 | |
| Founded | 1976 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Peter Brady |
| Headquarters | , Australia |
| Products | Catamarans |
Brady catamarans are twin-hulled boats that are designed by Peter Brady a well respected New Zealand designer. Brady originally designed sailing cats, motorsailers and power cats, but for the last 20 years the firm (now called Pathfinder Powercats)[1] has specialised in powered catamarans exclusively.[2]
Brady catamarans are either constructed at Brady's Brisbane boatyard, or plans-built by third-party constructors for private owners. Brady catamarans tend to be built in small numbers or even as one-offs, so the firm has adopted "strip-plank" as the optimum construction method. Strip-build involves attaching strips of cedar onto formers, the strips themselves being glued edge-on with epoxy. The completed wooden monococque is then covered with fiberglass matting and epoxy resin. This method is very suitable for low-volume construction, avoiding the need to build a female mould; it is simpler and cheaper to manufacture a plywood jig that may be discarded afterwards.