David and Edward,

thanks for advice, encouragement and offer of guides etc. 
Yes this is the boat…but not the price…divide by three!

As always seems to be the case, there are other things going on, houses and cars to sort out…skiing to be done…hill running to train for.  So not rushing, but if she is still on the market in a couple of months I will be very tempted.

There is also a very cheap Diamond cat, 25’, locally, though I have not managed to look at her yet. Could be a heap of rot.  But if ok she would make a great conversion with little outlay or risk. 

Mark,

Is it in Wales? The only example that I can find is https://dailyboats.com/boat/52023-buy-iroquois-aerorigmkii which might be in Scotland or Latvia, it's not clear.

When I sailed in Norway in 2000 and 2004, most of the towns had a marina with the outer hammerheads of the pontoon system reserved for visiting boats, making it easy to moor to, and there was usually an honesty box to receive a very small charge. It was like taking a car into town and parking it, as many small boats are used for transport, not sport or leisure. Couldn't find many places to anchor.

If you do buy this boat and go, I have copies of 'Norwegian Cruising Guide' by Armitage and Brackenbury, and Den Norsk Los (official pilot book) volume 2B [Norwegian and English] and volume 5 [Norwegian only] that you can have for the cost of the postage.

As a fractional, it looks like a good candidate for an Aerojunk....but what was it originally?   The photos on Google show both masthead and fractional...... at least the ones I looked at.   I wonder how the helm balance is....   I look forward to hearing your sailing report.  

     It's pretty clear that there is no structure to support the mast forward of where it is resulting in the extreme solution seen on Alleda.  It would be interesting to know if the centerboard location is changed between different models of Iroquois.   If the fractional offers decent helm balance, it would be an attractive small cat for a junk rig.

Rob Denny down in Oz loves the Aerorig.....It's all he uses on his Harry Proa designs, but for rather obvious reasons.  The main and jib are sheeted to the boom, which means that the entire rig can swing around 180 deg for a shunt.  Seems like a heavy complex rig with the bearing assembly....Bearings and salt water don't seem very compatible . It has the advantage of a junk rig in that the main and jib move together in a tack, and with the free standing mast can be set right across for a downwind course.   It's a rig that seems to have a lot going for it.

                                      H.W.

Another crazy idea.

On my bucket list is sailing from Scotland to Norway.  

Besides the amazing scenery, my daughter lives in Oslo, and there is great early summer skiing…what’s not to like?

I am presently boat less, having deemed the previous lovely wee Corramandel a bit too wee. 

At heart I am a multi hull man, and there is an Iroquois for sale at a very reasonable price.  She has an Aerorig, perhaps something that would put many off, but off course not a junky.  She is in Wales and I am in Scotland, so I have not rushed to have a look and am giving myself time to consider whether she is really a sensible option.  Ideally something smaller would be better, but there aren’t many multihulls of that class to choose from.  The other option is to buy a boat in Norway, older sailboats seem to be almost given away, though catamarans are few and far between. 

So, has anyone any experience of the Aerorig?  An obvious downside is that reefing controls are at the mast. With a rotating mast / boom, not simple to arrange otherwise. I guess she could be rigged with some variation of aero junk rig, though not immediately an option if the sails are in good condition.

So, if it should happen, sailing to Norway.  Hopefully members can give me some advice here. From what I see you don’t need any particular documentation, so just head east and try not to bump into any oil rigs or wind turbines!  One possible downside on the west coast of Norway is the lack of decent shallow water for dropping an anchor.  Are there many mooring buoys that can be used?  I would be singlehanded much of the time and bringing a 30’ cat into a marina on a windy day is not somewhat daunting. 

And then there is the issue of insurance.  So far I have just had third party for coastal UK.

Any thoughts appreciated