Why Make A RebelCat PVC Pipe Catamaran Sailboat?

[@malachischubert6943]

I am a 15 teen year old boy and have drempt of sail for a long time so i googled how to make a sail boat and every thing i found was too expensize to make or cost mony for the idea. thank you so much.

[@saitohshihomi5649]

+malachi schubert Ahoy and warm Aloha from Hawai'i, Malachi I understand You have Interest in the Possibility for RebCat 6-n-7 Onnovations and Evolution, that PVC Katamaran Guru Martin has Shared with us has caught my attention! If I may be so bold, I would like to offer to "kokua" Your Youth-Passion to get Sailing; If You want to build Your Own 'Flavor" of Adam-sans Concepts, I can offer to with "Donations" of major parts and accessories to Give You "Free" Kites, Windsurfing-Rigs, and High-Performance Catamaran, WingMast and possible Flying Skiff sails, and carbon mast (480.478.9135)... Oh! My Mr. Adams has presented a most FUN and Joyous means to get Sailing at the most lowest given-price, Indeed very Cost-Effective, Less Fragile, and most-probale More Reliable, and Per Dollar/Euros/Yen/Yuan/Rial/Rupee ect. Mo-Bettah User-Friendly. very exciting Concepts and Configurations, Hmm I wonder if Martin is open towards Experiments with "Air-Glide' Principles, and Stabilizer-Foil Systems... If So I can also Offer Foils and Air-Seal Contacts and Connections for next generation RebelCat "Experiments" and Potential new Models at (25'x14'x300 sq. ft.)... Let's Huddle and Compare-Notes. Keep Pulling the Apparent, and Maintain the Effortless Sweet-Glide Aloha Nui iruka jj

[@marjamada]

+malachi schubert Good news: I made my first catamaran for $100, and that included the materials and tools. If you look around, you can find used sailboats, small ones, and with that you can learn the basics of sailing. After that, the rest will happen naturally.

[@marjamada]

You want PIP - plastic irrigation pipe - available from irrigation suppliers in areas with agriculture and golf courses. It's large diameter thinwall PVC and sometimes hard to find. Look for irrigation suppliers in your area.

[@CR055H41RZ]

holy crap, you camped on an island for 4 months? that should be a video on it's own man

[@marjamada]

That was before I had a digital camera, so it would be a slide show, and I was more into the experience than documenting it, so I don't have much more than what is here in this video/slide show.

[@RayMAKES]

i love how you dealt with closing the ends off. when i built my first one, i just used caps (which were expensive) and vinyl pilling caps (which came unglued and floated away). lots of good ideas here....i will have to use some of them. i also made the mistake of using sch40 which was too heavy. nice job thanks for sharing.

[@WhitBoss]

As the Commodore of The Austin Trailer Boat Club, I HIGHLY approve! Awesome work and best video yet! It's an anthology..... I once tried to make a sailing inner tube as a child. It actually worked to some small degree. Ha ha ha. My second plywood boat sank before I could even turn her around to paddle back to shore (age 12). :-)

[@RobbsHomemadeLife]

I have watched all of your youtube cat videos. This is your best one, you did a great job.

[@marjamada]

Like most sailboats, RebelCats turn using a tiller, connected to a rudder, visible in some of these clips. If you want to see the cat tacking, I'll put that on my list for the next video. Thanks for asking.

[@kitesitenet]

Impressive and a lot of fun to watch the the Evolution! Great use of materials! thank you

[@nicangadingan449]

wow perfect, someday i will build this for my family-thank u so much this video-from philippines

[@oliversolorzano7153]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and findings. I shall give this a try at some point in my future. Blessings from South Florida

[@marjamada]

You're welcome. Love to see what you create, whenever that happens.

[@TimWestonboats]

Hi Martin. Great video. I like your inventive ways and methods.. Keeping it simple and using everyday stuff to build your boat. Great stuff! Tim

[@marjamada]

Thanks Tim, appreciation is always appreciated.

[@marjamada]

Good question, and I get it often. RebelCat 5 can handle chop fine, up to maybe 2' - I've done that in the Laguna Madre off the coast of TX - but it is a rodeo and not that much fun. If the chop is closer to a foot high, the cat glides on the crests and doesn't dip much, but you have to keep your eye on where the chop is coming from and sail across it, which is not difficult. I just don't want people to expect it to sail in waves like a Hobie Cat, which is for racing, not cruising.

[@fernandoamaral4424]

Grande idéia, ficou ótimo.

[@marjamada]

Gracias, merci, thank you, danke, obrigado, grazie, eferisto...

[@Jordan-wi7xk]

I was thinking about building on of these cats next summer and wondered if the DVD was still available on your web sight.

[@nicangadingan449]

wow', great job, you are genius-the problem is pbc istoo expensive in my country, but i will try plywood -but anyway thank you so much- i will make this for my family

[@miamitreasurehunter]

Very well presented and thank you for sharing all this great knowledge!!

[@marjamada]

Thank you.

[@marjamada]

Good question. At the moment I am building an off-grid house in the desert (see SurvivalRetreatPlans followed by comm) and it is taking all of my time. RebelCat 5 can be scaled down from the plans on DVD to achieve the size and performance of a RebelCat 6, which is pretty much what I have done on paper. It will be some time before I can build one, but you could used the DVD to build one now, if you can shrink it a bit.

[@marjamada]

Yes, the DVD is available; I'm shipping them every week. I will be updating the web site soon - had some problem with my software and could not do that.

[@marjamada]

Thank you for your approval, Boss.

[@Moeisabeast12]

Holy crap! that thing flies! I was wondering if you could make one that would be ok for bigger waves, not like big 4ft waves, just not completely calm lakes. my friend took me sailing on a 420 and I loved it. I am too cheap to buy a boat. I want to convert a kayak, or build my own like yours.

[@marjamada]

I also wonder. The nice thing about sailboats is that you can experiment with different sails types and use the ones you like for different kinds of sailing.

[@terry6520]

Well thought out boat. It looks really fast but yet forgiving and stable.

[@marjamada]

+Terry Tosky Well-spoken, thank you. You quickly summed up my goals while designing it. If a cat isn't fast, it might as well be a monohull, pushing a lot of water. While trying to find a way to make pointed hulls, I discovered that nobody had done what I wanted to do, so I found a way to heat-shape large-diameter PVC pipe. I even considered hanging the pipe from a tall tree so the bow could be immersed in a barrel of hot oil, to soften and shape it. Fortunately, I found an easier way, and the results were excellent. And stable - the cat is like a diving platform.

[@Maxi_Marine]

Love the concepts!

[@marjamada]

If you follow my design (available on DVD), you will still have to add traffic cones to the ends or heat-shape the pipe, which will reduce your flotation. Calculate load and flotation carefully (formula at my web site) - you can't get this wrong. So if 7' is the total length of your pontoons (including cones), you only have 2' of pipe (oops), because cones are about 2.5' each and have 1/3 the flotation of pipe the same diameter. 7' if pipe plus cones is 12'. Short cats are bumpy in chop.

[@marjamada]

Thank you, glad you liked it.

[@marjamada]

RebelCat 5, the one in this video, will handle pretty big chop, but it is not made for rough water and big waves. The cat is made from several large pieces which can be carried on a roof rack and assembled on the shore. As the connections between parts must be strong and yet allow flexing (this is not a rigid-frame cat), I had to design them to handle chop. It is a cruising cat, not for racing in rough water.

[@naomihouston5432]

Thank you so much!! you are amazing!

[@marjamada]

Naomi Houston You are quite welcome, and I'm pleased you think so.

[@marjamada]

Might be a good idea, IF you find a way to do it. My thoughts: I thought a lot while designing the cat and the heat-shaping, and that is the best I came up with. If you figure out a way to make removable bows that perform well and stay on when they should, I'll be the first to praise you.

[@marjamada]

Thanks, your appreciation is appreciated.

[@goat-templarsreborn9548]

love the vid.

[@repalmore]

Thank you for the video. I want to make a SWATH catamaran (small waterplane area twin hull). I like your ideas for use of the PVC hulls. I'm getting jazzed about making a day sailer that will haul hull. Yes it's intended. I'll have to post a vid when I'm finished. Cheers

[@marjamada]

Sounds like a great idea. Love to see what you come up with. Show the world what you can do.

[@marjamada]

+Robert Palmore Yo Robert, any good news on your SWATH project?

[@repalmore]

marjamada Unfortunately health issues have sidelined me. Not sure I'll ever get to do it.

[@acorderom81]

im gonna build one, ill let you know how it goes!

[@marjamada]

+Antonio Cordero I'm gonna be excited when you build one. I look forward to your good news.

[@rotha150]

muito bom parabens

[@marjamada]

+rotha150 Obrigado!

[@maxjones2008]

I know you said this was not made for rough waters, but how do you think this bigger model would do in the Ohio River next to Louisville, KY? The waters are fairly choppy, and it is about a mile or so across to the Indiana side, so I wouldn't want to get stuck in the middle. I could drive to a lake about an hour away, but it would be so much easier if this would hold up in the Ohio because it would be a 10 minute drive instead. Your thoughts? Don't know whether to build this or buy something

[@firemantim9601]

I am just starting to build my own! Very excited. Just wondering, with the wave piercing hull tips, I am thinking of detachable tips, so I can just attach them to the front, and if they ever get damaged putting a new one on will be simple, and making them in the first place might be easier than doing it to the main pontoons. I have not got this far ahead yet, what are your thoughts?

[@sbattvids]

I'm fourteen years old and there's three lakes near my house, however I need a smaller scale size, if I had 12" pvc pipes 7' long and 33" width, how much do you think the boat itself would weigh?

[@mosbysmen]

you can go to lowes or a plumbing supply house and have them order it

[@Henry-n7n8]

Hi Martin, i have been seeing your rebelcat for many years now, cool boat and idea. I have an idea ising your pipe idea, and a different sail idea. may i send the skechup drawings? thanks jack g

[@marjamada]

Sure, love to see what you have. I am currently busy building my house in the desert (SurvivalRetreatPlans.com), but I will eventually get back to you.

[@330MillionGods]

can you do a video on how it sails in rough seas ?

[@kinflow1]

good day I really liked your catamaran, let me know if you have the DVD in Spanish, because English is not speaking, the cost to manufacture it with planes, I'm Colombian would cost as sending or can send it to me by the web.

[@marjamada]

Sorry, no Spanish version and none planned. I send DVDs to many countries and can't translate it into 20-30 languages. I'm not pro-English language (I speak Spanish, German...). but I am pro-international language, at present English. I plan to add the download version to my web site. Compared to buying materials to build the cat, the postage is negligible.

[@apogeus2]

darn good!

[@bloodbathbushcraft]

I can't find the size on pipe that you buy ?

[@NetCerpher]

K.I.S.S. method could be a used Laser sail and mast.

[@marjamada]

RebelCats are designed for cruising on lakes, not for racing or rough seas.

[@alonzuck4192]

do you have a sketch for building the cat. if you do can you please send a pdf or something(i will give my email). thanks in advance great video and a unic idea

[@marjamada]

Alon, the cat is composed of several main parts which are assembled and locked together. The parts are drawn and supplied in .jpeg on the DVD, but I don't have them available here.

[@jaycie5021]

Some idea are too good to be thought of by 1 person alone.

[@dumbcat]

How difficult to right by one person weighing around 200lbs? On a scale of 1-10 (10 being hardest). Thanks.

[@marjamada]

Well, I have to confess I never had to right my cat, because I sail carefully. It's a fair question, but remember that a 10 for one person is a 5 for another - skill levels are so different from person to person. If you fly a hull, race and push the cat to the max, you need a racing cat. Mine are for cruising, both hulls in the water (most of the time).

[@josephjenson4894]

you are in Arizona? a friend and I want to build one of these for spearfishing lake pleasant. where the heck do you get that big pipe? I am guessing somewhere in phoenix?

[@marjamada]

+Joseph Jenson I have bought 10, 12 and 15 inch pipe in Phx, Prescott and Albuquerque, NM. Major makers are JM Eagle and Charlotte Pipe. Good place to find it is irrigation suppliers, often at the edge of town or in the industrial area.

[@josephjenson4894]

Oh nice! Prescott is way closer to me than phx I just wasn't sure if it would be there. Thanks so much for the info.

[@josephjenson4894]

I forgot I had a follow up question, have you considered or played with a tri hull design with the same materials? we are planning on three adults and spearfishing/rock climbing gear so a little more weight than average. I know it will be slower but speed is not so much my concern as boyancy

[@marjamada]

+Joseph Jenson My RebelCat has a central rotating centerboard, so a central pontoon would require major re-design. Far easier would be to make the cat longer or from larger-diameter pipe, to increase flotation. I consider 12" ideal. I have used 8", 10", 12" and 15" - 12" is the best for an adult craft.

[@marjamada]

+Joseph Jenson Here in Prescott, the pipe yard has changed hands several times. It's possible they no longer have large pipe for cat pontoons. But they can probably order it from Phoenix.

[@moonhorse100]

do you need to register this in New York State. ?

[@marjamada]

+moonhorse100 I'm in Arizona. You need to check in NY.

[@aliabidi1015]

Hi, when will the rebel cat 6 be available. THANKS!

[@FuckinCrazyness]

its cool and all but buying a used hobie cat for 300 400 dollars would be better to start off learning i think. then modify that.

[@marjamada]

Possibly. If you find a used Hobie for $300-$400, it may need repairs or parts, and if not, it will soon. Any idea what it costs to replace Hobie parts? As much as your whole used cat. However, if you can do the work yourself and fabricate parts, a used Hobie could be a good deal, just not for everybody.

[@RoughDiamondz]

marjamada yeah any use hobie between 300-400 dollars will need $1000 in repairs

[@anonymus20002000]

how does the sails work on cat 1?i want to build one and i dont know.

[@marjamada]

Danylo Topolnyuk I'm not sure what you are asking. You can read about the physics of how sails work online - search 'How a sailboat sails'. If you need construction guidance, that is beyond the scope of this comment section, however most modern sails operate on the same principles of maximizing lift and minimizing drag.

[@anonymus20002000]

i was trying to find out how the sail is operated from the cat ,and how it was conected to the cat mast .

[@anonymus20002000]

what do you think a 3 meter 10 cm diameter pipe will work for rebel cat 1?

[@marjamada]

+Danylo Topolnyuk No. 10cm (about 4") is too big for such a small cat. Try 3 cm. RebelCat 5 is 21 feet long with an 18.5' mast and it is 2" diameter aluminum (5 cm).

[@rollingstopp]

Where did you get PVC in the middle of a Jungle...

[@marjamada]

I went to the nearest village, took a bus to a larger town and found the pipe at a hardware store, hired a guy with a VW pickup to drive me around shopping for supplies and to drop me back at the lake.

[@rollingstopp]

marjamada shoulda just used ups or fed ex

[@marjamada]

Ain't no couriers in the jungle, dude.

[@greenbear3221]

how much would a super portable mini catamaran weight and perhaps total cost?

[@marjamada]

Not sure what you mean by 'super-portable'. My RebelCat 5 fits on my pickup's roof rack - is that portable enough? Doesn't need a trailer. Cost of materials is anywhere between $250 and $350, depending on what you already have and can find cheap, and on how fancy you want to go with the sails. PVC pipe prices vary widely, cheapest I found was NM. My cat weighs about 250 lbs and will carry two adults and two kids.

[@williammontblak5710]

Bien tu velero y tu vídeo es estupendo tengo q hacer el mio es de mucha ayuda

[@marjamada]

+William Montblak Estoy esperando buenas noticias sobre su catamaran.