Dinghy multihulls: Hurricane 500

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Hurricane 500

Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Multihulls
Forum Name: Dinghy multihulls
Forum Discription: For those who prefer two (or more) hulls to one!
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11354
Printed Date: 14 Aug 25 at 12:46pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: Hurricane 500

Posted By: bicrider
Subject: Hurricane 500
Date Posted: 19 Feb 14 at 12:06pm

Does anybody know anything about this cat been looking for a dart 18 for a bit but a very good priced hurry 500 is for sale but i cant find out much at all about them on the interweb?

do they single hand well? where to get spares ect?

i am 110kg possible crew as and when for fun not racing in the channel on the south coast

all help will be appreciated

chris

Replies:

Posted By: Buzz
Date Posted: 20 Feb 14 at 12:02pm

There used to be lots of Darts at Restronguet in Cornwall. It would be worth you writing a wanted notice and sending it to the secretary of the club asking them to put it on the notice board.

Posted By: tgruitt
Date Posted: 20 Feb 14 at 1:11pm

It might be worth contacting Grant Piggot, he's just made some sails for one....

http://www.gpsails.com/GP_Sails_Home.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.gpsails.com/GP_Sails_Home.html

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Needs to sail more...

Posted By: bicrider
Date Posted: 20 Feb 14 at 3:24pm

Thanks gents will keep Restronguet in mind but its is the other end of the country i am on the Kent Sussex boarder

Posted By: ASok
Date Posted: 21 Feb 14 at 3:00pm

Originally posted by Buzz

There used to be lots of Darts at Restronguet in Cornwall. It would be worth you writing a wanted notice and sending it to the secretary of the club asking them to put it on the notice board.

Restronguet is the home of Dart sailing. Brian Phipps is still based there selling brand new builds and class parts. Obviously no use to a Kent based person though!

Can't comment on the suitability of a Hurri though as I've never sailing one. My sister races out of Starcross and they have a decent fleet. She loves it and preferred it over my Dart 18.

Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 21 Feb 14 at 3:09pm

I think you'll find Starcross have Hurricane 5.9s. The Hurricane 500 was a quite different class, which seems to have largely dropped off the radar. All I know about them is that they stopped appearing on PY published lists about 2002.

Posted By: Punky
Date Posted: 21 Feb 14 at 3:35pm

From my childhood memory the 500 was launched by the Whites in about 1990 to replace the Hurricane 4.9, which itself was a Condor with a new rig. The Hurricane 4.9 fleet did not switch, at least partially because they felt let down that their (healthy) class was being dumped and partially because when a 500 was demo'ed at my club it pitch poled and broke up (and without boards their was scepticism as to its upwind performance). It was marketted as a scaled down Hurricane 6.5 which had revolutionary 'upside down' hulls (narrower at the top).

But I guess if it has lasted this long it can't be too fragile. The photo's on ebay show it having a different, boomless, rig to the original. I don't know when that came in but it is the Sobstad Genesis material and colours that the ISO used back in 1993.

Posted By: ASok
Date Posted: 21 Feb 14 at 5:24pm

Originally posted by JimC

I think you'll find Starcross have Hurricane 5.9s. The Hurricane 500 was a quite different class, which seems to have largely dropped off the radar. All I know about them is that they stopped appearing on PY published lists about 2002.

Yes, you are right Jim.

Its been a long week......................

Posted By: bicrider
Date Posted: 24 Feb 14 at 2:15pm

I do remember the 500 be at the dinghy show might even have been at crystal palace (I still think the dinghy show was better at crystal palace me and my kid brother sailing toppers or oppies on the pool) sorry topic for another day there.

I too thought the rig in the pictures was not how i remembered it but i do remember the look of it completely different from darts and hobies there guess it has made an impression on me

Posted By: catmandoo
Date Posted: 24 Feb 14 at 3:01pm

Used to race against one in our club , they werent very good upwind , but pretty quick down , just about made up for the poor upwind performance :) , cant remember if the performance down wind was due to a kite , but was pre chute days .

Prob not , think I was sailing a uncorn at time which trounced it .

This particular one was recalled as it was falling apart , splitting up centre seams , was a prob with early ones , rather than get a replacement boat , the owner upgraded to a tornado.

It was also sailed singlehanded , not to great effect , but he didnt fly a kite . which you must on a boat like this for a look in these days .

It had a righting pole to help get it back up , it had an impressive tall rig .

Ive heard of them being given away literally , so dont pay much , unless its been pimped with good sails and a chute launching spin, even then its dual performance is something to watch out for ,

giving the boat benefit of doubt , it may have been way it was sailed upwind being the prob , but we couldnt see that far back ;)

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Posted By: bicrider
Date Posted: 25 Feb 14 at 7:56am

Thank for the advice catmandoo food for thought

Posted By: Sprint Bob
Date Posted: 05 Mar 14 at 6:45am

Originally posted by catmandoo

Used to race against one in our club , they werent very good upwind , but pretty quick down , just about made up for the poor upwind performance :) , cant remember if the performance down wind was due to a kite , but was pre chute days .

Prob not , think I was sailing a uncorn at time which trounced it .

This particular one was recalled as it was falling apart , splitting up centre seams , was a prob with early ones , rather than get a replacement boat , the owner upgraded to a tornado.

It was also sailed singlehanded , not to great effect , but he didnt fly a kite . which you must on a boat like this for a look in these days .

It had a righting pole to help get it back up , it had an impressive tall rig .

Ive heard of them being given away literally , so dont pay much , unless its been pimped with good sails and a chute launching spin, even then its dual performance is something to watch out for ,

giving the boat benefit of doubt , it may have been way it was sailed upwind being the prob , but we couldnt see that far back ;)

Yes - not a successful class and one which was not properly developed or debugged. There are still a couple at Grafham but they are hardly ever sailed. The hulls were very bulbous and were flatish underneath to promote planing. The trouble was huge leeway so they grafted on a couple of flat rib keels to act as skegs. They are Naf. The next problem was they floated very high on the water especially when capsized. The consequence of this was the boat proved impossible to right. So the next piece of Heath Robinson modification involved a righting pole which stuck out the back when sailing. In a capsize you swing it round and use it for leverage to help right the boat. There were many other issues and they never went very well.

Much better to hold out for a dart.

Cheers

Bob

Posted By: bicrider
Date Posted: 05 Mar 14 at 7:29am

Thanks Bob

I am starting to see why they are so cheep.

Starting to see there are more darts for sail in the last week or so

Posted By: catmandoo
Date Posted: 05 Mar 14 at 1:09pm

Bob dont think the skegs were an afterthought !

they must have had them from the start . theres no way they ever tried sailing a flat bottom boat up wind without anything to stop leeway , that way lies madness and whiteformula had too much experience for that .

hull shapes werent to riduculous , stealths pretty similar and with daggerboards work a treat , as im sure you will agree .

highly bouyant flat bottom boats do poise a challenge to get back on board , on my stealth sxl I have a line tied from mast step to one forestay fitting , slack enough to hang just below water , which I can kneel on then stand , to get back on board , when not in use is hooked onto dolphinstriker stay with plastic hook and bungee to take slack out . I sail solo ,

Cant lay claim to this saw it on a 5.9 and plagarised .

would be interesting project to saw off the skegs of a 500 and put in daggerboards , but a lot of difficult work for something that would have little value

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Posted By: bicrider
Date Posted: 05 Mar 14 at 4:51pm

Maybe it was going to have boards originally after looking a the pic of the one that was for sale last week the skegs did look like an afterthought i would boards would make it better, did see a set of hull on ebay for £80 did not sell. I must admit i did think it had boards from memory. Maybe they were going to market it as a beach cat at the last minute to go up against the hobie 16 for easy beach launching.