Furthermore, the sails were redesigned, to improve low-wind performance. More volume was added to the hulls, which was much appreciated by heavier crews.
1985 The faster and wider 18 ft dual-trapeze "Spitfire" model appeared. In the same year the first European championship was held in Brenzone, Lake Garda, with 44 boats from 5 countries. 1983 Creation of ITCA (International Topcat Class Association). The first Topcat bases were founded at the Lake Garda. 1981 The first Topcat class association was established. Worldwide distribution of the boat was supported by onsite training. In 1979 Bernd Breymann and Klaus Enzmann founded TOPCAT GmbH. Capacity was limited by the rented wood shack, so the production of the hulls was moved to Italy, and company headquarters was moved to Gilching, Germany. 1977-1979 Production of the first 60 Topcats. It had a mast height of 7.00 m, a jib sail of 3.6 m², and a mainsail of 11.2 m². 1977 The first Topcat appeared, a 4.80 m long twin-hull boat that was simply plugged together. The rudder and other Topcat details were registered as patents. 1976 The new "Kick-up" rudder was added to the prototype. Klaus Enzmann build a first prototype without daggerboards or rudders, similar to the Spanish "Patin-Vela", but with many of the successful details of the later boats. 1975 In the mid-70s two German A-Cat sailors, Bernd Breymann und Klaus Enzmann, were unhappy with the complicated transport and assembly of their boats. Transportable on the roof rack of a car. Transportable on a trailer (width less than 2.55 m to comply with German traffic laws). They have world-wide distribution and are differentiated by: The Topcat sailing catamarans are fast, seaworthy, popular, and affordable twin-hull boats ranging in size from 3.60 m (12 ft) to 5.50 m (18 ft). 4 Model overview and technical specifications.