1. Question: Why do Wyliecats have such an unusual rig?
2. Question: How does the Wyliecat rig work?
3. Question: Why do Wyliecats have wishbone booms?
4. Question: Can you really achieve optimum sail shape with such a simple rig?
5. Question: How well do Wyliecat's sail upwind?
6. Question: Do Wyliecats need a large crew on the rail to be fast and stable upwind?
7. Question: Can you reef the sail on a Wyliecat rig
8. Question: Is a Wyliecat a good boat for day sailing and cruising?
9. Question: How do Wyliecat's do on the race course?
10. Question: Since there is no spinnaker, how is the downwind performance on a Wyliecat?
11. Question: How fast is a Wyliecat on a reach?

1. Question: Why do Wyliecats have such an unusual rig?

Tom Wylie says the idea for the first Wyliecat, a 30-footer (9.1m), originated in 1988 when he and Dave Wahle wondered what sort of boat might address a common problem. “If we could be in five yacht clubs at the same time anywhere in the world, we'd hear sailors talking about about their difficulty in getting crew, what a drag it is to get their boat sailing over lunchtime, and how heavy their jibs are,” says Wylie. By then, composites promised lighter weight and better bending characteristics than older masts, particularly those made of aluminum. Based on reports from reviewers and owners alike, Wyliecats are winners, but says Wylie, “I can't attribute their success to one thing alone.” It's the synchronization of multiple elements that makes it work. (This is an excerpt from Steven Callahan's article Native Son, which appeared in Professional BoatBuilder magazine.)

2. Question: How does the Wyliecat rig work?

A view of the Wyliecat choker system. The upper lines anchor the booms at the correct vertical height on the mast. The lines running up the mast adjust the wishbone fore and aft, allowing the draft of the sail to be made fuller or flatter.

The only rigging needed to adjust the draft in the sail on a Wyliecat is the "choker" system. This is the rigging system that pulls the wishbone back. When the wishbone is pulled back, the sail is stretched aft and flattened. The carbon mast is also bent back by the choker, which further de-powers and flattens the sail. At the same time the wishbone maintains proper leach control. The amount of sail adjustability with the Wyliecat rig is truly astonishing, and impossible with any other type of rig. It is possible to go from a very deep and powerful low-speed airfoil in light air, to a very flat de-powered blade in heavy air. The carbon fiber mast and wishbone combination make it happen quickly and easily by pulling on only one string, the choker line. The Wyliecat rig is so advanced, it's simple!

3. Question: Why do Wyliecats have wishbone booms?

The wishbone boom works much better than a conventional boom with the Wyliecat's ultra-flexible carbon fiber mast to keep the sail in perfect trim, all the time, allowing better sail control and ease of handling in the process.

The wishbone tensions the sail at an angle, pulling the sail both back and down. This trims the sail more efficiently than the forces applied to a sail with a conventional boom, with the outhaul and vang. The wishbone is also more effective at bending the carbon mast. The only way in which a conventional mast could be similarly bent is with the use of running backstays, which are usually only seen on pure racing boats such as the America's Cup class yachts. The disadvantages of conventional running backstays are numerous. They must be constantly trimmed by an experienced sailor, and if adjusted incorrectly, could cause catastrophic mast failure.

The wishbone boom has one other advantage - it provides an attachment point for the Wyliecat's built-in sail furling solution. Lazyjack lines on the booms neatly catch the sail when it is dropped, greatly reducing the work necessary to put the boat away. Dropping the sail is a one-person job with a Wyliecat!

4. Question: Can you really achieve optimum sail shape with such a simple rig?

The Wyliecat's built-in sail furling solution. When the main is dropped it is neatly caught in the lazyjack lines attached to the wishbones. Dropping the main becomes an easy one-person job!

Conventional sailboats must have mainsheet travelers, outhauls, boom vangs, and furlers. All this gear has been eliminated on the Wyliecat rig. Mainsheet travelers are unnecessary because you sheet the sail on a Wyliecat more like a genoa than a mainsail (at 8 to 12 degrees off the centerline for upwind sailing). Outhauls and boom vangs are also both unnecessary because the wishbone performs these functions. Furlers are not needed because there is no jib to furl. Wyliecats have built-in mainsail furling as part of the wishbone. When the sail is dropped it automatically flakes itself into the integrated lazyjack system attached to the wishbone booms.

5. Question: How well do Wyliecat's sail upwind?

One of the "old wives tales" you often hear about cat-rigged boats is that they have poor upwind performance. There may in fact be some truth to this reputation with traditional cat-rigged designs from earlier eras. The famous Chesapeake Bay catboat design, for example, had a beamy hull, a massive unfoiled "barn door" rudder, a shallow-draft centerboard, and an inefficient sail and rigging. It's no wonder that its upwind performance was lacking!

The Wyliecat yachts, in contrast, have been designed with state-of-the-art sailing technology. The hull features a fine entry, optimized NACA underwater foils, light displacement, and low-wetted surface. Combine this with the innovative and super-effecient Wyliecat rig, and you have a design that is as fast or faster than any conventionally-rigged performance sailboat in upwind sailing (not to mention other points of sail). A recent Sailing World magazine article noted that "the Wyliecat 48 can beat a Santa Cruz 50 upwind in 25 knots."

6. Question: Do you need a large crew on the rail to be fast and stable upwind on a Wyliecat (like you do with conventional sailing yachts)?

No. All the Wyliecat models are designed with light displacement balsa core hulls and decks and low center of gravity bulb keels, so upwind they carry sail well and are stiff and fast. For example, the Wyliecat 30 weighs 5,500 lbs. and carries a 3,050 lbs. lead bulb keel (a 55% ballast to displacement ratio). This ballast to displacement ratio is usually found only in pure racing boats. With sail plans that can be de-powered quickly and easily, and high ballast to displacement ratios, Wyliecats don't need a lot of human ballast to hold the boat down, and are exceptionally fast and stable sailboats going to weather and on all points of sail.

7. Question: Can you reef the sail on a Wyliecat rig?

Because Wyliecats are so stable and the rigs are so easy to de-power, you very seldom need to reef, even in windy areas such as the San Francisco bay. When reefing does become necessary, the tack and clew reefing lines are led aft into the cockpit for quick, easy handling.

8. Question: Is a Wyliecat a good boat for day sailing and cruising?

The young crew of Wyliecat 30 Uno enjoying the open transom/swim platform.

Yes. For day sailing with any number of people, or cruising, a Wyliecat is elegantly simple, easy and fast. With no jib to tack you can point the boat wherever you want to go, just trim the mainsheet accordingly. And forward visibility is excellent with no jib to block the view.

9. Question: How do Wyliecat's do on the race course?

Wyliecats are very competitive on the race course! All the models of Wyliecats are fast and lively light displacement designs that feel good on the helm. They are also very rewarding boats to the skipper and crew who know how to adjust the rig for maximum efficiency and performance. Wyliecats are particularly strong in short-handed sailing races (1-2 people). In fact, in the San Francisco Bay Area they have dominated single and double-handed races for over a decade. One example of this dominance is the Wyliecat 30s performance in the Singlehanded Farallones Race (a particularly grueling 58 mile open-ocean race). Wyliecat 30s have won overall for the past three years, and have been first in their division every year since 1998, when no Wyliecat 30s entered the race.

So, unless you're really into crew management (and buying a lot of beer and sandwiches), a Wyliecat just might be the boat for you! Check out the racing record to see a small sample of the winning performance of the Wyliecat.

10. Question: How is the downwind performance on a Wyliecat without a spinnaker?

The Wyliecat rig allows the sail to be trimmed to an extremely full shape for off the wind sailing. With nearly the same sail area as a conventional sailboat's spinnaker and main sail, the Wyliecat is also fast downwind. And whereas flying a spinnaker will require a minimum of three experienced sailors, the Wyliecat can be easily sailed by one person.

With the super-adjustability built into the Wyliecat rig, you can practically turn the sail into a spinnaker. And, with their ample sail area (approximately equal to the sail area of a conventional sloop-rigged sailboat with a full main and a 135% jib), Wyliecats don't need spinnakers to be fast off the wind.

You can also order a Wyliecat with either the standard sail (for areas with high winds) or a larger, light air sail for less windy areas.

11. Question: How fast is a Wyliecat on a reach?

Wyliecats are definitely fast and fun off the wind. With their light displacement they surf easily and can exceed "hull speed". Even when surfing, Wyliecats are easy to control - a well-balanced helm with You'll look forward to windy reaching and running in a Wyliecat. Wyliecats are designed and built to be fast, fun, and easy to sail!