|
Catalac Catamaran boat development
page |
|
General Catalac Catamaran information and history is below, boats offered
for sale in the link above. Specific boat information is accessed by
the buttons on the menu bar at the left. Here's a shortcut to the boats
description section:
Go
directly to Boat design description |
| Brief Catalac Catamaran History |
Following the successful development with Bill O'Brien
of the Bobcat Catamaran
 in
the 1960s, Tom Lack Catamarans LTD built hundreds of Bobcat
Catamarans. It was 1970 when they stopped building Bobcats and began
production of Tom Lack's new design, The Catalac Catamaran. The
Catalac 9M was the first boat introduced in 1970, followed by the Catalac
8M in 1975, 12M and then the 10M. The boats had a stellar reputation
for build quality and seaworthiness. Close to 1000 cruising catamarans
were built by the Lack family, 600 of them were Catalacs, making
them a cruising catamaran success story as well as one of the pioneers
in multihulls. A related footnote is that boat builder Tony Smith of
Performance Cruising Inc. (Gemini Catamarans) worked for |
| them at that time. It's no coincidence that the layout
of Gemini's and Catalacs are very similar. "Another interesting bit of history. One of the Catalac rivals in the early 1970's was the Aristocat. It failed to sell as it wasn't as good a boat as the Catalac. Years later Tony Smith got the Aristocat moulds and it became the first Gemini. Which maybe gives an indication as to how good the Catalac actually is." Richard Woods of Woods Designs www.sailingcatamarans.com
|
| Production of Catalac Catamarans made by the Lack family ceased
around 1985, after Tom Lack was seriously injured in an auto accident.
Family tragedies usually come at a poor time and this was no exception.
The introduction of the 12 meter Catalac at this time put unusual financial
strains on the company, as the boat was a huge success at American boat
shows. Alas, the company did not survive the combination of these events.
Boat Improvements There was at least one "official" upgrade of the 8M's and 9M's, which was the Mk II about 1980. The company directly addressed the windward performance complaints received, and introduced a newly designed skeg hung rudder system. This modification was a success and greatly improved the windward performance of the boats. This modification was applied to all boat designs going forward.It is believed that there were some additional improvements as well: modifying the mould to include steps on the forward cabin between the windows for easy access to the cabin top, a square window replaced the round one in head and aft cabin/storage area. There had also been different engines mounted over the years but those are not structural.
Sometime around 1995 the British boat builder Hythe Marine Services LTD of Southampton, started making the Catalac 11M, a updated 10M with "stern scoops" which increased LOA by some 1.5 ft (.6 meters) , and rerouted all sail control lines to 
the cockpit. They also featured handcrafted interior joinery and plush
upholstery. While the boat received great reviews and from all reports
was well made, sailed and motored better than the Catalac 10M, it was
not a sales success. I have a letter sent to a 10M owner where they
were exploring an upgrade, and have added the Catalac 11M data to the
menu bar. Then during this same time period a "new" 9M came on the market,
made by Blue Water Catalacs, renamed the Catalac 900. The boat
was also less than a sales success story in that only 26 boats have
been manufactured during the company's existence over 10 years.
16-17 Coastguard Way Christchurch Dorset BH23 3NR Telephone: 01202 483191 Fax: 01202 499669 (no email address or website available) I received an email from Nibby David, who lives in Seaton, East Devon, UK concerning the Catalac moulds. He has personally seen the moulds for the 12 meter Catalac at Burnham-on-Sea boatyard, Somerset, Bristol Channel west coast UK, and is fairly certain John Lack still has the 8M moulds, He also reports that the 9M moulds were bought by Blue Water Catalacs and moved to Piddlehinton in Dorset. This was the basis for the Catalac 900. As a side note, Blue Water Catalacs also moulded a few of the Solaris range of cats. However, John Lack disagrees. He told me that he doesn't have the 8M moulds. John Lack also told me that he believes the 10m Catalac moulds used once by a Company in Hythe, near Southampton, following the demise of Catalac Catamarans, were cut up and discarded. John confirmed the 12m Catalac moulds were last known to be in the Weston Super Mare area of the West Country in the UK. |
| Go directly to the top of this page |
|
| Designers: Tom Lack & John Winterbottom Hull designs: Hard chine "V" section, load carrying hulls with flared bows to limit spray. They rely solely on lateral resistance to prevent leeway. The design was coupled with moderate sail area provide a safe and stable sailing platform. Tom Lack felt the design was so stable and safe that years ago Lack authorized a £10,000 reward to anybody that could document a Catalac with one hull out of the water. To date, no one has claimed that reward. The reason the boats are so stable is that the relatively short rig combined with the Hard chine hull design allow the 
boat to unload the sail area by slipping the boat sideways in a sudden
gust. It's very hard to turn turtle with this design and this along
with the high build quality, is the reason most of these boats are still
sailing today. In addition, it should be noted that these boats have solid Fiberglass hulls which will carry heavy loads far better than many others due to a wider hull-beam ratio, deep rocker design, extreme deadrise hulls with hard chines, and big, powerboat- like transoms (this was written by the noted multihull author, Charles Kanter). They also handle extremely well. Unlike others of that generation, they tack securely without backwinding the jib and handle smartly around docks, easily turning in their own length. Sailing Rig: Bermudan Sloop / masthead rig Design Features: Their shallow draft and opening cabin windows all with removable screens make these boats perfect tropical cruisers. Construction: Solid fiberglass Hulls and cored fiberglass bridge deck are one piece moldings bolted together. 3/4" Plywood wood bulkheads are bonded to the hulls.
Which Cruising Cats Hold Their Value?by Charles KanterCatalac, Cherokee, Iroquois, and Prout are cruising catamaran names that live through the decades. Bill Ware of 2Hulls brokerage in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says, "Generally speaking, the English cats have the best resale value. They built the most enduring catamarans in the world." Depending on condition, they can fetch higher prices now than they did when they were new, even adjusted for inflation. The Iroquois, designed by legendary Rod MacAlpine-Downey, is a high-quality, fast-sailing, Weatherly vessel with pivoting centerboards and kick-up rudders. Catalacs, an 8 meter (27-foot), 9 meter (30-foot), 10 meter (34-foot) and 12 meter (41-foot), each rugged and with great carrying capacity, exceptional layout and good handling, sail the other end of the performance spectrum, but many have crossed the Atlantic.(an excerpt from the book)Cruising Catamaran Communiquéby Charles KanterCatalac catamarans, with over 600 units built and sailing, have probably brought as many hours of happy, comfortable and safe boating to more people than any other vessel. It is hard to find any comparable production vessel that has so well achieved its design objectives. One that comes close is the monohull, Morgan Out Island series, the most popular cruising boat ever. |
