In 2006 my first Parallax, a sweet Corsair 2006 Catamaran.........
and me embarked on a one year adventure to sail from Hampton Va to The BVI's as part of the rally then known as the Caribbean 1500. My good friend Bill Bloodgood served as crew on the 1500 mile (more or less) crossing After that I single handed south to Tobago through the Caribean chain and then back to Hampton VA.
I kept a web site then to share the adventure before the plethora of social media sites and share platforms were available. It was fun. I still smile when I look at the post and pictures even though its so dated that its well "quaint" ? But its really the start of years of sailing adventures and a bit of context for this new site. It might make you smile as well. Parallaxcat.com. Roll forward 15 years, a bigger faster Parallax and a few more trips under my belt. Parallax is an Erik le Rouge design long skinny light and fast, Le Rouge in my opinion one of the best catamaran designers anywhere. At 14.8 meters length beam of 7.4 and a draft a 1.25 meter her stated weight is 17000 lbs, more like 19000 I would say, but still very light. Vinylester in the layup and a full one inch airex foam core coupled with the Larouge cambered cross beam make her incredibly stiff. The weight is concentrated in the center with the engines well forwardand a ton of un burdened bouancy forward and aft keep her from hobbyhorsing in a seaway.
She was designed to sail , though she has plenty of storage and space for a cruising couple, the compromises skew toward performance, maximising interior space and occupancy was not the highest design priority
I purchased her in 2017 almost devoid of usable systems. I designed and installed the hydralic link steering , electrics, installed a new electronic and navigation suite including autopilot to drive the new hydralics. I also modified the chain locker to make room for a new windless with greater chainfall. Robbyn and I laboriously painted her with Alexseal seafoam green and recently dressed her out with a new North main as well as new standing and upgraded running rigging. I also continued to upgrade the power systems and she now has 1100 watts of solar power and 600 amp hours of lithium batteries . She can go days, even weeks with only the force of the sun to power her seperate freezer and refrigiator, airfryer, microwave, washer dryer and water maker.
After working out a few bugs on her initial trip to Antigua in 2017, which will soon be a post in the MacGyver section, she has sailed around 20,000 miles without a major failure . She's now decked out in LED lighting and underwater floods, ill try to post some more pics
# A note about Erik Le Rouge. i discovered sometime after I bought Parallax that the now defunct manufacturer and Mr. Le Rouge were not on the best terms. From what I gather Mr Le Rouge was perhaps not paid nor consented to the use of the design. I dont know the real Gin and unless I meet Mr Le Rouge one day never will. But in my OPINION it's defintley a Le Rouge inspired if not out right design (look at the Freydis cat) So i am giving credit where i think its due.
