Our test conditions were typical for the West Country, with a big swell (3m+) rolling in around Rame Head. Hissy Fit is the first 1495, a demo boat built for Dazcat director Simon Baker. Once we hit 17.5 knots reaching on our first wave in towards Cawsand Bay, my craving for more was like being a child all over again. It’s like sticking your head out of a sportscar’s sunroof.Īs the Dazcat strode into a 9.5-11 knot upwind pace, the Plymouth Sound where I’d spent so long sailing dinghies as a child now seemed more like a pond. This helps to make her feel direct and light, like a performance monohull.Īnother factor that quickly becomes apparent is that the combination of boat speed, wind speed and helm height, makes for a breezy position from which to steer. Her cable steering is linked to carbon rudders, joined by a tie-bar. I was struck by how stiff and light the Dazcat is. Stiff, light and directĪs we surged out of the mouth of the Tamar river, we were hit by 25-knot gusts.

Yet one of the most surprising things about her is that she has emerged from a sleepy creek’s end yard belonging to designer Darren Newton – the ‘Daz’ in Dazcat – in Millbrook, Cornwall. Combine that with substantial sail area, set from an aerodynamic carbon rig, and her speed potential starts to look rather exhilarating. The Dazcat weighs a nimble 6.7 tonnes which, for a 48ft catamaran, is rather light. This produces a muscular effect like a big cat.

Her reverse sheerline is mirrored by a curved coachroof and her hulls have pronounced tumblehome that reduces to slim waterline beams ending in reverse stems. The Dazcat 1495 has a uniquely identifiable profile.

And just as with cruiser-racer monohulls, Dazcat owners choose how Spartan or comfortable to make their cats, depending on which end of the cruising or racing spectrum they prefer. The second Dazcat 1495, Apollo, is in build for seasoned IRC racer Nigel Passmore, a past J-Boat and TP52 owner, a telling indication of the current interest in offshore sailing in greater comfort. She was a runner-up in the multihull catedgory of European Yacht of the Year. Is this the catamaran equivalent of a monohull cruiser-racer like those from J-Boats or X-Yachts? The Dazcat 1495 differs from other modern fast cats in that, as well as being a comfortable platform for cruising, she offers genuine offshore racing potential.

Daz cats