Witness Catamaran

[snort]

I've never heard of this one and recently saw an ad for a cheap one for sale. 35 feet in length and a Crowther design. What do you knowledgeable folks know about this cat? There is hardly anything online regarding this one. Thanks in advance!

[catty]

Originally Posted by snort

I've never heard of this one and recently saw an ad for a cheap one for sale. 35 feet in length and a Crowther design. What do you knowledgeable folks know about this cat? There is hardly anything online regarding this one. Thanks in advance!

Early lock Crowther design. Check out this for the vitals. The Boat

No standing headroom in bridge deck in original design. The only witness 35 that I have come across was a foam glass one called "Spirit of Esperance". This was on sold in the late 90's and the name probably changed. It had a single diesel in one hull only. Possibly considered narrow by today's standards.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by catty

Possibly considered narrow by today's standards.

If compared to the 21 ft beam of a Wildcat 35, it might seem narrow.
It's a 2 to 1 ratio which is fairly common in cats.

[cat man do]

Old eureka 32

BoatConnect

Pretty sluggish as far as cats go

[smj]

Snort,
Which Witness are looking at that is for sale. A.J.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Old eureka 32

This seems like a good price for the fairly spartan interior. I have to ask...what's with that aft saloon support? it's at least 6 ft aft of the mast?

Also, am I the only guy to wonder about the effectiveness of two 9.9 outboards?

[snort]

Smj,
It's down your way. I think it's in Corpus. Asking price $35K. Is it missing a hull, a mast? One has to wonder.

[smj]

Snort,
We looked at her about 2 weeks ago. She appears structually sound but the diesels look pretty worn out though they started right up.
She probably needs new sails and a LOT of cosmetic work. We would be interested if there was an easy way to install a pair of outboards. I believe that would be a job. The bridge deck clearance is unbelievable!
If you have any questions from a unbiased party send me a pm.
A.J.

[raw1]

" The only witness 35 that I have come across was a foam glass one called "Spirit of Esperance". This was on sold in the late 90's and the name probably changed. "

Still alive and well. Sailing out of Rockingham, about 15 mile south of Fremantle, Western Australia

[raw1]

Originally Posted by Tropic Cat

This seems like a good price for the fairly spartan interior. I have to ask...what's with that aft saloon support? it's at least 6 ft aft of the mast?

Also, am I the only guy to wonder about the effectiveness of two 9.9 outboards?

9.9 hp outboards are fine in a good sailing boat. Advantages include, light, can be hauled up to reduce drag and for sitting on the beach, easily (and cost less) to replace. Major disadvantages are safety compared with diesel fuel, the low battery charging capability requiring wind gen, Honda petrol gen and/or lots of solar panels. They lack grunt. Four or five knot current and 20 knots of wind on the nose and you will be tacking to windward. So you may as well sail; or of can't sail high enough, motor sail. I would have preferred diesel but everything else was right. We have done about 7,000 miles coastal cruising around Australia and they are adequate, even in areas of six metre tides. Just have to plan a bit.

[Tropic Cat]

I'm very aware of the differences as I was faced with this choice a few years ago. I chose the smaller boat at that time because she had inboard diesels and would do the same if faced with the same decision tomorrow.

Incidently, "worn" diesels don't start as they depend on compression to operate... If a diesel starts, it runs just fine. These engines are designed for continuous duty and if treated well, small diesels will last the life of the boat they're in.

[Cap]

Hi All,

I bought the Witness that was for sale in Corpus Christi. It's a 1984 model 35, 35 ft. X 17 ft. beam. She is a solid, well built, well designed, blue water cruiser for the most part. With that being said, she is an older boat and in need of some cosmetic work, as well as some mechanical work. The engines do start up and seem to run fine; they are the original 13hp Nanni diesels. The starboard engine seems to be harder to start than the port engine, but does start. The in-mast furling system, Hood brand, could use some work as it is a major pain to winch the sail out. I'm hoping that it is serviceable, and not something that has to be replaced. The sails still have some use left in them; a few seasons I'd guess. The headsail is a hank-on, which is not the best set up, but the furler was removed before I bought the boat; a large investment to go back to a furler.

I was on her this last weekend when we finally got some rain. It does leak through most of the windows, so re-bedding for the windows, or replacements, are in order.

I had the boat pulled out for a complete inspection before I bought her, and no major issues were found. She does have the original electronics on board that do not work, so there's a fairly large investment there. And she needs some electrical work, mast lights, automatic bilge pumps, etc, installed to bring her up to date. Most of which were already purchased and on board, so that saved me a few bucks there.

Anyway, just thought I would share that information with everyone. For the money, I think she was a good buy for that size of boat. And if there is anyone out there that is familiar with these boats, drop me a line; I'd like to hear from you.

Thanks...Jeff

[Tropic Cat]

Jeff congratulations on the boat. You're going to have a lot of fun with her. My Catalac suffered from leaking windows and it was a top priority to remedy that situation. I managed to remove enough of the old gasket material used to seal the glass that I didn't have to remove the windows to fix the problem. This saved me an entire summer of work. (lots of windows).

[Cap]

Hi Rick,

Thanks, I think she'll be a great boat once I get her fixed up. The nice thing is there is nothing to stop me from using her the way she is. Most of what needs to be done can be done as I can afford it. The windows and bilge pumps are first on the list. What's the recommended sealer for re-bedding the windows?

Thanks...Jeff

[ROODOG]

hi jeff the wife and i just bought a witness in mangles bay in west australia the spirit of esperance prior to buying we asked around the hard stand and did,nt here a bad word about the cat we have had a couple of sails in her around the bay in light winds 8 knts and doing sog at 4.5 knts she is a solid boat and we are happy with what we have got at the $ we spent the last 3 owners owned her for 7 years aprox each so im thinking you don,t keep a boat for 7 years if she,s a pig she only has one sad perkins 4.99 on the port side but it still starts we have found another motor in south australia to replace the stuffed one we have the grand plan to retire in a couple of years early 50.s and explore the kimberlys and wherever the wind takes us life is to short to be working gotta do it whike were fit like to here how you went whith yor witness regards dave