At The Risk of Starting WWlll

[Razoo]

Cat vrs Monohull. What do people like one and hate the other?

[tdominic_97]

LOL. This should be interesting.

[Razoo]

LOL...on the welcome thread they told me not to mention it because I'd start a fight, but no one there is saying why they like or dislike one or the other. I really want to know to help me in making a choice between the two in the future. So, I started this calm and soothing thread and hopefully I don't get blood on my feet

[bobconnie]

The only thing wrong about Multi Hulls is the ones big enough for my wife and I to really cruise on, is we can't afford them ! But we can cruise any mono hull up to 50 ft by ourselves and afford one that size!!

[robert sailor]

Cats are cool and Mono's are cool...If you are on a budget you can forget Cats but that doesn't give you the right to bad mouth them because you couldn't afford one in the first place.
Cats are really big and cost more to operate but take on hoards of people and sail flat.
Personally I don't find the cruising Cats that exciting to sail but they are comfy at anchor.
There are cruising Cats and fast Cats and they are not the same, most folks here have cruising Cats and from time to time they brag about certain speeds they can get but usually they are so loaded with gear and their wife's shoe lockers that they do passage time about equal to mono hulls.
Most women like Cats, they have way more room to store stuff like new shoes and jewelry. Cats like to motorsail and mono's like to motorsail they are similar in this regard.
So to sum up, if you have deep pockets then you can look at Cats, if not then your world is about Mono hulls and you can then buy one and bad mouth Cats because you can't afford Cats.
If you are a lover of some of these new Cats with flying bridges with another 8 feet on top of that to get to the boom...fugly designs ..sort of think of them as a Cat with a mezanine floor. You might want to choose something different if you want to sail outside of the trade wind belt...thats kinda mono hull territory!
I'd like to buy a Cat but they would soak up a lot of my extra change and its only been recently that my wife is running out of room to store her extra shoes....

[goat]

Yikes, you're going to get opinions out the Razoo.

[delmarrey]

I think it all comes down to woman, which like Cats more because they are not so "tippy".
The price, inch for inch of interior room, they are about the same.
Cats can go in the shallows but monos point up wind better.
Cats require end or side ties, monos can get a slip most anywhere.
Monos can get hauled most anywhere, Cats have do a search for a haul out.
Most cats can be beached in a smooth surf, monos have to anchor out.

There are a bunch more pluses and minuses for both so it really is personal choice in relation to finances. And one should take special courses to sail a Cat.

[Capt Rottnest]

A cat is like two monos, priced like two (or 4 or 5) monos too. Otherwise cats are good. Slow to windward? No true. The ones I see around here go to windward much faster than us, they're always motoring..

[oceannavigator]

For me there were 2 factors that made me switch.

#1 Sleepless nights rolling my guts out in an anchorage, stuff smashing all around and falling inside the boat.

#2 Speed

However, I did not accept the cruising cat limitation regarding sailing to weather, so I made sure to get one that could beat monos to weather too. This means very light weight, lots of sail area and dagger boards, not keels. Watch me start another fight. Keels are for monohulls.

Essentially, the discomfort of rolling was the main reason I switched. It was a cat or an rv for me, I was so fed up with sleepless nights and stuff going flying every time a powerboat across the harbor went by.

[Ocean Girl]

I've had both. I liked my cat, not because of new shoes or jewelry but because it was a fun sailor, it went faster than my monos. That is very appealing to me.
My monos had a nicer motion, especially beating. They are also a bit more forgiving if caught by a sudden squall, important as I was usually singlehanding. My monos pointed higher then my cat, though there are plenty of monos that don't point well. If you focus on a vessel that is a good design, sails well, points well, good sea comfort, build quality, you really can't go wrong.

Best to go sail a few monos and cats to see for yourself. I'd also suggest you add a trimaran into the mix. I love the Searunners, dragonflys, and the F-31


Helps if you know what cruising grounds you will mainly sail in.
Budget
Type of cruiser you are
Size boat you are comfortable with.

The monos vs multi is really kind of a joke, but some do take it rather serious. I love just about all boats, power, sail, new and old. As long as it floats

Hope that helps

[boatman61]

I've owned and cruised both... and enjoyed both.. though I will confess that the Cat's were what most would back away from fast.. open bridge deck Wharram Tiki's.. basic but fast and a lot of fun..
I have delivered cruising cats old and new from Catalac's to Lagoons.. what I don't like is the amount of noise underway.. it has me worrying its breaking apart.. in comparison a mono hull is peaceful and.. once you accept a life at 10+ degrees as the norm a much smoother movement.. as for rolling around at anchor.. make better choices.. stay away from the herd..

[Capt Rottnest]

Originally Posted by oceannavigator

#2 Speed

However, I did not accept the cruising cat limitation regarding sailing to weather, so I made sure to get one that could beat monos to weather too. This means very light weight, lots of sail area and dagger boards, not keels. Watch me start another fight. Keels are for monohulls.

You can go that way with a mono, I met a guy who lives on an ULDB, 30', it can go 15+ knots off the wind and 7 knots into it. Been inside, it was roomy too, those ULDB things have wide bums. Not common as a cruising boat though.

Not that I'm much use in a cat-mono war, next boat could easily be a cat..

[4music3]

My gut tells me a mono is more seaworthy if it gets really nasty but I assume that gets less true as technology improves.

Maybe you cat people can help me understand what happens on a cat at night when you get surprised by wind that is far to strong for the sail aria you have up as I know what happens on a mono and its not a big deal.

[Factor]

Cats can go in the shallows but monos point up wind better.

Bit of a generalisation, a good cat will point as high as a mono.

Cats require end or side ties, monos can get a slip most anywhere.

That is certainly true in our harbour, sop long as its gets dredged regularly, heck at the moment monos cant even get in the harbour at low tide.

Monos can get hauled most anywhere, Cats have do a search for a haul out.

or thay can just sit on a beach

And one should take special courses to sail a Cat.

Disgaree

My gut tells me a mono is more seaworthy if it gets really nasty but I assume that gets less true as technology improves.

Maybe you cat people can help me understand what happens on a cat at night when you get surprised by wind that is far to strong for the sail aria you have up as I know what happens on a mono and its not a big deal.

I think your gut needs an education. Its not a big deal on a Cat or tri.

[Capt Rottnest]

I'm more interested to know what's so great about a tri - as a cruising boat. All that beam for tiny interior space..