986 and can answer some of your questions. Yes the boat does have a tenancy to take on water if it isn't "sealed properly. There is a way to find them and works the best if the boat is dismantled, but you can try it with the boat assembled.
Take a vacuum cleaner or other source of LOW pressure and blow it into the drain plug. The hulls will expand slightly. Then apply soapy water all around the hulls. You'll see bubbles at all leaks. Mark where the leaks are then dry the boat real good. Then turn the vacuum cleaner around so it sucks air out of the hulls, and while its attached, apply silicone sealant to the leaks. The vacuum should draw some of the sealant into the crack/seam.

I used to do this and only had a little bit of water in the hulls after a hard day of sailing/racing.

The Hulls flex when sailing, so when you are coming off a gust and the boats slows down, the hull will expand to normal and suck in water. I found that its the edge of the top deck that draws in a lot of water.

Sol Cats did not come with spreaders, at least the ones I saw, I had mine out when it was really blowing like stink and never had a problem.

What was the sail number of your boat?

If you have any questions, just let me know.

Charlie

Thanks for the vacume in sealent tip,I have not heard that method before but it makes sense. Might not try it until this winter. We plan to disassemble and give her a new paint job.

Well, two votes of confidence on the mast, I think I will sail her hard (as soon as I get done repairing the dolphin striker) and see what happens. Can always chenge the mast to a TheMightyHobie18 setup at some point in the future if it all goes to heck. We usually don't go out until we have 15 MPH + winds and that gets us 3' - 5' swells on Mille Lacs.

We have a non original sail on the boat, with a faded 776 on it. Who knows......

Ajnawrocki,

Couple of tips before you go out on the heaver days. Make sure the rigging is really tight. We found that when racing in 3-5' swells, the hulls would flex and some boats would start to crack across the deck right in front of the main cross member if the rigging wasn't tight. Tight rigging will reduce the flex.

Second item, when sailing in heavy air, do not set the jib blocks to the very inside of the track when going upwind. With that setting the mast will flex and close off the slot, screwing up the air flow. Set the jib blocks at least 6-8" out. This allows you to trim the jib without closing the slot.
My dolphin striker started to crack in the center where the dolphin striker bolt went thru.

If you are going to wait until Winter to really seal the hulls, I would strongly suggest that you put sealant along the edge of the deck,now. Where it curves over the hull and faces down. Not the seam between the hull and the deck. Just apply a bead of silicone along the edge, and push it in with a blade or finger.

My sail number was 1210.

Charlie

Thanks for the great tips! My buddy and I are pretty stoked to get the dolphin striker fixed and back on the water. I'll take a crack at the sealent and see what happens.

Here is a picture of her the first day we took her out this year two weeks ago. We discovered the broken dolphin striker when taking it off the water. I hope to finnish making a new post this week.

Looking Good. Makes me wish I didn't sell mine.

Noticed the wrinkles in the main luff. When I got my boat I had that problem and no matter how much down haul i put into it, I couldn't get them out. Seems it was a defect, the bolt rope was to short. Took it to a sail maker that added a section to the lower portion of the rope. Worked like a champ.

If you have any other questions and want to contact me directly feel free.
c_oerter@bellsouth.net
Charlie

I don't think the sail is right/original for the boat. There is an aftermarket sail makers patch on it (can't remember who's off the top of my head) and the bolt rope is just a tad too small. Getting the sail to feed is a PITA because if you don't have a second person guiding it into the slot it starts to bypass the slot and jam as it approches a batten pocket.

If we get all the other wrinkels worked out we may buy a new sail in the next year or two.

Anyone have an oppinion on replacing the halyard cable with line? The current halyard does not have the locking stop on it like my H16 did and the cable is frayed in one spot which is nice on the fingers.....

I purchased my boat brand new and the bolt rope was to short. When I contact Sol Cat about it they told me to either send the sail back to be repaired, or cut the threads that attached the rope at the clew, and allow the sail to stretch past the end of the rope, Since I didn't want to wait weeks to send the sail back, and didn't like the second option I took it to a sail maker. Somehow they attached an extension to the existing rope. If the sail is in good shape, I would take it to a local sail maker to get their opinion.

As far as feeding the sail into the slot, I had that also. I folded my sail, and didn't roll it up. Placed it closed to the mast and with one hand pulled the halyard, and the other fed it into the slot. Don't think a new sail will cure that.

Now for the Halyard. DON'T use line. Replace the cable and put a swage fitting on it to catch the "hook" on the forward side of the mast, top. There are a couple of reasons why you want to hook the halyard at the top. First, line stretches, so you will never be able to get the down haul adjusted correctly. When strong winds/gusts hit the sail, the line will stretch, altering the sail shape, and not in a good way.

The second reason is by using line, and pulling the halyard tight and tying it off at the cleat, it will bow the mast to one side, (think of a bow and arrow).

You have a performance boat, but the performance can be stripped out of it if not setup correctly.

Charlie

Makes sense, thanks again for the great tips!

Here are some old pictures I had of my boat. Looking at the main, my sail had 9 Battens that were parallel to each other, while your sail had 10 and were angled towards the top.




So the sails are different, don't know if they made a change, or you have after market sails. But who cares if they work.

Happy sailing.

Nice looking boat. I guess I have found myself wondering if it is an aftermarket set from an TheMightyHobie18. The day we wend out air was light, and she still was suprisingly quick compared to the H16. I hope to have her back out this weekend.