Brand: Catalac 8M

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The Catalac 8M is a pocket cruising catamaran which has a solid reputation for quality, strength and durability. Many of the boats found in North America today, were sailed there from Great Britain. The Catalac 8M, although classified as a pocket cruiser was designed with blue water sailing in mind. Twin diesel models can easily motor almost 1000 kilometers without refueling. The 70 amps of charging and 70 gallons of stock water tanks in the Catalac 8M and 9M make even these smaller boats terrific coastal cruisers. Constructed with solid fiberglass hulls, these are quality boats which were built like battleships.

Chuck Kanter calls them one of the catamaran brands that live on through the decades. The Catalac 8M is masthead rigged with a relatively short, but thick mast. As with all boats in the Catalac production lineup, this contributes to a stable boat with a low center of effort. No Catalac has ever been known to fly a hull under any circumstances. Please see our information page for more info.

Specifications
Make:Catalac
Model:8M
Length:27
Builder:Tom Lack Catamarans LTD
Designer:Tom Lack and John Winterbotham
Construction:Solid fiberglass hulls; white topsides, decks, and superstructure
Build Start:1975
Build End:2002
Number Built:216 manufactured; 41 located Americas; Most production from 1975 to 1987
Mfg Price:Outboard £25,000 / Inboard £29,470
Loa:27 ft / 8.2 meters
Lwl:25' 4" / 7.75 meters
Beam:13'8" / 4.2 meters
Headroom:6'4" (hulls) / 2.0 meters
Draft:2'4" / .75 meters
Displacement:6700 lbs / 3000 kgs
Mast Height:40' (off water) / 12.25 meters
Mfg Engines:Single outboard various manufacturers / twin Yanmar 1GM10 diesel engines
Mfg Accommodations:
  • 1 double cabin forward starboard hull.
  • 1 single berth mid port hull-(inboard diesels)
  • 1 single berth rear port hull (outboard engine)
  • 2 single berths using settee or 1 queen berth using settee and table
  • 1 head-forward port hull
  • Galley located in starboard hull

Catamaran For Sale – Catalac 8M (Panama)

Asking: $55,000 (USD)
VAT & Duty Paid
S/V Coolrunnings is a Bocas Del Toro, Panama based 1982 Catalac 8M Catamaran For Sale by Owner
Photos & Details Contact Catamaran Owner
Catalac 8M
New Arrival! (2023-10-01)

S/V Coolrunnings is a 1982 Catalac 8M catamaran, for sale by owner. She comes with with 33″ hull extensions/swim platforms/motor mounts.

Electric propulsion, hard dodger allowing complete cockpit enclosure with AC. Sale price can be adjusted by removal of selected items. New Hydrovane and some lithium batteries.

The Catalac 8M is a pocket cruising catamaran which has a solid reputation for quality, strength and durability. Although classified as a pocket cruiser, the 8M was designed with blue water sailing in mind. Twin diesel models can easily motor almost 1000 kilometers without refueling. Constructed with solid fiberglass hulls, these are quality boats which were built like battleships.

Catamaran For Sale – Catalac 8m (Florida)

Asking: $39,500 (USD)
S/V Moggy is a Cape Coral/Ft. Myers based 1979 Catalac 8M Catamaran For Sale by Owner
Photos & Details Contact Catamaran Owner
Catalac 8m

S/V Moggy is a 1979 Catalac 8m catamaran, for sale by owner. She’s been owned for the last 13 years by a knowledgeable, liveaboard couple, who have extensively improved & refurbished her.

Some of the items include; new sails, all new running rigging, complete 12v system rewire, solar panels, Dyneema standing rigging & lifelines, interior upgrades, & the list goes on. This boat truly needs nothing, is in excellent condition, & ready to take you anywhere.

We’ve just cruised Moggy from Texas & are now sailing the Florida west coast. We are available to show her anytime. We are getting older now & it’s time to pass her on to someone who will love & care for her as much as we have.

Catamaran For Sale – Catalac 8M (Turkey)

Asking: $40,000 (USD)
VAT & Duty Paid
S/V My Way is a Bodrum based 1987 Catalac 8M Catamaran For Sale by Owner
Photos & Details Contact Catamaran Owner
Catalac 8M

S/V My Way is a 1987 Catalac 8M for sale by owner. Here is a really unique boat that has been well cared for and will surely be one of the most enjoyable purchases.

The Catalac 8M is a pocket cruising catamaran which has a solid reputation for quality, strength and durability. Although classified as a pocket cruiser, the 8M was designed with blue water sailing in mind. The 70 amps of charging and 70 gallons of stock water tanks make even these smaller boats terrific coastal cruisers. 

My Way’s hull is constructed with a solid fiberglass hulls. She floats on a single pivoting Yanmar 2GM engine that allows for amazing maneuverability. We installed new batteries last year.

Catalac 8M Review and Owner Interview “S/V Chateau Cat”

In this episode, we interview Simon who owns a Catalac 8M called S/V Chateau Cat. He’s had it for two years. Simon came to catamaran sailing after growing up with a monohull, so we’re really curious about how it’s been to have a catamaran for him. What kind of experiences he’s had. A big thank you for him in participating and generously sharing his stories and photos! Executive Summary Chose catamaran for space and larger solar footprint. Used to have a solar panel business and has 2 small children. 44 years old. Grew up on a 24 foot monohull with 2 brothers. Inspired by a sail on a Dazcat, he decided a catamaran would be more comfortable with better performance. The Catalac 8M was an affordable option that met his criteria. Built in 1980 (an 8m Mark II which as skegs in front of the rudders) in Chichester, South coast […]

Catalac 8M / 9M Mast Lowering Instructions

The Catalac 8M and the Catalac 9M are unique in that they have a tabernacle designed to raise and lower the mast. Chainplates are mounted at the pivot point and the procedure is both simple and convenient. Read how I dropped my mast, replaced everything at the top and rewired it, all in an afternoon. (click here) . Note the mast support wires in the drawing below. These are necessary. The mast lowering pole is steel, 2″ in diameter thick wall tubing, 8 FEET long with a 6 inch stainless steel tip. It weighs around 25 lbs. Please see a gallery of useful mast lowering/raising photos from a Calatac 8M in Greece. The strange construction on the bow of this 8M/16 is a motorbike support bracket. A previous owner was sailing with his motorbike on the bow for Greek island exploration!

Catalac 8M iPad Chart plotter

by Emile du ToitCatalac 8M8-192I have been looking for a way not to buy a dedicated chart plotter and finally started investigating software options for the iPad. I tried and like two of them. 1) iNavx available for iPad and iPhone has some nice features for integrating data from your instruments if that is desired. It mainly uses NOAA RNC raster United States waters marine charts. Although these are free, I dont like them much as primary source since they are not auto quilting, meaning as you move off of one, you manually have to choose the next appropriate chart. Personally I don’t like that. iNavx has a nice feature where it shows you your VN=Vesseal name, SOG=Speed over ground, VAR, HPE, LAT, LON, and VPE in real time. 2)NAVIONICS makes a great iPad navigation app called Marine&Lakes USA HD version 2.5.1 that does not require internet access for the navigation part […]

Memories of my Catalac 27

by Hak Kauffman (note: Hak Kauffman bought his Catalac 27 in 1977 and sailed it for 20 years. In those early catamaran days, he was one of the brave pioneers who took a chance on these new styled boats. Hak sold the boat when his age caught up to him, but has vivid recollections of his, which he was kind enough to share with us – Rick) Catalac 27 In my search for a new bigger boat, I decided to include multihulls. After a trip to Symons Sailing in Amityville, Long Island, NY, I thought the 8 meter Catalac would be the answer. About a month later, Bill told me he now had a new one at his place. So, my wife and three sons drove up to inspect and decide. We all liked what we saw, but I requested a short “get acquainted” sail, after we had lunch. We found […]

Catalac 8M Information

Pocket Cruiser with impeccable safety record The Catalac 8M is a pocket cruising catamaran which has a solid reputation for quality, strength and durability. Many of the boats found in North America today, were sailed there from Great Britain. The Catalac 8M, although classified as a pocket cruiser was designed with blue water sailing in mind. Twin diesel models can easily motor almost 1000 kilometers without refueling. The 70 amps of charging and 70 gallons of stock water tanks in the Catalac 8M and 9M make even these smaller boats terrific coastal cruisers. Constructed with solid fiberglass hulls, these are quality boats which were built like battleships. Chuck Kanter calls them one of the catamaran brands that live on through the decades. The Catalac 8M is masthead rigged with a relatively short, but thick mast. As with all boats in the Catalac production lineup, this contributes to a stable boat […]

Bravo II: A British Built Bay Cruiser

Hak Kauffman, and bis wife Adele, bad been sailing for eight years when, in 1977, the middle-aged couple found their perfect combination of speed versus accomodation in their 27-foot Calalac cruising catamaran. They were anchored in Spa Creek this week during their annual summer cruise, and the Cherry Hill, New Jersey sailors took time to chat about their spacious little multihull, and their sailing. S/V Bravo II stays on the Middle River. east of Baltimore. The Kauffmans bought the English boat in Amityville, L.I. and he sailed it south on the maiden voyage. They have cruised to all parts of Chesepeake Bay, just all over, including the York River, up and down the Potomac with stops at St. Mary’s City, and down to the Rapahannock. Before the Catalac, they had a good sized Bristol — and still maintain their affiliation with the Chesapeake/ Bristol Club, which will he celebrate its […]

Catalac 8M Boat Show Review

That I first took the helm of the new catamaran after dark for a trial sail was novelty enough in itself, but I very soon discovered that connected to the other side of the wheel was an excellent blend of well-tried, sea-proven and moreover much-loved ingredients. The art of blending I believe to be a gift, which can be enhanced only by long carefully considered experience and Tom Lack and John Winterbotham between them seem to have thus concocted yet another first-rate cruising yacht.

Catalac 8M Sales Brochure

Boating is not only about boats, it is also about people. The owners of our Catalacs are special people, and not for the obvious commercial reasons. Over the years, we have built up an exceptionally close relationship with them all, and as there are now 500 Catalacs sailing worldwide, we feel this is rather an achievement in itself. One which we cherish highly. Our motto, built by a Family for a Family, is very appropriate as the majority of our owners are family people, and I in turn, am very ably supported by my wife, Mary and two of our five sons, William and Bruce.

Catalac 8M Diesel Engine Removal, Rebuild & Reinstall

One of my very few peeves about the Catalac 8M has to do with the inboard diesel engine placement. Apparently boat balance dictated the engine position in the boat. In actuality,  the Yanmar 1GM10s were placed so far forward in the engine compartments that the front of the engine is just 3 inches (75cm) from the rear bulkhead. The engines are almost literally mid engine mounted. Unfortunately, the Yanmar water pump, external oil lines, oil filter, thermostat ..etc..are all located on the front of the engine and are not easily accessible for normal maintenance. (Or I’m just too old to bend into a pretzel) For years, I’ve been forced to figure out long, time consuming ways to perform normal maintenance on my diesels. It’s been frustrating to say the least. Finally, an overly warm engine and leaking oil lines in my starboard engine, were the catalyst for me to pull […]

Catalac 8M upgrade Rudders and install Skegs

by Didier Grietencontact Didier Grieten When I bought my 8M, it was equipped with the older style lifting steel blade rudders.The rudder blades however were in very bad condition, with considerable corrosion and rust. Also, the wood support structure had to be replaced as it was rotting away and looking at the rudder blades showed they required some TLC as well. In some areas thickness was reduced to 50% and rust still working to get it even thinner… This meant some serious work on the rudders was required… Here’s what it was supposed to look like: I had three options, the first being replace the wood, remove the heavily corroded areas and weld in new material or just entirely replace the steel blades with new ones, get them galvanized and throw on a few coatings of paint… The second one was to replace the whole rudder setup with the newer […]

Struck by Lightning while under way

I should be dead I imagine that if you live in the lightning capital of the world, itS unavoidable. Sooner or later the boat will be hit by lightning. However, usually it occurs when no one is on board. I should be so lucky. In our case, we had a front row seat as we were hit by lightning on what began as a perfect sailing afternoon. Southwinds, a sailing magazine, recently featured an article on lightning strikes and boats in their June 2009 issue, and mentioned my experience in their story.  Click here to read my Lightning hit story in print. (It’s on page 44.) Afternoon storms are as regular as clockwork in summer months in central Florida. For that reason I usually leave the dock just as offshore winds are building in mid morning and try and be back in our slip before the storms hit. One Saturday, household chores […]

Sailing through a hurricane

Caught in a hurricane When I completed the sales transaction and took ownership of my Catalac 8M, I was hundreds of miles from home. I couldn’t wait to bring her home and put out a call to friends and family for crew. I accepted my brother’s gracious offer to give me a hand. He has a solid power boat backround these days and when we were kids we spend every minute we could in boats on Long Island Sound and the north Atlantic, and we both survived it. At the time, I really thought he’d enjoy the trip, as this was Florida. Tropical breezes and all that. What’s not to like? In retrospect, my brother didn’t fully appreciated the max speed under power of 6.5 knots we achieved with Catalpa. I still picture him shoving the throttles to their stops, with a quizzical look on his face when she didn’t go […]

Catalac 8M Performance Page

Catamaran for sale by owner

This page is fairly technical … but in 2005 the Catalac 8M was my new boat and calculating performance characteristics satisfied my curiousity.  Essentially this page displays crucial data which is used to calculated max speed and stability for the Catalac 8M / 9M (same hulls). The data can be used in the context of hull design or racing handicaps. There’s no way a Catalac 8M (or most cruising catamarans for that matter) can be mistaken as a racer. The link to my hull design formula page can be found here.Catamaran Hull design page Catalac 8M / 9M Specifications LOA 27 ft / 8.23 m Length overall LWL 25.5 ft / 7.77 m Length at waterline SA 400 sq. ft. 37.16 sq. m Total sail area of the Main and Jib – 100% fore-triangle area only BOA 13.67 ft / 4.17m Beam overall Bcl 10.41 ft / 3.17 m Distance between […]

Catalac 8M/9M Rigging Tune

Sailboat Rig tuning is an art rather than a science and varies from boat to boat and from low winds to high winds. Remember that the rigging on a monohull unloads as the boat heels and spills wind out of it’s sails. When you look at Catamaran rig tuning, we have to keep in mind that our rigs never unload. We have stiffer masts because of this and larger diameter wire stays. As with all sail boats, the rigging not only holds up your mast, but also has an effect on sail shape, and therefore affects performance.Racing boats have several rig tension setups depending upon wind speed the day of the race. For a cruising boat, this is impractical, and it makes more sense to aim for one rigging setup that pretty much fits all the conditions. At the same time addressing two of my particular challenges that need help. […]