Catfish SER NO CF954

signal charlie

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Man, I wish I hadn't seen this, a Catfish for Sale in Plainfield, NY. We already have a Catfish but in scrolling through the photos I notice the tag Alcort Ser No CF954.

Ser No Plate CF 954.jpg


Hmm, did I miss it on our boat? Nope. Sure enough, I go out to look at SMEDLEY and right where the tag should be are two nice little holes :(

Oh well, maybe we'll get one made, or if anyone has an old Catfish SER NO tag laying around, PM us...Alan? Craig?

FMI: Vintage 1960s 'Catfish' Catamaran sailboat made by Alcort in Waterbury CT. Rare find
 
Signal Charlie,

I have many builder's tags like this but all for Sailfish and Sunfish as I always remove and keep these tags before giving a damaged beyond repair hull (*) a proper burial in the local landfill, but alas I have no Alcort Catfish tags. That said, I will keep my eyes out for one.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY

* My concept and your concept of "damaged beyond repair" appear to be worlds apart! Nice work on your recent Hurricane Sally generated repairs.
 
Hahahahahaha. We do need a Super Sailfish MKII to round out the 1947-1969 Alcort collection.

But you know, we don't have His and Hers Catfish, or a blue one.

I tried to talk Dave Clark into making a retrofit kit to turn the Catfish into a foiler like the UFO, but he thinks it's too heavy. Where's the adventurous spirit?

The Catfish will scoot, it powers up quick, even when loaded with extra movable ballast (me) that put the boat 11% over her crew capacity of 300 pounds....okay okay, more like 11.5%


Yes there are lighter faster cheaper catamarans with jibs, that have excellent manufacturer support and parts availability, but where's the fun in that? Do they have cockpit-controlled patented high-speed aluminum flip-up rudders and pivoting Fiberglass centerboards for easy beaching? Aluminum rubrails? Polyurethane masthead flotation built into peak of sail? Spacious wing deck storage? Comfortable recessed cockpit? Would other catamarans look just at home as the Catfish with NCC-1701 stenciled on their sides?
 
Man, I wish I hadn't seen this, a Catfish for Sale in Plainfield, NY. We already have a Catfish but in scrolling through the photos I notice the tag Alcort Ser No CF954.



Hmm, did I miss it on our boat? Nope. Sure enough, I go out to look at SMEDLEY and right where the tag should be are two nice little holes :(

Oh well, maybe we'll get one made, or if anyone has an old Catfish SER NO tag laying around, PM us...Alan? Craig?

FMI: Vintage 1960s 'Catfish' Catamaran sailboat made by Alcort in Waterbury CT. Rare find

If Alan doesn't have one, maybe ask about 3D printing one.
 
You will note that the serial number tag shown in this string shows a prefix of "CF" which I assume stands for "Cat Fish". Finding a real one would involve finding a damaged-beyond-repair Cat Fish parts boat. ...or altering one of my Sunfish/Saifish tags with an existing under 1,000 serial number....hmmmm.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
Man, I wish I hadn't seen this, a Catfish for Sale in Plainfield, NY. We already have a Catfish but in scrolling through the photos I notice the tag Alcort Ser No CF954.

View attachment 43536

Hmm, did I miss it on our boat? Nope. Sure enough, I go out to look at SMEDLEY and right where the tag should be are two nice little holes :(

Oh well, maybe we'll get one made, or if anyone has an old Catfish SER NO tag laying around, PM us...Alan? Craig?

FMI: Vintage 1960s 'Catfish' Catamaran sailboat made by Alcort in Waterbury CT. Rare find

I was warming up to buy this Catfish, and asked a friend where Plainfield was located. He said it was just off the Interstate highway that I usually take. :)

Alas, that Plainfield is located in Massachusetts, and not New York. :( .

Oh well, I'll have to wait for a different Catfish, as the detour would add at least $300 to the cost. (Not that I'd pay $3500 for it). :oops:

I see cockpit floor wear suggests painting was involved. Or is this blue an original color?
 
L&VW

My bad, it is Plainfield, CT, clearly stated on the ad.

The Catfish I've seen have been in red, blue and white. Ours has some chippy gelcoat and the substrate has more of a grey tint to it, almost like a primer or filler. But the finish is indeed gelcoat.

Good thing you're passing on 954, I just noticed that the hiking strap is missing that runs down the center of the cockpit, and I checked at the Catfish store and they are out of stock.

IMG_3516.JPG


I also noticed 954 doesn't have a custom paddle holder on the aft cockpit bulkhead like our SMEDLEY does.

IMG_5467.jpg


There are also 2 capsize righting straps underneath, one for each tack. Ours currently need to be replaced, we currently only have 1 1/8 straps. The snap for each strap is on the centerline of the boat, and you can also see the through bolt hardware for the hiking strap.

IMG_4623.jpg
 
Actually, I mentioned to my buddy that the Catfish was located in his hometown of Plainville, CT. I'd sent him the original ad, and he said it's Plainfield, CT. (Not Plainfield, MA, as I'd written above--or Plainfield, NY as you'd written). :confused:

Well, if the hiking strap is missing, the old righting straps could fail, and it doesn't have a custom paddle mount, I'll have to pass-up buying this Catfish! :rolleyes:
 
Here's the grey substrate I mentioned.

AF985EE9-E15C-4233-9258-D703C336520B_1_201_a.jpeg


PS SMEDLEY is going to take a PODS ride (again) to our new homeport in southern Virginia, Spring timeframe.

DA917096-3290-4F18-B6C6-AB846F20506B.jpeg
 
You sure stay busy, Signal Charlie! The lucky buyer of your beautiful Florida homestead will have new everything! I’ve envied your Sunfish shed and lifts for years.
In reference to the grey substrate, it reminded me of my restoration of Rojo, when a speckled deck left me in a quandary- the “galloping horse” approach, touching up the areas (mine were many and mostly small) or repainting the whole deck. I went all out. Here are before and after pics since you claim it didn’t happen without them :)
But your Smedley looks great otherwise. And aren’t you a little busy rebuilding several Sunfish?
 

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I remember that discussion :cool: , but don’t remember advising that red and maroon surfaces of the 1970s were prone to maximum fading :oops:. The "new" red looks great. :)

In the cubby, I carry zip-ties, sponges, chewing gum, bottled water, sunglasses, clamps, heavy cord, and pliers in a modified and tightly-fitted Tide detergent container, and noticed the blue factory beverage container in the cubby.

Are those still available?
 
I remember that discussion :cool: , but don’t remember advising that red and maroon surfaces of the 1970s were prone to maximum fading :oops:. The "new" red looks great. :)

In the cubby, I carry zip-ties, sponges, chewing gum, bottled water, sunglasses, clamps, heavy cord, and pliers in a modified and tightly-fitted Tide detergent container, and noticed the blue factory beverage container in the cubby.

Are those still available?
No, those “Cool Cat” soft coolers are rare. Once in a blue you might see one on eBay, and if I recall Alan G. sold one. I had that cooler for years, kept it on a shelf but sold it with the boat.
Guess I’ll need a Tide container now.
 
Breeze Bender, use it or lose it we always say. And we're just trying to keep up with Alan. Someone will buy this house and love it, hopefully even more than we did, but our hearts are already in Virginia, moving closer to family and our first Grandbaby, a little girl. Can you imagine the fun she'll have following Gramma Skipper around. And learning about the Grampa Rule, Be careful or you could get hurt because he doesn't always know what he is doing. Our new place will be a dry lot, a peaceful respite from years of pier maintenance, and we will be Trailer Sailors again, which we have been for decades. There is water everywhere in the Hampton Roads area, creeks, rivers, bays and the big water. We might scout for a tiny waterfront lot once we get there, and put a Shack there.

You did a great job on that boat, she's beautiful. Now that we have cracked the code on the Preval sprayer maybe SMEDLEY gets a touchup.

Our Sunfish rebuilds are wrapping up, and we're shifting into re-Homeporting mode. First PODS is on site...well actually, it's the second time we've started moving, first PODS left Sep 2019 then we recalled it when pandemic blew up in 2020. SMEDLEY is lined up, we'll use daggerboard ramps to roll her in like we did last time.

06D23630-3AB3-4662-8866-4551373B5CC1.jpeg


And building a little punt because there is not enough going on...She's the first of the BLUFF RATTY Class of ships, her name is SCUPPERS, thanks to L&VW.

6E109040-6A08-4B22-B583-8BFCCA2F8B22.jpeg
 
Funny post! You’re right, it sounds like it will be a great move for you and Skipper. You’ll teach the next generation to sail, and make more Sunfish memories. Love the Grampa rule!
 
One last thought on the preval...i use it almost exclusively for gelcoat, as the smoothest finish applied equals less sanding. I strive for mirror finish with gelcoat....no orange peel, surface imperfections....nada. of course you can slop it on with a mop, to end up sanding for days. Unless I'm doing a really "pro" paint job, I'll brush it on, as paint levels so much better than gelcoat, and sags are kept to a min. For insurance I'll use automotive type paints ...or even Brightside, etc....which also can be sanded and buffed.
Wish I was rich and 21....id buy your Florida digs...but I don't like hurricanes.
 
Breeze Bender, use it or lose it we always say. And we're just trying to keep up with Alan. Someone will buy this house and love it, hopefully even more than we did, but our hearts are already in Virginia, moving closer to family and our first Grandbaby, a little girl. Can you imagine the fun she'll have following Gramma Skipper around. And learning about the Grampa Rule, Be careful or you could get hurt because he doesn't always know what he is doing. Our new place will be a dry lot, a peaceful respite from years of pier maintenance, and we will be Trailer Sailors again, which we have been for decades. There is water everywhere in the Hampton Roads area, creeks, rivers, bays and the big water. We might scout for a tiny waterfront lot once we get there, and put a Shack there.

You did a great job on that boat, she's beautiful. Now that we have cracked the code on the Preval sprayer maybe SMEDLEY gets a touchup.

Our Sunfish rebuilds are wrapping up, and we're shifting into re-Homeporting mode. First PODS is on site...well actually, it's the second time we've started moving, first PODS left Sep 2019 then we recalled it when pandemic blew up in 2020. SMEDLEY is lined up, we'll use daggerboard ramps to roll her in like we did last time.

View attachment 43671

And building a little punt because there is not enough going on...She's the first of the BLUFF RATTY Class of ships, her name is SCUPPERS, thanks to L&VW.

View attachment 43672
So I sure hope that even with your move, we can count on still seeing your talents on restoring these beautiful boats!
 
smkunder, we will always be fiddling with Sunfish.

There is a nice group of Sunfish Sailors in Hampton, VA area, Grandview Island, who go out racing almost weekly. We sailed there about 10 years ago, nice spot on the Chesapeake.

Skipper and Capn Jack

Jack and Audrey.JPG


I am excited about visiting Smith's Marine Railway in Seaford and the Deltaville Maritime Museum to learn more about diamond bottom deadrise boat building, and we will be a short drive from the phenomenal Mariner's Museum in Newport News.
 

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