Following the successful development with Bill O'Brien of the Bobcat Catamaran  in
the 1960s, Tom Lack Catamarans LTD specialized in building these early cruising
catamarans. In fact, they built hundreds of Bobcat Catamarans. It was 1970 when they came to the
decision to end building O'Brien's Bobcat and working with boat designer John Winterbotham,
created their own design, the Catalac 9M. This marked the beginning of the Catalac line of
cruising catamarans. The Catalac 9M was formally 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) also worked for O'Brien at that time. It's no coincidence that the layout of Gemini's and Catalacs are very similar. |
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Richard Woods of Woods Designs www.sailingcatamarans.com
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Boat Improvements 
There
was at least one "official" upgrade of the Catalac 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. The new design was applied to all boat designs going forward.
After 1985 production becomes confused with some boat repair boats finished and sold by Lacks sons and or builders associated with them. Additional boats were made/sold by several builders including Catalac Catamarans LTD (not related to the Lack family), which appears to have been the most successful making 10M's until 1989. After the demise of CCC, John Lack (Tom’s son) was to finish two 10M's for owners who had boats that had been started but not finished by CCC, and was producing Catalac 8M's through at least 1990.
The Next Evolution 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. During this same time period Blue Water Catalacs Ltd, bought the 8m/9M moulds and a "new" 9M came on the market, renamed the Catalac 900. The boat was modified by eliminating the main hatch and extending the 'doghouse' into a completely sealed cabin with cockpit entry door. Unfortunately, it was less than a sales success story, in that only 26 boats were manufactured during the company's existence over 10 years. Recently, (November 2010) I've received emails suggesting that a Catalac 800 was also introduced in 1995 using the same unique enclosed cabin configuration as the Catalac 900, along with an extended stern using 'sugar scoops'. I'm tracking this information down now. If anyone reading this has knowledge of the 'Catalac 800', please contact me. |
In a recent email (2010), John Lack told me, that elements of the 8m and 9m moulds remain in the
UK as far as he can ascertain, in an unknown condition. John does have the moulds for the Catalac
8M skegs as well as the following items for sale:
Quay Rigging 16-17 Coastguard Way Christchurch Dorset BH23 3NR Telephone: 01202 230833 (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. |
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| 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 dead rise 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.
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| Which Cruising Cats Hold Their Value? by Charles Kanter Catalac, 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 Communiqué by Charles Kanter Catalac 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. |
