There’s also the K1 Regatta with Streamcut mainsail and 19sq m kite which is an internationally recognised onedesign class, being promoted by Topcat as a same sized, user-friendly alternative to Formula 18 - much simpler to own, won’t get outdated by new designs, and nearly as quick offwind with over 40sq m of sail power. All three cats in the K range have the option of a classic pinhead mainsail and jib with a single trapeze like the Dart 18, or a larger and more modern ‘Streamcut’ square top mainsail with the same size jib and twin trapezes for the K1 and K2. Your first choice is size: the 5.5m K1, 5.17m K2 or 4.92m K3. Unlike other cat and dinghy ranges, Topcats all work the same on a bigger or larger scale. All the hulls are built in Italy all the cats are assembled in Germany with Andrew Landenberger (former Tornado bronze medallist and Topcat world champion) supplying the sails. They all feature the same assembly system without requiring bolts or tools, are trailable or cartoppable with the option of a two-part mast, have tough fibreglass foam sandwich hulls with a handy 30 litre storage pod in each stern and have a unique rudder system and adjustable mainsail clew. Carefully colour coordinated in red and white, the Topcats are all different size variations on the same theme with K1, K2 and K3 on the mainsail for the three principal sizes - there’s also a smaller 4.5 and Chico for kids.Įverything about a Topcat is kept simple. Design and conceptĬonsistency appears to be the recipe to Topcat’s success, with a strongly branded range of five different cats, all designed by Enzmann and all based on the original concept. In the meantime, Topcat GmbH has moved on, prospered and become a very popular brand which is still owned and run by Bernd Breymann and his family, a catsailing enthusiast who built the very first Topcat to a design by Klaus Enzmann. In fact its similarity to the Dart 18 and the threat of possible legal action kept Topcat out of the UK for more than two decades. The first Topcat appeared in 1979, three years after the Dart 18 - to which it bore more than a passing resemblance with skegs to keep the hulls on line, a boomfree mainsail and simple but sophisticated assembly system with beams sliding into hulls and no fiddly nuts or bolts. Jeremy Evans put the K3 Streamcut to the test. Topcat has become a big name in Europe with over 16,000 boats sold over three decades, but is relatively new to the UK market.