Engineering:Hurricane 5.9

Short description: Racing catamaran sailboat

Hurricane 5.9SX

Development
Designer	Reg White
Location	Brightlingsea
Year	1980s
No. built	≈500
Builder(s)	White Formula
Boat
Crew	2
Boat weight	192 kg (423 lb)
Hull
Type	Cat
LOA	5.9 m (19 ft)
Beam	2.43 m (8 ft 0 in)
Sails
Mainsail area	17.50 m2 (188.4 sq ft)
Jib/genoa area	4.56 m2 (49.1 sq ft)
Gennaker area	21.00 m2 (226.0 sq ft)
Racing
Rating	1.030
RYA PN	695

The Hurricane 5.9 is a one design racing catamaran. It was designed by Reg White in Brightlingsea in the 1980s in response to a Tornado catamaran owner's request that White Formula design a cat with equal or superior performance to the Tornado of roughly the same boat length and sail area that did not need to be dismantled for trailing, this was to be the Hurricane 5.9. When the first Hurricane 5.9s began racing, as their numbers were few, they would race alongside the Tornados to increase the racing numbers in one combined fleet.

Now the SX rig has modernised the platform and opened the class out to a wide range of sailors and it's low cost competitive racing in the UK

Design

Each hull is 5.9 metres long and 2.43 metres (two feet less than that of the Tornado) wide. A second trapeze was added to for the helmsman, this was to make up for the lost righting moment with the narrower boat. At the same time, the rear of each of the 5.9 hulls was reduced to give less buoyancy than that of the Tornados to make the boats less susceptible to pitch polling when sailing downwind. The sail and spar design was also heavily updated from the Tornado's rig that had hardly changed since its launch in the 1970s.

Hurricane 5.9SX

During the 2000s the platform was given a new rig option - the SX. Moving the mainsail to a square top Pentex sail with a higher boom fitment, a smaller self tacking jib and a new asymmetric spinnaker shape with a solid chute and evolved layout. Paired with smaller evolutions to blocks and rope systems this modernised the Hurricane platform and made the boat suit a wider range of sailors.

Hurricane 4.9

On the back of the success of the 5.9, Reg White took the older designed 16 foot Condor catamaran and redesigned its sails and spars. This new re-rigged Condor was given the name Hurricane 4.9.

Performance

The 5.9 is designed to give Tornado-like performance coupled with smooth predictable handling. In many conditions the 5.9 will actually outpace the classic Tornado. The boat is equipped with kick up rudders and centreboards which ride up on impact, reducing risk of damage. The PET film main sail gives long life and low maintenance with less frequent need for replacement. Now with the introduction of the SX rig (3 sail) the performance has been enhanced further.

Data

General

Boat Data*
Sails	Mylar/Dacron
Construction	Foam Sandwich
Mast	Adjustable Pre-bent
Trapezes	Twin
Crew	Two
Rudders	Kick-up
Blocks	Harken
Transport	Trailable complete

Technical Data*	Hurricane 5.9	Hurricane 5.9 Sport	Hurricane 5.9 SX
Length Overall	5.9 metres	5.9 metres	5.9 metres
Beam	2.43 metres	2.43 metres	2.43 metres
Sailing weight	180.5 kg	191.5 kg	192 kg
Mainsail	17.5 m2	17.5 m2	17.5 m2
Jib	5.9m²	5.2m²	4.563m²
Spinnaker	n/a	21m²	21m²
SCHRS	1.009	0.997	1.007
Portsmouth Yardstick			65

Champions

European Champions

Year	Venue	Winning Team	Home Club
1989		Robin Smith Lisa Gatton	Template:Country data Essex Marconi SC
1990		Robert White Ian Newman	Template:Country data Essex Brightlingsea SC
1992		Robert White Huw Reynolds	Template:Country data Essex Brightlingsea SC
1993		William Sunnucks Rob Gutteridge	Template:Country data Berkshire Datchet Water SC
1994		Erwin Kerstens Jorgen Kerstens	Template:Country data Zeeland Catclub Zeeland
1995		Robert White Graham Eeles	Template:Country data Essex Brightlingsea SC
1996		Jorgen Kerstens Ward Groot	Template:Country data Zeeland Catclub Zeeland
1997		Tim Reid Trevor Hewitt	Template:Country data Hampshire Mudeford SC
1998		Jason Smith Julia Plumstead	Template:Country data Hampshire Stokes Bay SC
1999		Andy Webb Finley Humphreys	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC
2000		Robin Smith Lisa Gatton	Template:Country data Cambridgeshire Grafham Water SC
2002	Skinias	Andy Webb Finley Humphreys	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC
2003		Sean Ward Jo Ward	Template:Country data Hampshire Lymington Town SC
2004		Ashley Machin Julia Machin	Template:Country data Berkshire Datchet Water SC
2005		Ashley Machin Julia Machin	Template:Country data Berkshire Datchet Water SC
2007		Grant Piggott Greg Windle	Template:Country data Somerset Weston SC
2024	YC Carnac	Alex Farrall Alex Warrington	Template:Country data Essex Thorpe Bay YC

National Champions

Year	Venue	Winning team	Home Club
1989		David Williams Ian Rhodes	Template:Country data Kent Seasalter SC
1990		Robert White Huub Lambriek	Template:Country data Essex Brightlingsea SC
1991		Tim Reid Trevor Hewitt	Template:Country data Dorset Mudeford SC
1992		Tony Wetherall Jeremy Mitcham	Template:Country data Yorkshire Beaver SC
1993		Robert White Graham Eeles	Template:Country data Essex Brightlingsea SC
1994		Tim Reid Sally Fisher	Template:Country data Dorset Mudeford SC
1995		Tim Reid Trevor Hewitt	Template:Country data Dorset Mudeford SC
1996		Tim Reid Trevor Hewitt	Template:Country data Dorset Mudeford SC
1997		Tim Reid Trevor Hewitt	Template:Country data Dorset Mudeford SC
1998		Will Sunnucks Rob Gutteridge	Template:Country data Essex Brightlingsea SC
1999	Template:Country data Devon Starcross YC	Andy Webb Paul Gray	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC
2000		Andy Webb Paul Gray	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC
2001	Template:Country data Devon Mayflower SC	Andy Webb Paul Gray	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC
2002	Template:Country data Kent Minnis Bay SC	William Sunnucks Mark Self	Template:Country data Essex Brightlingsea SC
2003		Andy Webb Finlay Humphries	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC
2004	Pwllheli SC	Andy Webb Paul Gray	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC
2005	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC	Andy Webb Paul Gray	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC
2006	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC	John Ready Ryan Crawford	Template:Country data Hampshire Stokes Bay SC
2007		Grant Piggott Gred Windle	Template:Country data Hampshire Weston SC
2008	Template:Country data Hampshire Stokes Bay SC	Neil Connelly Buster Tickner	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC
2009	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC	Neil Connelly Buster Tickner	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC
2010	Template:Country data Essex Thorpe Bay SC	John Ready Ryan Duffield	Template:Country data Essex West Mersea SC Nedlands YC
2011		Richie Hanmore Stevie Pyman	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC
2012	Template:Country data Essex Brighltingsea SC	John Ready Jamie Bolingbroke	Template:Country data Essex West Mersea SC
2013	Template:Country data Dorset WPNSA	John Ready Nahid Gaebler	Template:Country data Essex West Mersea SC Template:Yachtclub
2014	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC	Grant Piggott Adam Piggott	Template:Country data Hampshire Weston SC
2015	Template:Country data Essex Thorpe Bay SC	Jack Tindale Hugo Bull	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC
2016		Neil Connelly Trevor Bawden	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC
2017	Template:Country data West Sussex Pagham SC	Neil Connelly Trevor Bawden	Template:Country data Essex Royal Corinthian YC
2018		Neil Connelly Trevor Bawden	Template:Country data Essex Royal Corinthian YC
2019	Template:Country data Essex Canvey Island SC	Paul Palmer Robert Palmer	Template:Country data Essex Thorpe Bay YC
2020	Event cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021	Template:Country data Essex Thorpe Bay SC	Jack Tindale Hugo Bull	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC
2022	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC	Jack Tindale Hugo Bull	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC
2023	Template:Country data Essex Harwich Town SC	Ben Harris Izzy Smith	Template:Country data Hampshire Weston SC Template:Country data Devon Starcross YC
2024	Template:Country data Yorkshire Bridlington SC	Jack Tindale Hugo Bull	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC
2025	Template:Country data Devon Paignton SC	Jack Tindale Hugo Bull	Template:Country data Essex Stone SC

*Data from UK Hurricane Class Association

External links

• Yachts and yachting Hurricane-5.9-SX class page