28. 07. 09
DIY Homemade Catamaran Sailboat You Will Love
My first sailboat, and it changed my life – it might change yours (RebelCat.com). Ever wish you could find an easy way to go sailing? This little catamaran might be the answer. You can make one in a few days for very little money, even free if you can scrounge the materials. Here’s the story of my first ‘cat’, made in the bush in Brazil. More info at my Web site RebelCat.com. Correction on the size of the sail: 3 by 2 meters, not 4 by 3. Sail on!
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In: Sailing Videos
i love your rebel cat sailboats they are so cool. does the first one go fast???
hows it coming with the plans i would really like two build one of these for this seson
when You said 20ft by 8 in ,does that mean for each pontoon? or cut the 20 ft pipe for 2 10 ft pontoons
plans? very interested in building this boat =D
I’ve been using aluminum pipe, up to 2″ diameter, but it is now costly. Try salvage yards, old awning rollers from motor homes/trailers. Home Depot sells wooden railing, up to about 16′ long. You can also shave down a 4 x 4 of good quality and straight.
As gasoline prices went up, so did PVC. I got great deals in Albuquerque at Sierra Irrigation, like half the cost of AZ. Remember, you want PIP (thinwall) pipe, not schedule 40. It’s the thinnest and cheapest.
Not really, but some have made small cats from inflatable pontoons. However, a blowout far out in the water would not be fun. I suppose you could make a mold and use fiberglass, but it will be heavy.
Good question. Calculate your weights carefully and accurately. You should have twice the flotation as total weight, so you never go more than half the pipe/pontoon in the water. If you use 10″ pipe, you should have 5″ above water at max loading. But your rudder and daggerboard or centerboard will be well below your pontoons, so make them easy to pull up in the shallows.
That little prototype was fast, but my recent cats based on it are much faster, even though they are larger and heavier. RebelCat 5, my latest, is the fastest yet, due to shaped bows, long pontoons and lots of sail area. DVD of plans coming soon, finally.
Well, fast is a relative description. I’d say about as fast as I can run, but given a stronger wind, there is no way I could run that fast. See comment above. My latest cat is FAST.
ricnoah1993, thank you for hanging in there for so long. You really are a patient sailor. The good news is that I have just moved back into my old place and set up my office, after working for 4 months building a house on my land in a remote corner of AZ. I am here to do just what you asked – to complete the DVD of plans for RebelCat 5 and get them out there. Thanks again brother, and stay tuned for the unveiling of the long-overdue DVD.
I used one 20cm or 8″ pipe of 6m or about 20 feet, cut off the ‘bell’ end (larger, for mating with another pipe), then cut the remaining pipe in two equal pieces of about 10′ each, capped the ends, added traffic cones to the front (but the back needs them too, or it makes lots of noise and slows you down)..
Yes, plans are in the works for RebelCat 5, the latest model and I believe the best of all, because I used the best ideas from the previous cats to make it. It is FAST, it is comfortable, it has lots of storage for long cruises, it carries either 2 or 4 people, depending on which version you make, and it is fairly inexpensive to build from materials you can find – no boat-building experience necessary. Coming soon, really.
do you know if it will be compleate before the seson
thats cool that you built your own house are u going to try to go self sestaining
I am going to complete this DVD within two months or I will eat my hat (low-calorie, all cotton). My house will be another DVD: Rainwater collection and storage, gravity fed to house, solar heating, solar hot water, underground air cooling system, graywater, composting toilet, solar electric and wind. Look for it here, one day.
This video and design inspired me a ton to make this and sail the lake beside my house….thank you!
But I have a couple questions …
How did you attach the traffic cones to the tips?did you cut of the bottem black parts?,and is there anything Else I can use besides traffic cones…
Also How can I make the rudder out of wood,and what does the rudder look like?I never got a good look at it…
Thank you, I’m glad my video inspired you. I’ll be brief, because I get a ‘ton’ of emails asking how to make a cat. Yes, cut off the cone base. Attach with tape or rivets or glue. Megaphones might work instead. I can’t draw a rudder here. Look on the web for possible shapes. Or, get my DVD coming out this month – it shows you everything, step-by-step. Good luck!
Oh and while Your sailing do you move the rudder by hand depending on what direction you want to go?and if so how do you move it to the right or left if it is nailed in.or roped in????
Also do i stich in a glove on the sail to go around the mast?
Yes, the rudder is turned with a ’tiller’ or handle, and it rotates on an axle or hinge. Tiller left, boat turns right. If you mean sewing the front edge of the sail to create a tube or pocket to slip over the mast, yes, that’s one way to do it. In strong wind you can’t lower the sail, but you can wrap it around the mast or roll it up. The cats I built since this little prototype have sails that can be raised and lowered and ‘reefed’ (made smaller). My DVD on RebelCat 5 shows how to do this.
monohull sailor here:) catamarans have always intrigued me. What you have done is very unique, thanks for sharing! I would have never thought creating one would be so simple and cheep, you even included a jib sail! I subscribed
felicitaciones por este hermoso catamaran…intentare seguir su ejemplo,saludos desde argentina!!
Hola hermano. Que tengas exito con su propio catamaran. Saludos desde EU!
I’m pleased that you found this interesting. See the latest one if you haven’t. And if you decide to make one, my DVD – which I just completed – will be available this month. It shows how to make the one in that recent video. Trailer coming soon.
Very creative…
Thanks for the post.
Thank you. This was 8 years ago. There is a newer video of my most recent cat on this channel.