FLYCATCHER
stationary, she looks special. What’s more, clambering
aboard to unclip the cover was safe and simple thanks to
her immediately obvious stability.
As I furled and stowed the cover, I admired her deck
and cockpit. Real laminated teak coaming, plus Flexiteek
‘picnic’ deck and floorboards are outstanding features.
Gleaming teak seats sit atop the buoyancy tanks. Lines
for halyards, kicker, reefs and centreboard up/down
hauls run neatly to the Harken cam cleats at the front of
the cockpit. And a dinky little brass pump (which I was
invited to operate) lifts the bilge water into the
centreboard case.
Despite the strong breeze, Stock elected not to reef the
main. So having fitted the lifting rudder to the transom,
we proceeded to hoist sail. As I heaved on the thin
Dyneema halyards, I soon realised why Stock was
wearing sailing gloves! Then over the side went the
mooring line and off we shot.
Catboats don’t carry logs, but it was obvious that
Flycatcher was quick as she flew down the Bosham
channel on a broad reach. The crew on our
accompanying ‘mother’ motorboat called out that we
were doing about 5.5kt according to their GPS. The
overriding impression, however, was the boat’s stability
and comfort. No perching on the side to keep her flat.
No concern about sitting on the leeward side of the
cockpit. No real effort to trim the sheet. No heaving on
the helm. Despite the blustery and chilly conditions,
sailing this catboat was pure pleasure. And as we
hardened up onto a beat, the pleasure continued.
McNamara’s mainsail set a treat and Flycatcher was
surprisingly close-winded. When a luff cunningham
control line joins the other strings, it will set even better
on a breezy beat.
A NEW CLASS?
Since I was keen to take some pics, the catboat and
motherboat came together and I changed places with
Chris Robb. Once again, Flycatcher’s inherent stability
made the transfer of two tall and heavy passengers safe
and simple. My hidden agenda, however, was to see
what Chris Robb made of Stock’s new toy. Back in the
late 1960s, Chris helmed his Fireball dinghy to two UK
Fireball national titles and in the Fireball worlds he came
a close second. I was keen to see what he thought of this
Above: great
stability,
comfortable
seating, a high
boom and she
sails close to the
wind, as helm
and ex-Fireball
champion Chris
Robb finds outLocal inspiration
Geoff Cath’s Pumpkin (sailed by his mother) was a
major factor which led James Stock down the road to
designing a modern day catboat. Geoff’s family was
the only one to have a catboat in Chichester Harbour
in the 20th century and James is now the only person
to have one in the harbour in the 21st Century, so far.FLYCATCHER’S TEAM
Builder: Chris Somner Dinghy Services (cserve.co.uk)
Designers: James Stock and Justin Adams
Spars: Noble Masts (noblemasts.wordpress.com)
Sails: Michael McNamara (mcnamara-sails.co.uk)
Plans available from James Stock and Justin Adams
Price: £18,750. Plans £500, email [email protected]modern catboat. He told me: “It was easy to sail and
extremely stable due its beam and form stability. Going
to windward it was tolerant of pinching and easy to
keep in the slot in a variable wind. On a reach she had
the classic American high stern look and in the gusts
dipped her bow as the cat rig drove her forward,
requiring sheets to be eased in good time, as once
overpowered she would gently round up. The beam
provided a lot of stability until pressed too far, when the
rudder loses its grip once the boat heels too much.
“Overall she was a joy to sail – plenty of room for crew,
be they elderly or young, good performance from the
large gaff mainsail and a clutter free interior – a great
family dayboat. We did not need to reef down, but I
suspect there could be some hairy moments in a strong
breeze without a reef. Judging by the hull format, she
will not plane easily (if at all) and therefore
overpowering her would have no speed benefit.
“She was easy to rig and sail and provided plenty of
comfortable seating. The boom was well clear allowing
easy movement when tacking.”
So if this catboat tickles the fancy of an ex national
dinghy champion, it can certainly tickle mine. Flycatcher
combines quality, comfort and easy sailing for young
and old sailors alike – especially if they appreciate
something with a character that’s completely different
from today’s predictable norm. And who knows –
maybe she will catch on and be the forerunner of James
Stock’s Flycat class.