Weekender/Picnic PowerCat

Overall a nice concept....that could even lend itself to home building in composite ply.

...for instance like this Dudley Dix build
Building the DH550 radius chine plywood catamaran

...or prefabricated panels of glass and Nidacore

This 'style' vessel reminds me of the open saloon/cockpit style of this Chris White powercat ......that further reminded me of the original Bertram 31 design

Chris's boat...

....a few Bertrams

Look what Gunboat is now proposing,
"Rather than several smaller spaces on the main deck chopped up by bulkheads, the Gunboat 50 has one huge uninterrupted space from the mast to the aft crossbeam. The space is entirely convertible. For daysailing or cruising in warm weather, the sides drop down for the ultimate outdoor feel. In inclement weather, the sides roll up to create a cozy cocoon, albeit with Gunboat’s unique 360 degree visibility.

While many offerings in this size range stuff a mansion’s worth of un-used accommodations into the space, the Gunboat 50 shows ultimate restraint. There are simply two superyacht style cabins. Let’s face it, most people in this size range simply sail with their spouse, and on occasion, another couple. If the kids join the fun, they can sleep on the daybeds and sofas of the maindeck."

Gunboat Home Page

The new Gunboat 50 is designed for the way we sail:

+Entertaining friends on daysails
+Shorthanded cruising with your spouse or maybe another couple
+A sabbatical cruise, or a tropical circumnavigation

Another 'open-space', convertible saloon-deck area cat.

....Freya continued

Just happened across this Shuttleworth version of a day-charter cat,...outboard powered as well

I found a few more photos of that 'interior' as I was doing a little organizing recently.

Gunboat appears to have taken this concept forward in great style
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=117&v=cveZ9UsxMt0

That Dudley Dix cat is now available in a kit form
http://www.exocetus.net/

Need to scale these vessel ideas down to a reasonable size of something like 33-36 foot length that could operated economically, and built economically,...a weekender with possible 1-2 week long term use. SHALLOW WATER capable for Bahamas, FL Keys, etc,.....for exploring..

Maybe single engine, and/or sail option that would be easy for single person, or non-sailor to utilize.

Probably not a hot topic on this 'big boat' forum?

BUT ?

The Seductive Nostalgia of the Picnic
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/the-seductive-nostalgia-of-the-picnic/521313/

An even Cheaper aftmast experiment

MainLESS Sailing Rig, …Aftmast / Mast-aft Ketch


Back long ago I was working with nuclear subs, but I was fascinated with what made sailboats go. I studied the subject intently, and I developed a new rig concept I referred to as a mast-aft design with no conventional mainsail. It got published in 3 national magazine in 1974-1975, Yachting, Rudder, and the new at that time, Multihulls.


It went into hibernation at that point as there was no real internet at the time, and I was not computer literate until the yr 2000. It was the year 2000, and that big event referred to 'the RACE' was to take place around the world in those maxi-multihulls. I decided to become computer literate, and publish my own website. www.********************* . Under the 'sail propulsion' portion of that site you will will find an expanded discussion of the mast-aft rig,...that is still very much viable these days.


Over these many years I have become even more enthusiastic with the idea of dropping those big, tall, full battened mainsails from our CRUISING boat designs,...the sails that have capsized a number of nice big multihulls in squally conditions over the years. YES, those full battened mains are very productive sails, but they can be dangerous to our cruising crews, and difficult to handle by the older age crews.


Is there an alternative?? I think my 'mast-aft ketch' is a prime candidate.


Over the years I've had lots of naysayers (non-believers), and I have defended my views on forum discussions titled 'aftmast' and 'sail aerodynamics'. But many still say, prove it full scale.


I thought about many scale model test that might be performed, but then I hit upon the idea of a BIG scale model,..a 23 foot scale model catamaran,...the hot rod Stiletto23 catamaran,..an existing design that could be used as a trial horse to this new aftmast version. Put a version of my aftmast design on a used Stiletto and go out and sail them together while tuning the new version!

EXPERIMENT


This might make for a very interesting experiment,..and much cheaper than building a new vessel.
Take one of these very hi-perf Stiletto 23 and place a version of my aftmast on it.



Stiletto 23 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Technical specs and review for the Stiletto 23 (1985). A super light design built for high-performance sailing spanning 23' length, sporting a Fractional Sloop rig.

www.listingsport.com




This is a sketch of the new framing structure I had suggested as a possibility in such an experiment,..


This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized %1%2.




I'm thinking the original hulls are usable, and the mast tube cut down in height,...maybe even the original crossbeams with addition reinforcements???

That mast base placement beam/structure plate would have to be moved forward in keeping with my latest decrease in fwd mast rake, and the aft crossbeam would need additional reinforcement to carry the 'dual backstays'

This is the new version of the aftmast design,..

I've modified the new aftmast rig



1) less rake,
2) mizzen attached to older bare mast,
3) twin backstays to the masthead & the hounds.

Last edited: Oct 15, 2026
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Distinctive Expedition Yachts

brian eiland
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• Oct 15, 2026

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I've already found several used Stiletto 23 cats for 5-6K. ...with trailers.

It would be fun to make one of these vessels sail really well with that rig of mine, and I really think it is possible.

Perhaps we could think of this experiment as one utilizing a really big MODEL-boat.