Brown Banca Cat
Description
The Brown Banca Cat (sometimes stylized as "Bancacat") is a lightweight, folding catamaran designed by multihull pioneer Jim Brown in the 1970s, as part of his early experiments in trailerable beach cats and coastal cruisers. This 28-foot sloop-rigged vessel emphasizes simplicity, portability, and performance, with a focus on amateur plywood construction and a unique folding mechanism for easy trailering and beach launching. Drawing from Brown's experience with trimarans like the Searunner series, the Banca Cat shifts to a twin-hull layout for enhanced stability and speed in shallow waters, making it ideal for daysailing, fishing, or short coastal hops. It's less common than the Searunners but prized by builders for its "barefoot cruising" ethos—minimalist, fun, and forgiving in moderate conditions. Plans were originally offered through Brown's catalogs, and while few were built, surviving examples highlight its lively handling and low-cost appeal.
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 28.33 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 10 ft |
| p | 32.33 ft |
| e | 15.75 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28.33 ft | 10 ft | 32.33 ft | 15.75 ft | - | - | - | - |
Blueprints
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 32.33 ft - (9854 mm) |
| Foot | 15.75 ft - (4801 mm) |
| Leech | 35.37 ft - (10781 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88.14 ° |
| Diagonal | 35.5 ft - (10820 mm) |
| Head (inches) | 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | * 263.01 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 22 ft - (6706 mm) |
| Foot | 13.33 ft - (4063 mm) |
| Leech | 16.5 ft - (5029 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 99.7 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 9.97 ft - (3039 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 22.16 ° |
| Area | * 109.64 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | 27 ft - (8230 mm) |
| Foot | 18.167 ft - (5537 mm) |
| Leech | 26 ft - (7925 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 167.2 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 16.72 ft - (5096 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 3.54 ° |
| Area | * 225.79 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.