Monohull or catamaran

[twosail]

Thanks so much for all the replies, sorry to create such a furore. My request may not have been clear enough, I was just wondering ONLY about the pros and cons of cats to mono hulls in turkey, mid July. Eg. Is it difficult to get marina space and is it a lot more expensive ?

[vjmehra]

I have cruised around Turkey (mainly Gocek / Fethiye and the nearby bays) on a mono (Dufour 385) this year and a cat (Lagoon 380) last year.

We went with a bigger group last year (6 of us) and went for the cat, this year it was just 3 of us, so went for a mono.

We did have the benefit of a local showing us around (I say local, an ex-pat who's been living there a few years).

What would I charter if I went again (which I will)?

Either, it depends on who is coming and what I want to get out of the holiday.

If its for simply cruising around, very short passages and anchoring up in random bays, then the cat. If I'm intending to sail longer passages then the mono (I prefer sailing in a mono, I feel its a more comfortable ride, whereas the cat wobbles everytime a motor cruiser goes past at 25 knots)!

Also it would depend on how many people, a bigger group is far more compfortable in a cat. We managed to get births without booking in advance everywhere we went. Most places don't charge you, so long as you eat with them. The facilities in some (not all, some are very plush and have lovely showers/spas etc.) are basic, but still better than having to stick to the marine toilets the whole time!

I've never been in July, but it will be HOT then, make sure you have fans at the very least!!

Feel free to ask anything else and I will try to help!

I should point out I am by no means a well travelled sailor, having only done coastal sailing/boating to date, so I may not be the best person to seek advice from, but hopefully that has been of some use :-)

[yeloya]

Hi Twosails,

Skipping the usual mono/cat debate, here are my specific answers to yr question: (I run a charter company that has both mono and cats)

-cats don't have in Turkey the basic advantages that they have in Caribbeans. You won't find too many shollow anchorages, reefs, sand banks, etc.. You may have though sometimes the advantage to come the last to a restaurant jetty and get the best place with the cat.
-the marinas in Turkey are in general quite expensive and larger. You won't get a space problem because you are on a cat (like in most of the western Med marinas) but almost all of the marinas here charge in square meters and you will pay more if you go to the marina. Remember though that 40 ft cat offers the space of 48-50 feet mono and if you look at that way it won't be too expensive. (actually it may even be cheaper per square meter that you are using; because of the geometrical shape of mono you also pay in the marina for the space that you don't use..)
-Sailingwise, unless you plan yr routing carefully, you will have to sail upwind quite a bit and unless you are keen sailor, you are likely to motor a bit more on cat.

Finally, if you are going to charter, it will be more difficult to find the cat you want easily. Unlike the BVI's, most of charter boats here are still monos, althought the demand for cats has been increasing exponantially over the last decade.

Cheers

Yeloya
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[vjmehra]

We found plenty of little bays around Gocek/Fethiye, also the mooring fees are waived if you eat at the onsite restaurants, so they can offer good value for money as the food is generally reasonably priced.

I do agree about the sailing though, we motored much more than I expected in the cat.

As for finding a cat to charter, the usual suspects (Sunsail, The Moorings have some) also Nautilus/Portway, although admitedly the choice is more limited than mono's.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by vjmehra

, so I may not be the best person to seek advice from, but hopefully that has been of some use :-)

Well, given that you have used both in Turkey then my guess is that puts you pole position to answer .

Now back to the fun stuff (before this thread wanders off to the Humour free zone. No names )........

Originally Posted by smj

I think the polynesian multihulls predated the ballasted monos by quite a bit so my guess is god did want you to sail flat. I mean come on, sailing on an angle is a little barbaric isnt it?

My suspicion is that the reason the Polynesians went with the Multihull configuration was simply because they couldn't make a Monohull .

Really only one step away from a raft. But fair play to them for travelling long distances in them - but I also suspect a lot of pragmitism involved in that decision. If all you have is a Multihull and staying put on an island where the population has outgrown it's resources is no longer an option, then you run what you brung . Even if less than ideal. Plus I would factor in the spread of population simply from folks getting lost (being expert navigators notwithstanding) and arriving somewhere that they were not in a hurry to leave for "home".

And besides, if the God(s) of the Polynesians were so clever - they would not have got outfoxed by a fella on a stick. A Mono Stick .

Ok, a bit of thread drift .