Dennis wrote: I have long been an advocate of sail assisted powercats. Wild Wind IV came real close to being one. Brian, If you put a rig on a powercat you are not worried about tacking. Just start one engine and power tack. If one is not going to cross oceans then I wonder why you would want a rig on a powercat. Brian replied: Hello Dennis & a Merry Christmas. I agree with you that with the cost of rigs these days one definitely must question a sailing rig on a cat, unless considering long range cruising or crossing oceans. One exception though, if someone really enjoys sailing at times, which I do. _______________________________________________________ Dennis wrote: Sail less cats are not the kindest in a beam sea. We rode in a beam sea all the way to 40 north before we turned east. I remember sailing from Jamaica to Panama in a fresh beam sea. The trip was fast and more pleasant that our trip out of Hawaii. Brian replied: That rig has a way of moderating the motion, doesn't it ___________________________________________________ Dennis wrote: With all this said, I would only recommend a sail assisted cat if one was to do a lot of long distant off shore traveling. As you may be able to tell I have given the concept a lot of thought. Here are some of my ideas. First of all the boat should be a good powercat in it's own right. The rig should be removable and stowed onboard if possible. The rig should be made most for reaching and running. When we circumnavigated I can hardly remember going to weather. The rig should be able to carry very large down wind sails. All sails should be roller furling or roller reefing. The safety fact of a rig is important. Not to mention fuel burn. Brian replied: What would you think of this 'downwind sail-assisted vessel'?? Seems to meet a lot of your requirements New Age Trawler/Motorsailer <http://tinyurl.com/yo96xt> Instead of the tri configuration, just make it a cat ______________________________________________________ Dennis wrote: When working on WWIV I did not pursue my sail assisted powercat design because I was not planning more long offshore trips other than bringing the boat home. I have a design that I would glad to share with anyone who is interested. Particularly someone who is planning a circumnavigation. Part of the plan is a dual taper mast that has no shrouds and the mast could be stored on board. Also no boom. Brian replied: I would like to see what you have in mind