Wildcat 35 vs Solaris Sunstar 36

[Finditsurfit]

1. I Have read about bumfuzzle, but their have been posts of happy owners also. I am looking at the one in Morro Bay and the one in pt Aransas tx. I like the wildcat but am a little scared, but the money is right. I would also like to know about sailing charistics and I know they both are sailed around the rock but is one really more worthy than the other? Thanks for helping my dream!

[TaoJones]

If you want to correspond with someone who both has an interest in surfing, and who owns a Wildcat 35, you should get in touch with SurfNRG, a member on this Forum.

I can tell you that I came close to purchasing Bumfuzzle, and withdrew the offer based on the survey. I won't discuss it publicly, but if you PM me, I would be happy to share.

As always with boats (or anything else) you usually get what you pay for.

TaoJones

[Finditsurfit]

I know that the wildcat in Texas is a 99 and A different madel thtan bumfuzzel. does anybody have a opinion of the solaris? Thanks for the pm also!

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by Finditsurfit

I know that the wildcat in Texas is a 99 and A different madel thtan bumfuzzel. does anybody have a opinion of the solaris? Thanks for the pm also!

You're welcome, FISI.

The '99 Wildcat in Port Aransas is three years older than Bumfuzzle, but is simply an "un-improved" version of the same vessel. I don't recall exactly when the Wildcat was updated, but I think 2002 was the first year of production of the Mark II.

As I said in my PM, Bumfuzzle is the only Charter Cats SA Wildcat 35 I would even consider buying. If you're also considering the other Wildcat in Ft. Lauderdale, don't waste your time.

If you want to know why, let me know in a PM.

TaoJones

[Whimsical]

TaoJones
I saw some photos of bumfuzzle and it appeared that it has a protuberance on the inside of each hull. Maybe it is to make the steps into the hull easier but i would think it wouldn't be good for sailing qualities. Do all the wildcats have this? Not intending to buy one just curious as its one of the more bizzar things I have seen.

Mike

[TaoJones]

Well, I don't know about "all Wildcats," nor am I certain about the "protuberance" you've noted,Mike, but Bumfuzzle does have 'glass structure supporting the steps down into the hulls. There is an applied wooden step atop each level of that 'glass.

I found using the steps on a Wildcat one of the least appealing features - not at all well-designed nor manufactured. I suppose a person would adapt to what is there in good time, but I felt the steps could have been better thought-out.

TaoJones

[Finditsurfit]

what about a flica I see one in florida.

[sopwith camel]

TaoJones:

We have just started looking at cats and thought we would look at a couple of wildcats. I have read the bumfuzzle logs, one of the reasons we thought we would look at this type of boat. Was even considering looking at bumfuzzle and the one in maryland. you say bumfuzzle was the only one you would consider. Having never been on a wildcat, only looked at pictures, what are the problems with the boat in general? Is it poorly built overall?

[Southern Star]

The Solaris is extremely heavily built (to Lloyd's standards) however has great bridgedeck clearance and a competent design by Eric Lerouge. The only real knock seems to be the displacement and the quality of the interior (lots of saggy vinyl). Still, the former is reflective of things like tabbed bulkheads and solid bridgedeck construction ,and the latter is not structural and can be repaired/replaced by many owners.

There are a couple of owners who post on www.themulithull.com/

Brad

[TaoJones]

I've been without internet access for about three weeks, until a couple of days ago, and now I'm catching up on things. Like others here, I'm a fan of Pat and Ali Schulte and I continue to follow their adventures on their bumfuzzle.com website. From a couple of recent logs, comes the following:

february 6 2008 : taxco

After just a few hours in Taxco we realized that it was a town we'd like to hang out in for a while. We also found out that our boat had been sold and the closing was set for Friday, giving us just a couple of days to get our end of the paperwork done. So today's projects included getting all the forms printed out, finding a notary public, and getting the documents sent overnight to Florida. This is the sort of thing that would take about an hour of work back home, but down here it can be a lot of work. Fortunately we found a notario relatively easily, and even better, he'd worked at an embassy in the U.S. for a few years and spoke pretty good English. We haggled over price a little bit and then set about getting all of the stamps and signatures in the right place. After that we even managed to get everything to DHL ten minutes before the overnight cutoff.

We're really looking forward to not owning a boat again. While we don't agree with the old saying that the two best days in a boat owners life are the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it, we do agree that the day it sells is right up there near the top. Since we've gotten back the boat has been in our friends at Just Catamarans hands and we haven't really given it much thought. We trusted them to take care of it for us and they have.

It's amazing how big a pain selling a boat can be. We had deal after deal fall through on the boat. With one couple we had an agreement that seemed good, but they were in Colorado and couldn't see the boat for three weeks. So everything goes on hold and then when they finally get to the boat they announce that they are backing out because they didn't realize that you had to duck your head as you go down the stairs into the hulls. They get their deposit back and we lose three weeks. Another deal went through the entire process of survey and sea trial and was just a couple of days away from paper signing when the buyers decided instead to buy a 44 foot catamaran. The two aren't even comparable. You'd think that we might get to keep a portion of the deposit at that point, but there are so many loopholes that the deposit is basically a totally worthless document. There is no way the seller will ever see any of that money. Anyway, it looks like it is finally a done deal and we couldn't be happier.

That is followed later by this:

february 12 2008 : zihuatanejo, guerrero, mexico

<snip>

As I was typing this an e-mail popped up letting us know that it is official, we are boatless. The money is in the account. A celebration of some sort is in order. There were a lot of chat room guys that thought I was an idiot for posting the good, the bad, and certainly the ugly about our Wildcat, but we always felt it would work out. Honesty is the best policy and all that. Not to mention all that good karma we received for doing our part to bring down Charter Cats. The boat sold for $17k less than we paid for it. A depreciation of about $4,000 a year, or roughly 2.5%, about normal I would think. Or you could put it another way and say it depreciated at the rate of 50 cents per mile sailed. Put that way I would guess it fared much better than most boats. Of course we did have to dump a small fortune into it back in New Zealand, but that was simply money to fix the boat and bring it back up to standard, not exactly a capital improvement that we could expect a return on. Either way we're happy it's done and we can start earning a positive return on that money again.

I think Pat and Ali provided many people with a lot of information and entertainment, and probably fanned the flame in more than a few to "go for it." They still have an adventurous spirit, and I wish them only the best.

TaoJones

[prrrfection]

I am the owner of a wild cat built in 1999, launched 2000. She is a beaut. she has sailed the Indian Ocean, handled perfectly in 65k winds for 8 hours , then took us across the Atlantic, through the canal and then across the Pacific.
Yes, we do time our passages for the best conditions as much as possible and try to sail her not too hard, but that is because the owner and daughters can handle less than the boat!
After initial hiccups, we have sailed that yacht without MAYOr problems for 10 years now . our wildcat is a she boat - owned by a lady - very meticulous about the boat and maintenance.
sorry about others who have had problems - i started to sail her with 3 young kids onboard and eventually a cat and a dog...no problems with sloping decks...steps - whatever.
she handles easy and is big enough for our growing family of four, easy to maintain - i love this boat. she is just Perfect.

[RSC]

Been sailing a 2002 Wildcat for 4 years with wife and 3 children along the South African coast with absolutely no problems. Maintain the boat like any other and she is absolute pleasure. Previous owner did Indian Ocean crossing and survived cyclone. I am not the world's best or most experienced sailor but the boat is very forgiving and as safe as can be. Obviously not in the price range of the larger cats but would not swop her for anyting same size or even 5 feet longer. Planning a trip to Caribbean end 2011!