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by Sportboat
It is no secret I am a big fan of the WylieCats designed by Tom Wylie. My first experience with them was back in 1999 at the Pacific Sail Expo. Dr. Katz had just taken delivery of his new 48'. What attracted me to the boat oddly was the interior. It was simple and straight forward. That simplicity is carried through out the boats. I have sailed on the WylieCat 48 several times and the boat in a word is "incredible". The 30 and 39 are just as impressive. The rig is very simple - a non stayed automatically depowering mast, a wishbone boom and ONE big roach sail. Controls include halyard, outhaul and sheet. No more, no less. By using a wishbone boom the need for a vang is removed. Also its a great place to drop the sail into. No issues with picking the right sail as its always there. The hull shape is narrow with a fine entry by todays standards. So there is not a ton of form stability but instead the stability comes from deep bulb keels and light weight carbon rigs that automatically depower when a puff hits. It's a formula that works well. They are untouchable upwind especially in a breeze. All of this adds up to very fast boats that have literally won just about any regatta they have entered. WylieCat's are not down wind rockets, but they are always sailing at maximum speed. Best of all is that this same performance comes with a small crew. So its a perfect solution for short-handers, but holds its own again fully crewed boats. They have finished (boat for boat) ahead of much bigger and should be faster fully crewed boats. They do well when it comes to PHRF ratings. I mean look at all the credits - no spinnaker, no headsail!! Round the windward mark and just keep sailing while the competition deals with the jib and spinnaker. Ocean Planet is the next progression in the WylieCat concept, but I believe it has complicated things with the addition of a jib and runners. No doubt these additions are needed to remain competitive with other Open 60's (an ever dwindling field). The WildCat seems to be the ultimate mix of performance and ease. A 43' WylieCat with the addition of a rotating mast, sprit pole and asymmetrical. Predictions are Farr 40 speeds with out Farr 40 crew hassles.
Ok enough of the positives. There is one big negative. Price. These boats just are over the top when it comes to price. Base price is $125K for the 30', $275K for the 39', $275K for the 43 WildCat and $500K for the 48'. They are not furniture boats with their simple but very workable interiors, but I guess carbon and Harken gear is not cheap. http://www.wyliecat.com/ 08/20/2002 |
