Cat rigged boats

[Ixium]

I have a cat rigged schooner that is 39ft.

For the life of me I cannot find any information on sailing any cat rigged with 2 masts.
Almost any sailing video or tips and tricks etc don’t apply as I don’t have a jib or forstay or 90% of the things they’re talking about.

I can get the boat moving decently under sail, but there has to be more techniques I could learn and apply while sailing.

The boat is ultimately a cruiser for me, and I’m completely fine with just turning the wheel to tack, so being a “lazy” boat is okay with me.

[Wolfe10]

Let us know what boat you have and you will likely get better answers.


By chance, is it a Freedom 39: https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/freedom-39/

[Kettlewell]

I can get the boat moving decently under sail, but there has to be more techniques I could learn and apply while sailing.

The boat is ultimately a cruiser for me, and I’m completely fine with just turning the wheel to tack, so being a “lazy” boat is okay with me.

From what I have observed with Freedoms is they sail best a little bit further off the wind than you might go with an ordinary Bermuda rigged sloop. Because you can just ease off the sheets you can feather the sails a bit when the wind gets gusty, and keep going long after you might reef a Bermuda rigged sloop with a big jib. Also, my understanding is the unstayed rigs bend quite a bit, spilling wind from the top of the sails in gusts.

[Ixium]

Yeah, it’s a Freedom 39 PH. Even on the Freedom forums there isn’t much about it.

I did have a buddy, who was a lifelong sailor, come and show me what he knew. But ofcourse he wasn’t used to them. He’s been on ketches, no nothing cat rigged. And we got the boat balanced pretty well on different points of sail just by messing around.

He also said the bending mast and looking up to see a clear sky (no stays) was a bit unnerving, but did mention about the extra wind fluffing off the top meant less messing around with lines

[Wolfe10]

Off the wind, like any other sailboat-- let it out until it luffs and bring it sails in until they just don't luff.


Upwind, do the same (after trimming sails into close hauled, fall off until they don't luff). If SOG stats available, go by that.



If old/bagged out sails, figure on just reaching (in any sailboat).


Really not that different from other sailboats.

[fourlyons]

I have sailed a junk rigged cat ketch for the last 16 years. Until recently my daughter had a Freedom 40 cat ketch that we sailed up and down the US east coast. Before that I owned a cutter and a sloop, and have sailed and delivered many others. The reality is, the strength, and weakness, of the free standing cat rig is that there are fewer things to do to adjust sail shape. On the other hand they are so handy to sail that we regularly sail in and out of places that others, who have to deal with headsails, are intimidated by.
For a long time I missed having more to tweak, so I installed a retractable bowsprit so I could fly a jib, and running backs, and a spinnaker pole, etc. But I'm coming around to just enjoying the rig as it is. The cat rig is a low stress, low complication, low cost rig. It's pretty ideal for for low effort cruising. It offers some real benefits, but as always, there are tradeoffs.

[Ixium]

So it really is that simple? My plan is single handed and best case would be short handed. So the more simple the better. And being mostly self taught, I was hoping for youtube learning some of it.

Last season was all about learning the boats interior systems/maintenance and practicing docking in a few different situations under motor. With a few sails in before winter haul out.

Next season is focusing on actually longer sails and overnight anchoring. Like gone every weekend kind of plans instead of the marina.

Sounds like just messing around with the 3 different things I can actually change and keep a mental note of the settings for certain points of sail would work

[psk125]

Bruce Kirby designed the line of Norwalk Island Sharpies as cat-rigged sloops and ketches. He may have written some articles about how to get them going.

[Tin Tin]

Have you got the user manual? If not it can be found on the Freedom Org site https://www.freedomyachts.org/viewto...p?f=16&t=13664


I am a catamaran sailor but in my youth raced a cat rigged OK dinghy - so some interest in the rig.