G-Cat 5 Meter
Description
The G-Cat 5 Meter (commonly referred to as the G-Cat 5.0 or G-Cat 5.0 Meter) is a classic American beach catamaran sailing dinghy designed by Hans Geissler (with some early input from Bill Tritt noted in sources) as a one-design racer. First built in 1975 by G-Cat (USA), it's a lightweight fiberglass cat with symmetrical hulls (no daggerboards or centerboards for simplicity), a fractional sloop rig featuring a rotating spar (mast), and twin trampolines (front and rear) for crew positioning and fun, high-performance sailing. This design delivers quick acceleration, excellent planing in moderate winds, and responsive handling—often praised by owners as fast, relaxed, and versatile for single- or double-handing, with good light-wind capability (e.g., by sheeting the jib tight or furling/loosening it). It's trailerable, easy to launch from beaches or ramps, and suited for daysailing, club racing, or casual coastal/beach use.
Construction Details
| Designer | Hans Geissler and Bill Tritt |
|---|---|
| Builder | G-Cat (USA) |
| Length | 16.670 ft |
| LOA | 16.670 ft |
| LWL | 15.500 ft |
| Beam | 8.000 ft |
| Displacement | 340 lb |
| Year Built | 1975 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | - |
| p | 26.18 ft |
| e | 8.42 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | 26.18 ft | 8.42 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
G-Cat 5 Meter - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 26.18 ft - (7980 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 8.42 ft - (2566 mm) |
| Leech | * 27.04 ft - (8242 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 27.22 ft - (8297 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4 in - (102 mm) |
| Area | * 113.96 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
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.
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