help identify this mystery cat

looks like a 1970something muscle car...super bee with the fin! it's got style points for sure.

Huh! With that fiberglass forward beam, it looks like it draws at least some of its heritage from the P-Cat or the Catfish. But it looks like it has outward canted hulls. I thought that was more recent innovation. Pretty darned cool!

Says it's got all the bits and pieces. I'm curious what kind of rig it comes with. But I agree. If it's a Hobie, it's some prototype. Never seen the like.

Tom

I have the same problem which i why I have 3 Prindle 16s and Hobie 17 in my Back Yard.

I like this one it's kinda sexy. Doe sit have all it's parts?

I am in South Florida and the boat appears to be in Utah. If the boat was here I would buy it. I like the looks.

Really cool looking boat. I suspect the "Hobie" in the ad is to draw someone who put Hobie in their search vs catamaran. $400 bucks, if it sails thats not a bad deal. Just parts could be scarce.

To answer your question - I dont have a clue about what kind of boat that is.

Dibs! .. I call it!

Is there anyone in that area that can go check it out?

It may be cost prohibitive to ship to NC, but what a cool looking boat (I know guys, 'cool looking' doesn't mean it will sail well -- but heck).

Thinking about giving him a call anyway.

They say it's got all the parts, but i don't see a mast, or boom or anything... maybe they are stored somewhere else... i like the high clearance forward cross member, and the lack of a dolphin striker makes it that much more streamlined. The dagger boards are really funky looking too, maybe a sort of kick-up design? I am starting to think this thing may be some sort of custom deal. Parts would be very difficult to source... I am in Utah and about an hour and a half away... maybe it's worth a drive. I would love to buy it but i probably have more important things to spend $400 on. Why oh why do i have to spend my free time searching classifieds?

You could call Utah DNR and give them the registration numbers and tell them you are trying to track down a title. They will give you the information that is it registered as.

Venora wrote: I am in Utah and about an hour and a half away... maybe it's worth a drive. I would love to buy it but i probably have more important things to spend $400 on. Why oh why do i have to spend my free time searching classifieds?

OK Venora, it's your mission to visit this cool looking boat and report back to TheBeachcats.com with your findings. Take pictures from every angle whether you buy it or not. Relentlessly quiz the owner about it's history and manufacture.

Grill him to find out if there is any possibility that he has sales or assembly literature for the boat stashed away some place. If you can't get the boat fully assembled for photographs at least make sure and get the sales rolled out to capture any logos and the overall design of the sales. Pics of the rudder system and daggers too!

Look for any HIN numbers on the sterns or anywhere else.

This one is cool and needs to be added to the Beachcats Identification gallery.

Called the guy @ 10:00 am Utah time and left a message.

Waiting for a call back -- will let you guys know what I find out ...

Ok, if badkitty doesn't hear back on it soon i'll try giving him a call...

It's actually about a 30 min drive from my house. I can't afford to buy another boat right now but I wouldn't mind taking a look at it just to check it out.

Hey Venora when and were do you sail?
You gonna sail in the Summer Games at Deer Creek?
You should come hang out with Utah Sailing Association at Bear Lake weekend after the 4th of July and Labor Day weekend.
We;ve got another Solcat in our group as well.

Edited by Quarath on Jun 11, 2012 - 02:27 PM.

This summer i am only really going to have Mondays off, so that limits our sailing options as far as clubs, get-togethers, and regattas go. I usually sail at Jordanelle, and will probably be out there every other week or so once the weather warms up a bit. (we were going to go today but it was a little chilly. This year we will be getting a state parks pass good for all the utah state parks, so we will probably go more places. I had it up at Bear Lake last year and really loved it. We are relatively new to Utah and never made it up there. If you ever get a monday off and want to go sailing let me know!

Hey Verona

have you considered Rockport? Mast up storage on the beach makes after work sailing pretty doable. $120-ish for the summer and not too far from Heber. Not the most dynamic place to sail, but for sure you'll get out a lot if you want.

Chris

i've actually never been to rockport before, but $120ish is pretty good. I'll have to look into it.

The daggerboard system looks nearly identical to those on the 18' AquaCat I looked at a while ago.

Ok ... Talked to the owner this evening ...

Not a sailboat person. Traded for a service and ended up with the boat. No paperwork. No hull I.D. number.
Hulls have been painted. Mast appears replaced (too 'new' looking and doesn't match boom). Rudders
are glass covered plywood. 'Dagger boards' are pivoting on a 'pin'. Single sail - no jib. Sail has window
and is brightly colored with yellow orange gradient stripes and is not square topped.
Didn't think mast had any spreaders - but it has been awhile since boat was in the water.
Drain holes in transoms, inspection ports in decks. Some kind of corky-spongy 'non-slip' paint application on tops of hulls. Rigid foam flotation inserts visible in bottom of hulls through inspection ports.

Waiting for pics tomorrow.

This summer i am only really going to have Mondays off, so that limits our sailing options as far as clubs, get-togethers, and regattas go. I usually sail at Jordanelle, and will probably be out there every other week or so once the weather warms up a bit. (we were going to go today but it was a little chilly. This year we will be getting a state parks pass good for all the utah state parks, so we will probably go more places. I had it up at Bear Lake last year and really loved it. We are relatively new to Utah and never made it up there. If you ever get a monday off and want to go sailing let me know!

I was always told Jordanelle was overrun by motorheads so sailing was difficult. Deercreek is very close and has reliable daily thermals so wind in not an issue. I usually only go there once a year for the Summer Games. I don't usually sail in them I just volunteer with the club to help run things. This year is is the 23rd and the 24th of June. I won't be there because I will be at a Family event at Bear Lake. If you ever can arrange vac time for a weekend you should consider one of our Bear lake trips they are a great time. Except for Memorial Day, to Damn cold. Labor Day is Unofficial regatta. We sail the 10 miles to Garden City. Eat Lunch at LaBeau's and sail back. The sail back always seems to be interesting wind wise.

(cbb) Chris, you should come to. Where are you located?

have you considered Rockport? Mast up storage on the beach makes after work sailing pretty doable. $120-ish for the summer and not too far from Heber. Not the most dynamic place to sail, but for sure you'll get out a lot if you want.

I checked out Rockport it looks like a pretty nice deal but when I went the water was so high all the boats were stacked on the mountain side on top of the dead fall because there was no beach. Not sure if that was fluke or normal but it made me nervous all the same.

Is there anyone in that area that can go check it out?

It may be cost prohibitive to ship to NC, but what a cool looking boat (I know guys, 'cool looking' doesn't mean it will sail well -- but heck).

I don't mind taking a look if I can get away and I might could even store it for a bit. I am not sure what I could do about the tire or if it is really worth it to you to ship anywhere. I just took apart most of my Prindles so there is more room if the wife doesn't care. It looks like it is centerboard not daggers which I like it means they should kick up. I may not be able to do anything on a weekend right away. I might could break away on a weekday evening. I am not sure what I will be able to do about the trailer if the tire is shot.

Here are some of the images sent to me by the owner earlier today;

Would like to see images of the rudders and rudder housing mechanism. Looks like a modified Hobie sail with reef points. I see numerous wavy distorted sections on the hulls and several large areas of what looks like Bondo repair.

Edited by BadKitty on Jun 12, 2012 - 04:47 PM.

Dustin - thanks for the offer. I'm on the lake (Rockport) already so not too likely to pull out this season. Sounds fun, though - maybe next year.

About Rockport (for those following this thread hijack). Early spring and huge runoff years will put the boats pretty high on the shore until the lake starts to drop a bit, usually mid June, when we start to get a nice little beach. Boats are stored about a 3 minute walk from the ramp/concessions which gives it a nice private feel. I like to think of it as a very low budget beach club. Trailers are stored near there as well. It is all public access but have not heard of anyone having theft or damage. Several folks keep kayaks/BBQ's/whatever secured under their boats or on their trailers as well. I think we had about 20 boats there last year, so usually others around to chase about the lake. I live in Park City, maybe 20 minutes away, so easy to get on the water 2-3 times a week, usually after work. Typical mountain lake sailing, with wind every which direction and never constant. Still fun, though. Jordanelle, BTW, has a decent sailing program these days. Really big Laser class racing now. Launching there, however, is a major drag if you need to use the big ramp. There is a PWC ramp, which is much easier when crowded, but can be a tight fit for a cat trailer. Overall, not worth my time or sanity though it is a closer, bigger lake.

Chris

Just heard from the owner ... the boat has sold!

Ok! ... So who here got her?

Hey AJ, thanks for getting the extra pics. Are those full size like he sent you? I'd like to add this boat to the "unknown beachcats" folder with as good pics as possible.

If the originals were larger please either email them to me "damon@ this site" or make the album yourself in "unknown beachcats' with the larger photos.

Thanks,

Damon,

I created the subfolder - 18' Utah Mystery Catamaran - in the 'Unknown Beachcats' folder as per your request.

The original owner provided images were HUGE, so we've got great high rez pics to view!

No other historical information was available from the owner. The owner referred to the boat as 'extremely light weight' and vaguely remembered the boat being associated with a 'Browning' (or 'Brown') but didn't recall if that was the design,
designer or manufacturer.

BadKitty wrote: Just heard from the owner ... the boat has sold!

Ok! ... So who here got her?

Wasn't me, and i have to say i am a little disappointed. I was hoping to come up with some extra cash... oh well maybe us Utah folks will see it around.

cbb wrote: Dustin - thanks for the offer. I'm on the lake (Rockport) already so not too likely to pull out this season. Sounds fun, though - maybe next year.

About Rockport (for those following this thread hijack). Early spring and huge runoff years will put the boats pretty high on the shore until the lake starts to drop a bit, usually mid June, when we start to get a nice little beach. Boats are stored about a 3 minute walk from the ramp/concessions which gives it a nice private feel. I like to think of it as a very low budget beach club. Trailers are stored near there as well. It is all public access but have not heard of anyone having theft or damage. Several folks keep kayaks/BBQ's/whatever secured under their boats or on their trailers as well. I think we had about 20 boats there last year, so usually others around to chase about the lake. I live in Park City, maybe 20 minutes away, so easy to get on the water 2-3 times a week, usually after work. Typical mountain lake sailing, with wind every which direction and never constant. Still fun, though. Jordanelle, BTW, has a decent sailing program these days. Really big Laser class racing now. Launching there, however, is a major drag if you need to use the big ramp. There is a PWC ramp, which is much easier when crowded, but can be a tight fit for a cat trailer. Overall, not worth my time or sanity though it is a closer, bigger lake.

Chris

Rockport sounds pretty fun actually. Jordanelle is, howerver, a but closer for me and i do like the consistent winds, cliffs to jump off, and their 2 launches. Having a north facing launch and south facing launch make nice to have a choice depending on which way the wind is blowing. I've never had trouble getting my 18' cat down the smaller ramp. I am not sure what Jordanelle charges to keep a boat there. Probably an arm and a leg.

Wasn't me, and i have to say i am a little disappointed. I was hoping to come up with some extra cash... oh well maybe us Utah folks will see it around.

Venora,

I too am very disappointed - I was in the middle of shipping quotes and wanted to get a 'ball park' figure before I told
the owner 'consider her sold'. I guess when I had him on the phone, I should have asked if he would hold her for me with a deposit 'til I could get my ducks in a row. I shipped my Welsford Navigator from Maine to North Carolina and it cost $1000.00+ with fees and insurance. The Navigator did not have a trailer - just the boat and a small outboard.

He said he had lots of inquiries - that some guy from Orem was very interested. Maybe that's the fellow who purchased her.

When the owner notified me that the boat had sold, I asked for more images of the rudders/mech. system but he said the boat was gone by the time he got home from work. I asked him to pass my contact info along to the new owner
and vice versa, however, I have not had a reply since.

I'm wondering if the boat was a foam cored job, like Airex or something. The owner kept mentioning how extremely light weight the boat was - said he could lift it high with one hand. Looking at the images, there looks like lots of distortion on the decks at the rear cross member joint and it appears extra thickness was added to the decks around the tramp.

Without really seeing things up close, I just have to wonder ....

Maybe we'll get lucky and the new owner will contact either me or this board.

I sure didn't buy it.

I am considering leaving a P16 up at Rockport sometime. Probably a Franken model with one yellow and one white hull. 😀

Yep, the Orem guy got it! I'm working on registering it and if they can track down the former registration (no luck yesterday with hull decals) maybe I can learn more about its history. If not, I'm hoping they'll let me register it as a Mystery, as you called it above.

I'll send photos soon for your unknown cats section. BTW, I found one other similar boat for sale a few years ago in NY at http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/7115 that says it's a 1960s custom job.

Now to pick a name: Banana Boat, Trans Am, Cylon Raider...

Shaun
1960's Mystery 18'
Orem, UT

bananaboat wrote: Yep, the Orem guy got it! I'm working on registering it and if they can track down the former registration (no luck yesterday with hull decals) maybe I can learn more about its history. If not, I'm hoping they'll let me register it as a Mystery, as you called it above.

I'll send photos soon for your unknown cats section. BTW, I found one other similar boat for sale a few years ago in NY at http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/7115 that says it's a 1960s custom job.

Now to pick a name: Banana Boat, Trans Am, Cylon Raider...

Shaun
1960's Mystery 18'
Orem, UT

Welcome to TheBeachcats.com Orem guy! And thanks Shaun for figuring out your signature and avatar right away.

If you are planning on fixing the mystery boat up to sail (that would be cool) please document create a technical album and document your work in case one of these ever pops up again and for our entertainment. Here's a great example of an album like that from restoring another 1960's boat, the Pacific Cat.
http://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures/?g2_itemId=83700
You know, looking at this picture from that album, maybe your boat has P-Cat heritage.

smackdaddy wrote:
Thanks Damon. Actually it's pure ignorance that makes me wonder. The bows just don't seem to have that rocker and roundness of the Hobie 16.

With the new pictures you posted I agree it's not any Hobie I've ever seen, the first picture you posted I figured just might be distorted from the angle or lens.

The thing has a lot of features in common with the Hobie 14/16 but the hulls are quite different. There aren't too many boats beside the Hobies with that sort of tramp platform on pylons.

Please start a new thread for this boat so we don't mess up the Utah Mystery boats thread any more. Once you've done the new thread I'll delete these posts.

Oh, and welcome to TheBeachcats.com!