Fanatic Ultra cat vs Alpha Pro Race 220

[DanWeiss]

Rigs sink only if the plugs inside the mast fail or are missing. A sealed mast will float the entire rig. As well, most booms made for the last 20 years incorporate plugs for the same reason. Fifty cents of cost and a million dollars of safety.

[joethewindsufa]

sounds like you were lucky in your bad luck !!

[wynsurfer]

systemslib, Glad you got out of that situation safely.

Here is the deal with the pin and the 500n setting. That is a safety to prevent the entire mast track from being pulled out of the board in a situation like your experience. The mast track should also have a shock cord that will
attach to your rig to prevent loosing your rig in a serious crash. These are often missing on old boards because they wear out. I always lock the mast foot, because I hate it when the rig detaches in a crash, also I do not use the shock cord, it broke long ago and I never replaced it.

Grit finds it's way in there and makes the pin very hard to set and release. Generous applications of Sailcote while working the pin in and out will restore it's function to like new. WD 40 might work too, but I don't know about how it might react with plastic.

From time to time I also remove the track from the board to keep everything squeaky clean. I sail where there is a lot of sand and silt and it finds it's way into everything.

[gregnw44]

Yes, what slinky said.
Also -
The intermediate setting for the locking in the mastbase, was mostly to allow release in case your ankle / foot was in the way as the mast came crashing down. Idea was, it would pull out, to prevent injury.
And yes, they knew this was a major safety concern... so all these boards from the 80's and 90's with adjustable mast-tracks, ALSO had the bungee safety leash slinky describes. This was a great system 30 years ago... and if the gear was cared for, it all still works. Except the bungee safety leach, none of them last 25 years. However, it's easy to replace those.
Anyway, like slinky, I never use the safety leash. And I always lock the mastbase to the mast-track car / carriage (which is what you call the sliding car part).
Next.
You have the stainless steel clip-pin on the correct side of the carriage. Yes, that plastic piece provides some retention to keep the SS clip in there. And you can read the setting correctly.
HOWEVER, where's the little string / line that's supposed to be tied to the 2 rings on the sides of the SS clip??
There's supposed to be a line (like thin downhaul line) tied to form a loop. To pull open the clip (to release the mastbese when done sailing) you pull on the loop of line. This opens the clip easily, even with numb fingers.

Yes like Dan said, masts and boom are sealed so they float. However, the new masts don't float NEARLY AS WELL as old masts. Because now only the top is sealed.. because some people want to put the top section into the bottom section. It was WAY better for float and safety, when the bottom was also sealed (from just above where a long extension would stop) because then you had REALLY GOOD flotation. It's much less now, with only a little skinny top section sealed.

Next, you're not supposed to have all those straps on there. Just figure out which ones you're going to use, and remove the rest. That's what everybody does.

Next, the 2 boards in this thread are the same. Alpha bought the molds for the 210L Ultra Cat from Fanatic... after Fanatic was only building the 250L Mega Cat. (Or something like that.) They will have different centerboards, fins, mast-track, footstraps. But the boards are the same shape and vol.
The Ultra Cat is light, fast , stiff, and fast. But it's only 210 L and it's narrow, so it's very hard to learn on... and it's tough to balance on for big guys. Bigger guys went faster in light wind, with bigger vol raceboards which came out later.

[systemslib]

Hey all, thought I would give a yearly update on this board......Sailed it approx 40 times using older dacron 7.0 gastraa on fleetwood composite boom (what came with board) all on large Maine lakes in conditions 0-30 MPH (including gusts which are a fact of lake sailing here). Anything above 25 would make the 7.0 start overpowering. Also would use a dacron 6.0 on bigger days but still a beast when a gust would fill it. The fleetwood boom was adequate but heavy and the grip was worn though right at palm grasp, tended to leave hands raw after 3 hours.

By mid summer I had finally decided to cough up some cash for a modern sail/boom. Ended up getting a pro alloy chinook (new) and closeout 8.0 ezzy cheetah (2015) but did cringe as ended up costing 2x more than entire board, + old rig/sails. Still having sailed approx 20 outings on the new rig--what a world of difference, mostly in the ability to manage the sail in higher winds due to tuning range and a modern sail design. I love sailing this board and mostly am into just getting out on the water anytime I can, but esp in our short summers where winds average 5-20 pretty regularly. In spring fall or winter you get some real rager days but feel like 25+- up to 30 is about my max on this longboard. I can downsize current rig to a 6.8 or 7.0 sail (460) for a 2 sail solution for my sailing needs.

So like most humans I lately have a wandering eye for "newer" board. For me a longboard is a good one board solution and I find myself reading every kona one, carb one or exocet winsup thread I can find. My conclusion is if money were no problem the carbone would be my choice but k1 is more readily available/affordable. Also thought about a shorter freeride like 120+- jp magic or fanatic gecko as you can find closeout on these and they rig 6.0-8.0 sails for current rig but seem like best for 15-25 so would have to keep the cat around.

Anyway my old 88 cat is supposedly around 30lbs and feels about that weight. I see the k1 is closer to 38+-lbs and even the carbone is basically same weight as the cat. I know the kona hulls would be a bit more forgiving if not comfortable, I do find at 185lbs the cat requires a fair bit of constant balancing and is not good for teaching others due to tippiness. Probably my only real gripe with cat is the comfort--on barefeet the deck gets tough after 3-4 hours in. I tend to not sail with the daggerboard as mentioned above it does sit pretty high right in prime feet positioning and when pushed up there is a small section of sharp edge exposed despite dagger sleeve. Seems to point fine without dagger but will get some back wind slippage in high wind tacks.

So my long winded question is this, am I going to get any greater pleasure out of a modern longboard vs my current setup? Do the kona hulls handle higher wind/chop any better than my 88 cat (has the v hull design vs 2v on older models). Just get a smaller sail for big days and sail it another few years or until right kona deal comes around? Keep it forever and look for smaller board going forward?!)
thanks

[gregnw44]

< So my long winded question is this, am I going to get any greater pleasure out of a modern longboard vs my current setup? Do the kona hulls handle higher wind/chop any better than my 88 cat (has the v hull design vs 2v on older models). Just get a smaller sail for big days and sail it another few years or until right kona deal comes around? Keep it forever and look for smaller board going forward?!)
thanks >

I've sailed Kona One's a fair amount, locally in light wind... in Hood River in high wind... and at big Kona race events. I've sailed late 80's and early 90's raceboards since they were new. I've sailed the CarbOne and Step One... I own a Kona One now, along with 249L F2 Lightning World Cup and 258L Mistral Equipe XR. I've got years on Bic Bamba's... and I've sailed 210L Ultra Cats same as yours... and 250L Mega Cats.
You have good questions, and there will be differing opinions... and multiple good answers. Only you can really know what you want.
The CarbOne will be closer in weight to the expensive early 90's raceboards, that are in good original condition and water-tight... but still a bit heavier, probably a couple lbs. But the CarbOne's are strong and stiff though.
The Kona One will be 4-7 lbs heavier (weigh em all side by side, don't believe old or new specs).
Sailed by 2 equal pro's around a race course, with the same rig... an old big vol, great condition 90's raceboard... will most likely beat a Kona, most the time.
But the CarbOne is probably quite a bit more durable than those old raceboards... and a Kona One is definitely MORE durable.
Next. The Kona models are easier to sail fast in high winds... and easier to get in footstraps... and really nice to do planning carved jibes on. I can't really do a full carving jibe on any raceboard, but I can do that on a Kona.
The Kona's are a bit shorter and wider... so this can be a pro or a con for your transport and storage and carrying it. They are definitely better to teach on and giving little kids rides. The Kona deck is way less cluttered with only 4 straps and no daggerboard sticking up. Most raceboards have 8 straps. I always leave the daggerboard in my raceboards, cause I always use it, except in full planning wind, which is rare for me.
With the slightly shorter Kona length... and the much shorter planing length (cause of the step tail)... you don't really need an adjustable mast track on a Kona (although carb One's have them). Therefore the Kona One has a simple mast track like a shortboard, so you can use any typical shortboard type mast base. Which means, no more messing with proprietary U-joints and old mast track parts.
You're 185 lbs and I'm 200 lbs. If I were you and if my priority was for winning course races in 1 - 10 mph wind. And or, if I had really bad shoulders and I wanted the lightest board to lift over my head onto my roof rack... then... I'd stay with the Ultra Cat.
But if my priority was to have more, easy, fun in wind from 10-20+ and I wanted to do carving jibes... and an easier time sailing downwind in over powering conditions... and if I can lift the Kona onto my roof rack... then, I'd get the Kona One!!
Greg