First of all catboats by their nature are simple. That is they have hardly any standing rigging i.e. wires and supports for the mast and secondly, they have only one sail. Granted its a big sail, stretching from the bow to a little past the stern. More about that later. The catboat's single sail makes it easy to tack and its moveable centerboard means it can sail in shallow water. It can even be beached!
My catboat is typical of the design. Its width is about half of its length or in the case of "Ninas". 15 1/2 Ft. X 7+ Ft. Mast palced well forward, centerboard keel and big "barn door" rudder. Sail is gaff rigged so there is a spar attached to the top of the sail as well as the boom along the bottom of the sail.
Sailing a catboat can be heaven or it can be hell. But mostly it's heaven. I often think of the biblical fishermen when sailing my catboat. Afterall it was the basic workboat for east coast firshermen more than a hundred years. The not so great parts of catboat sailing have mostly to do with too much wind. Most sailing craft have to deal with gusty winds but a catboat has no real keel to keep her upright in a blow. She is beamy and that helps in a puff but when the wind gets above 15 knots things can get scary.
Ninas Reaching
Narragansett Bay on A Summer Afternoon
