Video: Dart 15 Sailing the Isles of Wight, UK

It makes one realize how the popularity of beachcats is declining on this side of the pond. I started sailing beachcats in Southern California in 1980 and it was a different world back then. I now live in Sarasota and when I go out often times I don't even see one.

The individual mentioned at the beginning Liam Thom, once sailed one of those little dart 15s on a very, very long voyage halfway around England.
Interestingly, I actually have one of those dart 15s that came from the Shanklin sailing club. When the owner immigrated to Canada, he brought it with him, but didn’t end up actually sailing it over here. I still have it up at my lake house with the regular sail and it almost new sail that was only used on race day.
It came with a bunch of spare parts, including a brand, new roller further and a nifty little dolly with cradles that fit the Dart hulls.
The dart has the largest fleet of any catamaran in Europe.
They are fun little boat that could be taken out in 30 mph winds. The retractable line in the front beam makes raging them as easy as a Hobie wave.
They were designed to be easily char topped. The race circuit over there can involve ferries, and if the boat was car topped, there is no extra charge for towing a trailer. The boat can be disassembled in just a few minutes with no tools required.
I’ll have to dig up some photos of it.

Edited by Edchris177 on Jun 08, 2024 - 08:18 AM.

I found an album I made of this boat stored here in the beach cats several years ago
https://www.thebeachcats.com/pictures?g2_itemId=128351&g2_GALLERYSID=7b42fabffbdb2601bca9df7c49bffb44