Return of the Handy Cat

[Soundbounder]

Catboat fans may remember the Handy Cat, a fiberglass, gaff-rigged 14-footer designed by Merle Hallett of Maine’s Handy Boat Service in 1969 and first produced in the 1970s by Cape Dory Yachts of Taunton, Massachusetts.

After building over 150 of the boats, Cape Dory sold the molds to Nauset Marine in the early ‘80s. A few years later, the molds were returned to Handy Boat Service in Falmouth, Maine, which produced the Handy Cat over the next several years. In all, several hundred Handy Cats were built from 1969 through 2003.

It seemed that the world had seen the last of the Handy Cat, but it turns out this cat has more than one life, thanks to Brian Connelly of Maine’s Stroudwater Boatworks. A longtime catboat aficionado who grew up sailing on Cape Cod, Connelly decided to revive the model after a conversation with Handy Boats’ Jay Hallett following the Cape Cod Boatbuilders’ Show last winter.

Under a special license agreement with Handy Boat, Connelly refinished the existing molds last spring then laid up the first 2 hulls in July. After a summer of finish work, testing, improving and tweaking, the first Handy Cat built in close to a decade was officially launched in September.

http://boatinglocal.com/reviews/return-of-the-handy-cat.html

 

[Soundbounder]

 

[Joe11688]

I remember years ago when I first saw the Handy Cat in a boat dealer's lot on the main drag in Bourne. I fell in love with it instantly. He had another larger catboat which I think they called the "America" that was pretty nice.
One of my friends owned the "Eagle" which I think had the same hull as the America catboat, but it was a gaff rigged sloop. I sailed it with him one day and it sailed beautifully with it's wheel steering, but it was so user unfriendly with the bow sprit when it came to picking up a mooring and working the anchor.
I would take a Handy Cat over the Beetle Cat any day though. I'm glad to hear that they are back in production.

 

[Soundbounder]

I remember years ago when I first saw the Handy Cat in a boat dealer's lot on the main drag in Bourne. I fell in love with it instantly. He had another larger catboat which I think they called the "America" that was pretty nice.
One of my friends owned the "Eagle" which I think had the same hull as the America catboat, but it was a gaff rigged sloop. I sailed it with him one day and it sailed beautifully with it's wheel steering, but it was so user unfriendly with the bow sprit when it came to picking up a mooring and working the anchor.
I would take a Handy Cat over the Beetle Cat any day though. I'm glad to hear that they are back in production.

It's a tough market right now.
Hopefully it works out for them

 

[kenn]

She's pretty, very yar, but how does she perform, especially close to the wind?

 

[CapeTyphooner]

I have spent many fun days sailing a Handy Cat on Cape Cod. She is a fantastic catboat and I am happy to see them back in production. To be sure, she is not a high performance boat (most cats are not). But the Handy Cat points pretty nicely and seems to "plow" through the water a lot less than other catboats.

I hope I see many more Handy Cats on the water soon.

 

[Joe11688]

I once owned a sturdee Cat years ago and if I had to choose between that and the Handy Cat, I would choose the Handy Cat hands down. A large gust of wind could capsize a Sturdee Cat tied out on a mooring. I had my Sturdee cat sitting on the trailer at the yacht club lot and a large gust of wind tipped it, and the trailer over against another sailboat on a trailer next to it.
The workmanship on these boats leave a lot to be desired. These are my own opinions on this particular catboat and I mean no disrespect to anyone who owns and sails one. I had a lot of fun sailing mine.
As far as upwind performance goes, a tradition catboat is noted for better performance other than an upwind close reach. My Sturdee had a 23' aluminum mast and was Bermudian rigged so you really couldn't call it a traditional catboat.

The only other catboat that I've ever had the pleasure to sail was a Pearson 23-C that a friend of mine once owned. This boat could fly. It's safe to say that this boat could out point and out sail any sloop on our river. It had a free standing Aluminum mast with lazyjacks, Bermudian rig, long boom, and the boat had the same shape as a Pearson sloop. It also had a fin keel with a 4' draft. Pearson only built about 44 of these boats I think.
There are some huge differences in traditional and non traditional catboats. It's a give and take between the different makes and models. I found that out myself.

 

[SamLust]

The "America" was an 18 foot design from Halsey Herreshoff from the mid 1970s. The "Eagle" was also, and came a bit later. The molds as I understand it were used by several builders in New England. The America molds were acquired by Com-Pac in Clearwater Florida. They changed the deck, companionway, aded a shaoolw long keel with stainless centerboard that does not intrude into the interior, changed the holl to deck joint. It uses Dwyer aluminum extrusions rather than the wood of the early boats. It has a little wheel in the sternthat actualy works fairly well with an enormous kick up foil rudder.

I bought mine in September and got in maybe six or eight qiuck sails before the cold hit. In that time I'm really impressed with it. Weather helm is negligable and it is generaly well mannered. and what might be the best part for a trailerable: I can have the mast up, in the water and sailing in 20 minutes!! No more 3 plus hours in the blazing sun to try to get out on the water.

 

[Joe11688]

They are really beautiful looking boats Sam.

 

[davenlynn]

Lovely craft. Does anyone remember the "Wood Pussy"? I think it was about 14' also, and cat rigged, too. Had a little skunk on the sail. Sailed one many years ago in(on) Naragansett bay. They were wooden, but I heard somewhere that they are now fiberglass. Just wondering. .

Dave

 

[Joe11688]

I've heard of the Wood Pussy but I've never seen one. One of the guys in my club is building the "Bob Cat."
One of my friends owned a Pearson 23-C catboat. I think they only built about 44 of them at TPI Pearson in Warren RI. It resembled a Pearson sloop in a lot of ways. It had a free standing Aluminum mast with no stays, a long boom with lazy jacks, and one large Bermudian Mainsail. She drew about 4.5' with her fin keel. I sailed her one day and I found this boat to be the fastest catboat I've ever seen and she could point up higher than most sloops including my O'Day 222. Most catboats have strong weather helm. This Pearson didn't. She sailed like a sloop. She was a honey of a boat but definitely not for shallow water.

 

[Tony D. Woodpussy]

Hi, I have sailed WoodPussys for about 8 years. It's a really fun boat to sail. It's quite stable and points well, with it's Marconi rig and 23.5' mast. I'm in the process of restoring a 12' Skimmar (http://forums.oday.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=895241) so I have my WoodPussy for sale on Craig's list
http://providence.craigslist.org/boa/2930353764.html. Regards, Andre

 

[Joe11688]

That Woodpussy looks like it's built a lot better than the Sturdee Cat I had. I had a lot of fun with it when I had it but I was disappointed in the way that they constructed it.

 

[Tony D. Woodpussy]

The Woodpussy boat is solid. Made in the mid-to late fifties or early 60's by the Marscott Company, with hand laid up (4 layers of cloth) fiber glass and weighs about 450 lbs. Although it's a catboat it doesn't have the stiff rudder that most cats do, but will round up nicely in a blow if the tiller is dropped. It points as well as most sloops.