"The extreme length of the hull [of Amaryllis] is 24 feet 10 inches. . . . 

 The width [of each hull] is 20 inches in the widest place and 18 inches on 

 the waterline." 



The Amaryllis was launched in May 1876. During a trial in which she was 

 going at about 18 miles per hour, her backstay parted in a puff. Herresholf 

 added: "Sailing in a catamaran is an entirely new sensation, and it has every- 

 thing in a recreation to recommend it, safety being one of its chief attributes. 

 There is no shifting of ballast, no hanging on with tooth and nail up to 

 windward. I am sure that a half day's sail in the Amaryllis would spoil 

 anyone for the old fashioned sailing." 



It took over eighty years for catamarans again to occupy an important 

 place on the American yachting scene. The occasion was at Yachtings One- 

 of-a-Kind Regatta at Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida, starting on February 

 21, 1959. With forty boats competing, including those from the fastest sin- 

 gle-hull classes in the country, catamarans took first, second, and fourth 

 on corrected time: respectively, the Tigercaf^ (17'), the Cougar Mark I 

 ( 17V)' ^^^ the Shearwater III ( i6'6"). The only interruption to this string 

 was the third-place 17-foot canoe with a sliding seat. On a boat-for-boat 

 basis the first two catamarans were beaten only by a 38-foot Class A Inland 

 Lake Scow, over twice their length. 



Since that time catamarans and catamaran classes have grown so rapidly 

 in number that I can do no more here than attempt to catch on the wing a 

 few of what are considered the leading catamaran classes at the time of 

 writing, or those that have what seems to be sufficient promise. They are prob- 

 ably typical of others which will follow. The classes considered here are 

 I racing and day-sailing classes. Stock classes of cruising catamarans are at too 



early a stage of development for us to include any of them in this book. 



As will be noted in the discussions of catamaran classes which follow, 

 most of the catamarans now have certain points in common: identical nar- 

 row hulls; twin centerboards and rudders; aluminum spars which rotate, 

 including usually a "luffspar" on the jib for easy furling; usually more sail 

 for their length than a single-hull craft. Usually, also, they are less comfort- 

 able than most single-hull boats and wetter at maximum speeds, though 

 said to be drier at normal single-hull speeds. 



All catamarans are not fast sailers, as I know from personal experience. 

 In 1950, after experiencing the thrill of sailing at 18 or 20 knots in Wood- 

 bridge ("Woody") Brown's Manu Kai off Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, I took 

 what proved to be an unfortunate chance and imported a 20-foot Hawaiian- 

 built catamaran. I had not had a chance to try her out and depended upon 



* Tigercat was the name of the prototype boat which won this regatta. The class which fol- 

 lowed is called Tiger Cat. 



300 INTRODUCTION 



