BoatsTiger Cat

Tiger Cat

Catamaran, twin centreboards · Fractional Sloop · 1960–1963

The first one-design catamaran class in the US, derived from the 1959 One of a Kind Regatta-winning prototype

Designed by William B. Harris & Robert B. Harris, built by Pearson Yachts.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Hull type
Catamaran Twin Cbrd.

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 2.42 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 265 kg of hull, so roughly 850 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 265 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draft shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draftDraws 0.94 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LightHeavy

66 — light for her waterline, so she is easily driven and quick to accelerate.

Displacement / length 66
EasygoingPowered-up

65.3 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 65.3
  • Heavier than ~92% of boats her size on file
  • Draws more than ~98% of boats her size on file

Compared with 144 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Rig & sail area
Rig
Fractional Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
65.3
Displacement / length
65.8
Hull
Hull type
Catamaran Twin Cbrd.
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
1960–1963
Units built
160
Designer
William B. Harris, Robert B. Harris
Builder
Pearson Yachts, Lippincott Boat Works

Boats like this, on the water

Nobody has filmed this one — but these are close.

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Hobie 165.05 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthThe most popular sailing catamaran ever built, featuring a rotating spar and boardless hull for high-speed beach sailing
Sailing around Nordkapp on Hobie 16 Catamaranfrom Igor Stropnik
Supercat 154.65 mSame hull family0.5 m shorterA high-performance beach catamaran with a rotating spar and an exceptional sail-area-to-displacement ratio
Why St. John Feels Nothing Like St. Thomas E38116:38from Wildly Intrepid Sailing
Hobie FX One5.18 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 5.18-meter single-handed catamaran featuring a rotating fractional rig and an exceptional 56.56 sail area-to-displacement ratio
Hobie Cat, 15 days & 1200km2:47from Igor Stropnik

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Hobie Tiger 18Designed to the Formula 18 rule, this 5.5-meter catamaran features twin daggerboards and a high power-to-weight ratioPaper TigerA Ron Given-designed catamaran with a rotating cat rig, built for amateur plywood construction and still actively racedHermann CatA Charles Wittholz-designed gaff-rigged catboat later produced by Cape Cod Shipbuilding as the Cape Cod CatPacific CatamaranFrac. Sloop (Rotating Spar) · 5.72 mCatalina CatamaranFractional Sloop · 5.19 m

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

Two ways to keep looking — both search what the fleet has actually recorded.

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Tiger Cat

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