MiniCat at 20 Years – How It Started

As MiniCat celebrates 20 years since the first boats were sold, read here how it all started in the words of Martin Horak, the inventor, founder, designer, and manufacturer of MiniCat.

The Beginning of MiniCat

The story of MiniCat begins, as with most innovative start-up companies, in a garage. But it is not the classic scenario that most people would probably expect, namely that I had been a die-hard sailor since early childhood and therefore had no doubts about my future profession.

In fact, I got into sailing in a rather roundabout way. I have been close to the water since childhood and loved windsurfing, but it was only when my father built his own catamaran that I began to discover the magic of sailing. That was when the idea was born to build my own small catamaran that could be easily transported and stored. The idea of a folding sailboat was not entirely new, but I wanted to come up with a much simpler and faster system with a modern design and beautiful aesthetics, so that I could assemble the boat at the water’s edge in a few minutes.

Innovation and Early Development

So, I started from scratch, without experience or necessary knowledge, but with huge enthusiasm and great belief. Ironically, the lack of design knowledge was in fact an advantage, because I was not bound by established conventions and could come up with many of my own innovative solutions. I believe that this is still one of the characteristic features of MiniCat and MiniCat sailors, namely that they are not afraid to step out of line and look for their own path and original solutions.

Most people today wouldn’t know that it all started with the M310 model. Even though the second generation M310 is now long-established in production, the original model remained available for a very long time, and it proved to be a very successful catamaran, and many are still on the water today. The original M310 development took many months, and I literally learned from my mistakes as the process proceeded. Everything happened as I went along. I studied many different boat designs and endlessly re-designed, changed and modified the first prototype. Finally, I managed to assemble a boat that really worked perfectly and fully met my expectations.

From Hobby to Business

At that time, I had no inclination that this was in fact the beginning of a new boat brand, a real business, because my original idea was to build a boat just for myself and maybe a few friends.

However, the big turning point came after meeting Petra and Sam Simons from Moravian Exports s.r.o. They were fascinated by my small portable catamaran and immediately saw a business opportunity in it. In fact, now with hindsight and much more experience, I really admire their courage to invest in and start trading with a completely new and unproven product, literally produced by hand. Thus began an enduring collaboration that gradually developed and continues very successfully to this day. Together we are responsible for thousands of MiniCats sailing in all corners of the world, a reality that still amazes me.

Growth and Milestones

So, in 2006 the MiniCat brand was created with one small model and one employee. I moved from the garage of my family home to a small workshop where I could work late into the night whilst Petra and Sam worked on marketing and sales. Sure enough, this wonderful little catamaran was starting to gain popularity, and the first orders were gradually coming in. Not hundreds of boats, not even dozens, but the interest was growing and the number of orders was gradually increasing, and production was slowly ramping up.

This unique portable catamaran was even noticed by a very young and special sailor on her now-famous trip around the world and she wrote about MiniCat on her blog. At that time, Laura Dekker was already widely known around the world and to this day she still holds the record as the youngest sailor to have circumnavigated the world solo. We established a collaboration and friendship with Laura and her father Dick, which continues to this day. Laura became a brand ambassador and even participated in the design of a Special Edition MiniCat model bearing her name.

Personally, I appreciate Laura not only for her heroic sporting performance and her endurance, but also for her enormous personality and her approach to life, true life values, immense determination and hard work. In this regard, she is an extremely inspiring and admirable person. Her story would take up a whole book, or rather several books.

We are very proud to consistently support Laura’s work through her foundation: ‘The Laura Dekker World Sailing Foundation’.

Expanding the Range

As the sales of M310 for 2 people increased along with visibility on the market, we suspected that it would be a good idea to offer a similar but larger boat for the whole family. This led to the construction of the larger M420 model. It premiered in 2009 at the Boot fair in Dusseldorf, Germany, and I believe that this was the second turning point in the history of the MiniCat brand. The M420 model soon became the flagship of the brand and still maintains its position as our best-selling model.

We gradually began to expand the model range with other variants and many accessories so that everyone could choose from our range – from a complete beginner to an experienced sailor, from solo sailors to families and groups of friends.

Eventually the M460 model was also added as the top of the range, plus at the other end of the spectrum, the Guppy model was introduced, as a very affordable, basic and simple boat with super-rapid assembly.

We managed to create a range of boats for youngsters and complete novices through to professionals. Customers often started with the small Guppy model, or M310, and later progressed to the larger models. Year on year our sales were constantly growing and continued to do so.

Production and Facilities

With the increasing number of models and production growth, our small workshop was limiting us, and it was necessary to look for larger premises. We found our new home in a beautiful historic building with magical characteristics and features. We renovated the building and finally had adequate space for expanding production and an increased workforce.

MiniCat Today and the Future

From the very inception MiniCat was conceived as a recreational sports boat. I wanted to make sailing accessible to anyone who enjoys spending time on the water, without the need for a yacht club membership, large investments and costs for a fiberglass sailboat, trailer, or obtaining a captain’s license. Anyone can buy a MiniCat, take it to the water, assemble it, and set sail. We still maintain this basic idea and want to develop it in the future.

Today MiniCat offers five distinct models with seven variants in a wide choice of colours and an extensive choice of accessories. From the outset my ethos was to produce a European product, built by hand by enthusiasts constantly with an eye to ongoing development and new ideas, and we continue with that strategy.

20 years have passed so rapidly, MiniCat is firmly established on the worldwide market, and I am looking forward to the coming decades with this wonderful portable sailboat. Our customers continue to demonstrate that MiniCat truly is ‘The World’s Favorite Portable Sailboat’.