YOUR 10 HAPPY CAT ADVANTAGES

Packed small, the HAPPY CAT fits into a car, roof box or motorhome. At home, the travel catamaran can easily be accommodated in a cellar, garden shed or garage. No bulky hulls or frames!

Everything can be dismantled and is packed in two long bags, 185 cm long and in a pack bag the hulls. The sails can of course be packed extra protected in an included sail bag. That’s it!

Those who like to travel at high speed will get their money’s worth with the HAPPY CAT. Sailing performance has increased incredibly in recent years. Speeds over 16 knots are easily attainable with suitable wind. Fun sailing on a hull is also possible from wind force 3. With a larger Roll-Booster sail in light wind (accessory), you can sail away from all. In strong winds there is a smaller sail set (accessory) for a wider range of use.

The big platform makes the HAPPY CAT a great family boat. With the stable bow deck the usable area can be increased by 1/3. For more luggage space, children can even sit on the bow deck. The simple control of the cat also makes it possible to teach children how to sail. With a bathing ladder, anchor and motor, the HAPPY CAT can be transformed into a relaxing bathing platform.

With the HAPPY CAT impressive adventure journeys have already been undertaken, for example an over 600km long Corsica sail round trip with a HAPPY CAT HURRICANE. Or a complete sailing trip through Croatia with a HAPPY CAT EVOLUTION. The stable bow and stern canopy offer plenty of space for equipment. The thick tubes provide the necessary buoyancy, so that a lot of payload weight is no problem! Even with bigger waves at the sea there is always enough buoyancy reserve available, even if more than one person sails!

The convex wavepiercing hulls developed in professional tank tests reduce the overall resistance significantly. Comparative tests have shown that the optimized shape allows 30% higher average speeds than conventional “banana-shaped” hulls. Splash water is significantly reduced, and the long water line up to the bow tip significantly increases buoyancy. Benefit from more safety in rough seas as well as from the possibility to load more luggage.

In general, the wind pushes a sailboat sideways when sailing and you “drift off”. This drift can be prevented in various ways – hull shape, fins, centreboard – and converted into forward motion. The deeper this counter-pressure point is set in the water, the more effectively the drift is prevented. Therefore the HAPPY CAT has a very long profile centreboard, which reaches especially deep into the water. Thus the drift is reduced to a minimum, so that you have to cross less and can sail high at the wind (average turning angle 100°). The faster you sail, the more effective the profile centre boards will be in the water. Figuratively speaking, the “centre board bites itself into the water” the faster the boat sails and you drift less sideways.

By the same principle airplanes have long wings, wind turbines have long rotor blades and efficient modern sailboats have tall mainsails.

You can find a detailed explanation of the centreboard in the HAPPY CAT FAQs

The shape of the sails is very important to be able to sail well upwind. The HAPPY CAT’s foresail points are closer to the mast in order to tighten the sail at a more optimal angle to the wind. A well-balanced position that allows for a lot of height sailing as well as high speed in half-wind courses.

To ensure that the sails “stand” as they are intended, the mast is made of a particularly stable profile. Due to the precisely adjusted double shrouds, the mast only bends so much that the sails remain stable in shape, even in strong winds. A feature of this is the luff of the fore sail. This must remain as straight as possible when sailing and must not be “blown away” to the side, so that good height can be sailed. Also the “twist” in the mainsail can be kept low by the stable mast, for an optimal mainsail profile over the whole height.

The new rudder position, at the rear of the stern, allows effortless steering even in strong winds. A so far unknown driving comfort, like with a servo steering! Tacking is a child’s play with this rudder position. The catamaran glides smoothly and precisely through the water. The tiller can be fixed in calm winds to have your hands free.

Do something good for the environment by choosing a rubber product instead of PVC. Grabner boats and catamaran hulls are made of a special EPDM/natural rubber boat skin. This boat skin offers you decisive advantages:

• Environmentally friendly: no toxic PVC plasticizers!
• Sustainable: Service life of more than 20 years on average!
• Airtight: The inner coating of natural rubber offers maximum airtightness so that the air stays in the hose longer and you don’t have to pump it all the time.
• Simply repair – instead of throwing away!

You can find out more about this topic at: Your 10 Grabner advantages

The frame and mast are made of a particularly stable aluminium alloy. The surface treatment by anodizing is also harmless against scratches and contact with salt water.

The profile frame and profile mast have square plug connections that remain stable in shape even in wind and waves. No comparison to cheap boats, where it is often visible on photos that the parts twist.

It can be really difficult to weld aluminium perfectly. Over the years we have learned a lot and today we manufacture in a quality that is remarkable!

Parts with high loads – centreboard mount, tensioning ropes, terminals, shackles, karabiners – are made of high-quality, saltwater-resistant stainless steel.

The trampoline cloth is pulled directly into the innovative profile frame with bolt rope and tensioned with quick-releases. No cumbersome re-tensioning with ropes is needed.

Makes the assembly much easier! In addition, the mast rotates with the sail for a better sail profile.

Most unusual for a portable sailboat, standard on the HAPPY CAT! For a better mainsail trim.

Many possibilities to adjust the sails exactly: Jib luff tensioner, jib leech tensioner, mainsail luff tensioner, clew board, battens, sheet leads, traveller.

And many more innovations: Rudder extender, centreboard pulley, jib halyard pulley, tiller lock, roll booster, …

As a Grabner sailor you are not alone! Over the decades and especially in recent years with the most modern HAPPY CAT generation, tens of thousands of catamarans have been sold all over the world. Again and again you can see the eye-catching red/black sails speeding along the water.

Every year there is a big HAPPY CAT meeting at which 70 catamarans can participate. The sailors can exchange ideas, learn a lot and make like-minded friends.