Carbon-charged
Her owner describes this 18.5m cat as a ‘fun’ boat. That she undoubtedly is, but she also represents the pinnacle of New Zealand’s marine engineering and boatbuilding expertise.
This 18.5m cat represents the pinnacle of New Zealand’s marine engineering and boatbuilding expertise.
You wouldn’t know it from a casual appraisal, but Cation is entirely carbon fibre. She weighs around 12 tonnes lightship and though she’s billed as a performance-cruiser the visual clues suggest the scale’s tipped to performance. Consider the streamlined coachroof, the sleek, carbon-fibre rig, the black 3DI sails and square-top main, the knife-like hulls with their reverse bows, the asymmetric dagger-boards – and on it goes.
And for those who remember their high-school chemistry, a final clue is in the name and logo. A ‘cation’ (pronounced cat-ion) is a positively-charged atom – a phrase that perfectly captures the character of owner Graham Catley.
It also draws on his surname and, of course, the catamaran. A sailor with a long (and ongoing) background in the adrenalinlaced world of 18-foot skiff racing, it’s unsurprising his design brief called for a ‘go-fast’ yacht.
To designer Roger Hill’s credit, he’s smoothly blended the speed factor with easy-to-sail functionality and spacious, euro-style living. Covering all of Cation’s standout features is impossible within the confines of these pages, so given her bias I’ll home in on a few performance items that caught my eye.
THE DAGGER-BOARDS
For me, more than any other component, these encapsulate the depth of design, engineering and craftsmanship that’s gone into Cation.
Most performance-cruiser sailing cats are equipped with small ‘keel-lets’ to keep leeway in check. Those that do have dagger-boards usually have two-dimensional, straight up-anddown models – like centreboards. Cation’s are more like an AC50’S foils. The curve inboard, under the hulls and bridgedeck.
They also have an asymmetrical profile designed to add ‘lift’. When she’s doing 15 knots, says Hill, “the fully-deployed leeward board delivers around 4.5 tonnes of lift. This raises the pontoons a little, reducing wetted surface area and thus drag. It also contributes to Cation’s ability to point very high.”
Significantly, there is also a pragmatic slant to the boards’ design. The radius of the curve and ‘sheath’ is such that the boards can be removed from above for maintenance or repair. Curved boards usually have to be extracted from below, requiring a haul-out. Very clever.
Fully deployed, the dagger-boards give the cat a draught of 3.8m. Retracted, that’s reduced to 600mm. Similarly, the rudders are easily retracted – they’re equipped with an ingenious locking mechanism.
This means Cation can get into very shallow anchorages – an important part of the owner’s design brief. He wanted to be able to moor her really, really close to his bach. Just like the AC50S, Cation’s rudders have a horizontal T-section foil at the bottom.
SAIL CONTROLS
Handling the sails on a spirited, 18.5m cat can be daunting at the best of times – let alone when short-handed. But Catley’s design brief called for easy handling as he and his wife plan to sail Cation alone for much of the time. I don’t know the lady, but I hope she has a ready supply of steroids on hand.
A couple of easy-control strategies will help: a self-tacking jib, a German mainsheet system allowing the sail to be controlled from either helm, and a very slick Ocean Furl boomfurling system from Hall Spars.
I was particularly impressed with the easy-touse design of the main halyard – specifically, how it automatically engages/disengages at the head of the sail during hoisting/lowering. For anyone who’s laboured onto a boom to undo the halyard shackle on a deep-roach main, this auto system is a gem.
The boom-furling main and the ability to switch to the smaller staysail present quick, easy reefing options, even though reefing isn’t really wired into Catley’s DNA. He prefers to “play with the shape and camber of the main to keep her on the edge.” I’m sure he means the boat, not his wife.
A near full-width curved traveller along the back of the bridge deck and a powerful hydraulic kicker offer plenty of scope for adjusting the main’s shape. And because nearly all of Cation’s numerous Harken winches are electric, it’s easy to maintain your dignity while raising/adjusting sails.
I also like the design philosophy of the sail controls. Sheets and lines are cleverly concealed within the structure, reinforcing the cat’s clean lines and sleek cabin top. A good example is the single mainsheet at the end of the boom – it’s completely incongruous for handling the massive sail’s loads. But a little investigation reveals that the single line runs through a 4:1 purchase system hidden inside the boom. Minimal drag and very, very neat. THE RIG Hall Spars’ 25m mast carries an impressive spread of sail – a little over 200m2 between Cation’s main and jib. Her gennaker adds a further 276m2.
Some high-tech gear has been employed to keep it all stable and aerodynamically efficient. The carbon forestay, for example, has a round, low-drag profile. The sail slides over it – very different to, and much lighter, than a conventional aluminium section and track. Stays and shrouds are E6 carbon fibre and the rig’s diamond stays are aramid. ACCOMMODATION For all her performance-oriented features, Cation is a supremely spacious and comfortable vessel, designed to meet the needs of up to eight in stylish splendour.
Sleeping arrangements are divided between two identical master suites (port and starboard) just forward of midships,