n fact, looking at the hulls, it's hard to see how the boat sails well without boards, but apparently it does.
17 and 19 are the same hull design. 17 has no boards 19 does.... go figure
MN3 Who posts here regularly brought it to my attention. Says he has seen it happen more than once.
I can't recall seeing more than 1 time but i did see it first hand. A gaggle of people on a sc21 or 22(?) sailed off our causeway and didn't know/see/care there was a shallow "island" right infront of the beach and sailed right into it - tore the transom clean off. I know i have heard about it from other people but honestly can't recall seeing it happen first hand... I may have and just don't recall.
Edited by MN3 on Aug 27, 2023 - 03:42 PM.
MN3
cloudchsr wrote: The Supercat 17 looks like a beast. Everything currently on the market around here is 1980s vintage. Where are all the other boats???
In the 90's the EPA started really pressing fiberglass and foam manufacturers and industry users. They put Clark Foam out of the surfboard supply business altogether, for one. Also Congress passed a repulsive tax on yachts over 100k, which literally killed the US yachting industry. All the legacy boatyards either closed or moved overseas. Repealing the tax did not bring anyone back. The damage was done. The sailing industry as a whole died with this. Prindle was sold to NACRA and dried up in the US, moving to Europe. Hobie dropped a number of models, etc. Availability dropped, fleet membership dropped, ownership dropped. We are all that is left, and the current materials are expensive, or alternately cheaper/heavier roto-mold.
My $0.02.
[quote=MN3]
n fact, looking at the hulls, it's hard to see how the boat sails well without boards, but apparently it does.
17 and 19 are the same hull design. 17 has no boards 19 does.... go figure
Not really. The 17 has a much finer section then the 19 and even more so than the 20,21(ARC) and 22. The 17 has so much lateral resistance it's a pain in the ass to move around. An SC20 can be spun and turned easily in comparison, a SC20 is damn near round at the transom. There is also a model of the SC19 that doesn't have boards. When I find one, it will be mine.
A long time ago when I was a lad, I remember looking at a Supercat brochure and reading that the 19 was available with or without boards and the board less one came with inserts for the dagger board openings. It sounds ridiculous, so perhaps I'm mistaken.
klozhald wrote: [quote=cloudchsr]The Supercat 17 looks like a beast. Everything currently on the market around here is 1980s vintage. Where are all the other boats???
They put Clark Foam out of the surfboard supply business
There was nothing in the works by any regulatory agency to shut Clark down, or to levy fines - just constant monitoring and paperwork. Add in local Laguna Nigle yuppies making it hard for him, and a few other law suites... and presto!
I guess one day after making millions and owning the blanks business, Grubby Clark just said enough is enough, shuttered it, and went surfing.
Two of his former employees opened a shop in Gardena; US Blanks, using the same methods and are still running strong today.
Edited by JohnES on Sep 18, 2023 - 05:16 PM.
cloudchsr wrote: Re: SC17 transom damage from impacts, I believe there's a plastic screw in the rudder assembly that acts as a shear pin to prevent such damage. If this plastic screw is replaced by a metal one, the excessive loads would likely transfer to a vulnerable spot. I don't know this for absolute certain, but I can't imagine such a well designed boat having no basic protection from something as common (to some sailors) as running aground and/or beaching.
--George
Hi, George!
Well, that's what one would think, but there are always surprises lurking. Yes, the SC rudder locks (the spring-loaded rollers) are supposed to have 3/8" plastic shafts that'll shear if they don't release. Turns out my SC20 has 1/4" stainless bolts instead, and corresponding 1/4" slots for them milled in the castings. I knew I was going to be replacing them but hadn't noticed the size difference when I stopped at Aquarius to pick up parts and hang out for a few hours with Tom. So when I got home and discovered the size difference and asked him about it, he said he'd never seen such a thing. Just a bit of early boat weirdness, gotta have those slots milled out.
klozhald wrote:
In the 90's the EPA started really pressing fiberglass and foam manufacturers and industry users. They put Clark Foam out of the surfboard supply business altogether, for one. Also Congress passed a repulsive tax on yachts over 100k, which literally killed the US yachting industry. All the legacy boatyards either closed or moved overseas. Repealing the tax did not bring anyone back. The damage was done. The sailing industry as a whole died with this. Prindle was sold to NACRA and dried up in the US, moving to Europe. Hobie dropped a number of models, etc. Availability dropped, fleet membership dropped, ownership dropped. We are all that is left, and the current materials are expensive, or alternately cheaper/heavier roto-mold.
My $0.02.
Here's another interesting point for my "whither catamarans" paper that I don't think was raised in that thread (though I should go back and confirm). My question would be why an onerous tax on boats over $100K should affect a market in which most boats cost a fraction of that.
jonathan162 wrote: Here's another interesting point for my "whither catamarans" paper that I don't think was raised in that thread (though I should go back and confirm). My question would be why an onerous tax on boats over $100K should affect a market in which most boats cost a fraction of that.
Supply and demand.
When the big boys go under and no longer buy the materials, the materials suppliers go away too, and prices go up. There is less financial support for the sport, less visibility, less advertising, and the sport went out of every day consciousness.
The firms building those big yachts were the same one building the smaller craft, and they dried up. As I mentioned, repealing the tax did nothing, as the damage was done and world markets had popped up to adjust.