Joe wrote:
Fuzzy Logic wrote:
"Joe" wrote in news:1166122839.066555.275550
@j72g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Why do they call "cat boats" cat boats?
Because of the rigging:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catboat

So why is the boat called a cat boat because of the rigging? Is it cat
like?

Someone just said Hey I'll call this a cat boat for no reason at all?

Joe

To "cat about" or "cat around" was a phrase meaning to spend time
aimlessly. Of course, the early catboats were work boats.

I always associated it with the term cathead, which was a timber on
the bow from which the cat (the tackle) was used to raise the anchor.
Perhaps the rigging of a catboat resembled that of the cathead.

But really, to cat was clang for vomit.

"Joe" wrote in message
oups.com...
Why do they call "cat boats" cat boats?

http://www.jsjohnston.org/~win_or_lose.html

Joe


So, behold the catboat. Note that it is both a hull and a rig. Note that the
hull is wide and the big, gaff-rigged sail is set on a strong mast with a
single forestay well forward near the stem. Note how the sail is controlled
with a topping lift, lazy jacks, separate throat and peak halyards, reef
points.

So the catboat is basic, plain, unadorned except for necessities. The
catboat is beamy, generous in girth, usually half as wide as she is long.
The catboat is powerful with that big, single sail. The catboat is shallow
draft, usually with a centerboard. And the catboat is deceptively simple.
The experienced sailor knows that if he fails to reef when the wind gets
strong, the cat may turn around and stare him in the eye. He also knows that
jibing in heavy air may pull the rig out of the boat.

The gaff main is not meant to be picturesque. It's to lower the center of
effort, give more drive off the wind and allow more control through the peak
halyard and topping lift.



Yet it is a rig and a hull form that take easily to young learning sailors.
We can see this from the Beetle Cats, which have been built for 75 years,
and more recently by Harold Turner's Turnabout trainers beginning perhaps 45
years ago.

The catboat is a native American art form. She was developed, built and
sailed with great skill by ordinary men who needed her for honest work. Her
origins go back at least 160 years, and perhaps more.

She was one of the most versatile workboats ever devised. In the age of sail
she was used extensively for all kinds of fishing activities--lobstering,
swordfishing, seining, handling and scalloping. She was used in packeting
and carry-away work. From southern New England to the Jersey shore, cats
took out day visitors for bluefishing and other pleasures.

The classic catboat has a plumb stem, high bow, and big barndoor rudder.
Those cats 17 feet or more usually have a cuddy cabin with two bunks and the
rudiments for overnight sailing. The cat is rarely longer than 22 to 25
feet. She was never intended for blue water work. Some of the bigger cats
did go 30 or more miles offshore in the fisheries. But the cat mostly was an
alongshore workboat.

The catboat had also been used since early times for pleasure sailing and
for racing. However, some cats built for racing a hundred years ago
developed an unsavory reputation and cast a shadow over some other catboats.
These racing cats had been given enormous rigs, with booms going way aft of
the transom. They set jibs on a long bowsprit and some even had what we
might call bloopers, shooters or whatever today.

http://www.catboats.org/gallery/crocker.htm

Now can you guess?
--
jlrogers±³©

Jeff,

That is the answer of a "LIAR!" Pure and Simple.

A Cape Cod Cat has a Big Barn door rudder BUT If Nellen got the Rudder
of an Atlantic City Cat out of the water; That Cat was CAPSIZED!!!

The Atlantic Cat has an Internal Rudder out the bottom of the boat! So
does the "Freedom" As does most Catboats of modern design.

There was a very simple reason for the Darn Door Rudder, If Nellen had
any "Salt" at all, the reason should be obvious.

Ellen MacArthur wrote:
"Jeff" wrote
Are you seriously saying that people that only have one large sail, often with a large heavy boom, find it easier to
gybe in heavy air than to tack? I am at a loss for words!

The boom is very long and heavy and there's another one on top of the sail. But, if you ever
sailed one in heavy winds you'd know that jibing them is easy. It's easy because the boom on top
called the gaff boom blows the top part of the sail well forward. The main boom is held back by the
sheets. So when you wear ship you slowly tighten up on the sheet till it's almost centered but the gaff
boom keeps the top of the sail downwind. When you go through the eye, no that's not right, what's the
opposite of the eye? The tail of the wind? No that's not right either. Whatever, when you start to go
around on the other tack the gaff boom just swings across to the other side real easy like. Then you
can ease the mainsheet.
If your gonna get a cat boat you'd better learn how to do this....

All you're saying here is that there's a chance that you might be able
to gybe in heavy air without destroying the boat. But anyone skilled
enough to do that would have no trouble at all tacking. However, it
is quite a lot of work hauling the doubled mainsheet, and all the
while you're doing this the boat is unbalanced and trying to head up.

Of course, gybing to avoid tacking is particularly stupid if you're
trying to get upwind.

As it turns out, many is the time I've done a "chicken gybe" by
tacking rather than gybing a catboats - muck less stress on the boat
and crew. And I don't recall ever getting stuck in irons.

And the proper spelling is "ware ship."

Huzzah, jlr! A heartfelt but accurate and fair eulogy!

jlrogers±³© wrote:
"Joe" wrote in message
oups.com...
Why do they call "cat boats" cat boats?

http://www.jsjohnston.org/~win_or_lose.html

Joe


So, behold the catboat. Note that it is both a hull and a rig. Note that the
hull is wide and the big, gaff-rigged sail is set on a strong mast with a
single forestay well forward near the stem. Note how the sail is controlled
with a topping lift, lazy jacks, separate throat and peak halyards, reef
points.

So the catboat is basic, plain, unadorned except for necessities. The
catboat is beamy, generous in girth, usually half as wide as she is long.
The catboat is powerful with that big, single sail. The catboat is shallow
draft, usually with a centerboard. And the catboat is deceptively simple.
The experienced sailor knows that if he fails to reef when the wind gets
strong, the cat may turn around and stare him in the eye. He also knows that
jibing in heavy air may pull the rig out of the boat.

The gaff main is not meant to be picturesque. It's to lower the center of
effort, give more drive off the wind and allow more control through the peak
halyard and topping lift.



Yet it is a rig and a hull form that take easily to young learning sailors.
We can see this from the Beetle Cats, which have been built for 75 years,
and more recently by Harold Turner's Turnabout trainers beginning perhaps 45
years ago.

The catboat is a native American art form. She was developed, built and
sailed with great skill by ordinary men who needed her for honest work. Her
origins go back at least 160 years, and perhaps more.

She was one of the most versatile workboats ever devised. In the age of sail
she was used extensively for all kinds of fishing activities--lobstering,
swordfishing, seining, handling and scalloping. She was used in packeting
and carry-away work. From southern New England to the Jersey shore, cats
took out day visitors for bluefishing and other pleasures.

The classic catboat has a plumb stem, high bow, and big barndoor rudder.
Those cats 17 feet or more usually have a cuddy cabin with two bunks and the
rudiments for overnight sailing. The cat is rarely longer than 22 to 25
feet. She was never intended for blue water work. Some of the bigger cats
did go 30 or more miles offshore in the fisheries. But the cat mostly was an
alongshore workboat.

The catboat had also been used since early times for pleasure sailing and
for racing. However, some cats built for racing a hundred years ago
developed an unsavory reputation and cast a shadow over some other catboats.
These racing cats had been given enormous rigs, with booms going way aft of
the transom. They set jibs on a long bowsprit and some even had what we
might call bloopers, shooters or whatever today.

http://www.catboats.org/gallery/crocker.htm

Now can you guess?


--

Flying Tadpole
----------------------------------
www.flyingtadpole.com

Ellen MacArthur wrote:
"Jeff" wrote
Are you seriously saying that people that only have one large sail, often with a large heavy boom, find it easier to
gybe in heavy air than to tack? I am at a loss for words!

The boom is very long and heavy and there's another one on top of the sail. But, if you ever
sailed one in heavy winds you'd know that jibing them is easy. It's easy because the boom on top
called the gaff boom blows the top part of the sail well forward. The main boom is held back by the
sheets. So when you wear ship you slowly tighten up on the sheet till it's almost centered but the gaff
boom keeps the top of the sail downwind. When you go through the eye, no that's not right, what's the
opposite of the eye? The tail of the wind? No that's not right either. Whatever, when you start to go
around on the other tack the gaff boom just swings across to the other side real easy like. Then you
can ease the mainsheet.
If your gonna get a cat boat you'd better learn how to do this....

Cheers,
Ellen



Cripes. Give up on this one, Nellie, you clearly have no idea how
excruciating this particular tirade of yours is for any reader with
experience of cat boats.

--

Flying Tadpole
cat-yawl Lady Kate
----------------------------------
www.flyingtadpole.com

"Jeff" wrote

And the proper spelling is "ware ship."

Nyut ah!! http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/WEARSHIP

Cheers,
Ellen

"Jeff" wrote
Of course, gybing to avoid tacking is particularly stupid if you're trying to get upwind.

Duh, tell that to Christopher Columbus and everybody else on tall ships.....

Cheers,
Ellen

"Thom Stewart" wrote
A Cape Cod Cat has a Big Barn door rudder BUT If Nellen got the Rudder
of an Atlantic City Cat out of the water; That Cat was CAPSIZED!!!

It does have a big heavy long rudder that's hung off the transom. But, it's shallow. Only about
two feet. It comes out of the water easy. Especially when heeled way over because the hull is wide wide.
When it's heeled way over the rudder comes out. It's called leverage, I think.

The Atlantic Cat has an Internal Rudder out the bottom of the boat! So
does the "Freedom" As does most Catboats of modern design.

Internal rudder???? Maybe you mean a centerboard? Catboats, traditional catboats, have centerboards
not fixed keels. Show up at the Catboat Rendezvous with a Nonsuch and they'll laugh at you.

There was a very simple reason for the Darn Door Rudder, If Ellen had
any "Salt" at all, the reason should be obvious.

It's because of the shallow draft of the hull when the centerboard is raised up. Duh! You can't
make it deep because it will go aground. So you make it long.....

Cheers,
Ellen

Ellen MacArthur wrote:
"Jeff" wrote

And the proper spelling is "ware ship."

Nyut ah!! http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/WEARSHIP



More proof its Neal in drag. He's using a lubber's dictionary for
nautical terms.

From "The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor," Darcy Lever, 1819:

To Ware ... To turn the ship from the wind.


From "The Seaman's Friend," Richard Henry Dana, Jr., 1879
Wear (see Ware.)
Ware, or Wear. To turn the ship around ... carrying the stern around
by the wind.


Also, in the 1802 edition of Bowditch the primary spelling is listed
as "To Veer Ship."