| Catboat Rendezvous, page 3 |
MOLLY CAT
“More than just another boat, the Molly is a small yacht.” So Eric Sponberg summed up the judges’ impression of the beautifully built and finished Molly Cat. From her flawless, deep-green hull to her Port Orford cedar cabin trim (optional), the Molly attracted admiring glances wherever she went. The California-built Molly Cat parts company from her eastern cousins in a number of respects. Her stem has a jaunty tumblehome, her use of wood is more lavish (note the lignum vitae deck cleats, the ash sheet blocks, and the extensive teak deck trim), and her rudder is fully immersed, leaving no barndoor distractions hanging from her handsome raked transom.
Other differences from the two eastern boats have plusses and minuses. For instance, her gigantic cockpit reduces her cabin space to pup tent proportions. “We consider the Molly Cat a daysailer for six, or a cruising boat for four: two in the cockpit under a boom tent, and two down below,” explained Phil Fernandes. We’d find the cockpit a bit tight for six, but we agree that two adults and two kids could have a ball taking the Molly on overnight cruises.
Designed for windy San Francisco Bay conditions, the Molly has both the lowest sail area (A 225-square-foot sail is available as an option.) and the highest displacement of the three boats, a function, in part, of her slim 7½-foot beam. But although she wasn’t the fastest boat of the three tested, the Molly stands up nicely to a breeze. Like the other boats, she wants to round up when the gusts hit — understandable and reassuring behavior — but it doesn’t take a gorilla’s strength to control her helm in the rough going.
Sponberg liked the Molly’s inboard rudder, since it allows the rudder to stay in the water when the boat heels. The tiller also can be tilted up and out of the way, making it easier to move about the cockpit in comfort. On the other boats, the tillers are fixed to the rudder heads.
Molly’s cockpit is self-draining until four or five people load down the cockpit, at which point water sloshes in through the scuppers instead of out. Sponberg suggested that the cockpit sole be raised a bit further off the waterline to solve this problem. In the Molly’s favor, the cockpit is comfortable — you chock yourself securely between the leeward seat and the coaming on hard beats to windward — and there’s an honest bridgedeck protecting the companionway.
The cabin may be tiny, but the builder has done some clever things to make more out of less. The centerboard trunk is buried beneath the cabin sole, increasing cabin footroom. A little oval sink is an optional extra that fits into the top step and you can attach a Seaswing stove to the bottom companionway washboard. The 4 x 12-inch oval bronze ports actually open to provide maximum ventilation. The dome-like cabintop affords more sitting headroom. And then there’s that nicely finished Port Orford cedar ceiling, and the cushions, upholstered in luxurious velveteen fabric that matches the hull color.
Molly’s $13,605 base price includes sail and bronze opening ports, as well as molded-in engine beds and glassed-in cutlass bearings, in case the owner wants to add the motor later. Molly fans so far have wanted their packages complete with trailers, inboards, and all the trimmings.
