European Cat
Description
The European Cat is a compact, trailerable fiberglass daysailer designed in 1972 by Howard J. "Jack" Van Arsdale and built primarily by European Marine Industries (EMI) in Costa Mesa, California. This 14 ft cat-rigged sloop was marketed as a stable, beginner-friendly alternative to the popular Sunfish and Laser, emphasizing wide-beam stability, simple rigging, and family fun for lakes and bays. With its distinctive rounded hull and high freeboard, the European Cat was one of the first mass-produced rotomolded polyethylene boats in the U.S., offering unsinkable flotation and low maintenance. Approximately 2,000–3,000 units were built before production ended in the early 1980s, making it a cult classic among West Coast sailors and a direct ancestor of modern plastic dinghies like the Escape Rumba (your prior query). “The European Cat doesn’t just float—it dances on the water, stable enough for kids, fast enough for dads.” – Small Boat Journal, 1975
Construction Details
| Designer | Howard J. Van Arsdale |
|---|---|
| Builder | European Marine Industries |
| Length | 14.000 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
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| e | - |
| p2 | - |
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| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
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| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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.