Do Multihullers Ever go Back?

[Mr B]

Hahahaha, Pretty precarious,

[caradow]

Wow great response and can't say surprised at all the comments.
But still looking for that individual who once owned a cat then bought a monohull and remained happy with their decision.
surly you are out there.....hello.....hello...

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Canibul

Yeah, but on a catamaran you can actually fill the cup all the way up with liquid.

And it will stay there until you drink it.

What, you didn't see the lid and the non slip rubber bottom?

[minaret]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Of course you can...

Wow, look, you can actually see the bottom and get to it to paint it!


I always figured beaching a cat is better for bottom paint removal than bottom paint application. A free bottom sanding! Of course, you probably don't need or want one...

[boatman61]

Its my impression from reading CF a lot of Multi-hullers have NEVER owned a Mono.. they went straight from Zero to Hero..
Only thing to go back to is dirt.. and I believe quite a few have..

[captain58sailin]

I have a preference for monos - owned a tri - never sailed it, turned out to be more expensive to repair, than write off the loss and move on. Someone I respect greatly that had been a mono sailor, then went on a cat for a delivery described the motion on the cat as "the water loves the cat differently than a mono" I think for us long time die hard mono sailors, it may be an adjustment to go to a cat. I do like the appearance of the Wharram cats, and I think they would be great for the southern seas, I might have to look at one when I get retired and move further south.

[captain58sailin]

I just don't know where I would put the fish hold.

[hoppy]

All owners of multi's eventually go to mono's.

[Polux]

I thought you guys were exaggerating and I made a little search..and it turns out that I could not find anything contrary to what have been said here, with the exception of Jean Pierre Dick that after having tried racing offshore big trimarans get back to big offshore monohulls again (after a big capsize).

Anyway I believe that for most cruisers space is more important than anything else and as a second consideration maybe sailing without heel and the possibility to anchor near land (low draft).

That's not by accident that one of the strongest trends on contemporary cruising boats are boats that sail with a very reduced heel (13/14º) and another one boats with a swing keel or big centerboarders that can be beached.

Regarding space as a main concern it is not by chance that most cats are from the family of the floating condos. Regarding performance those cats are not faster than a performance monohull and more boring to sail.

I believe the only reason more people are not buying cats, specially the condo type has to do with them being more expensive and also by some prejudice regarding safety (that is quickly disappearing).

For me and regarding the multihulls I like, price is the reason to sail monos. The only really affordable multihulls are the condo ones and I don't find those fun to sail, neither fast and over one of those I would not change from a performance monohull cruiser.

Fast multihulls are very nice but also very expensive and then in Europe and in many places there is also that problem regarding cats to pay a lot more on the marina.

[caradow]

well boatman you bring up something I have never thought about.
now I must wonder just how many cat sailors out there have NEVER owned a monohull?
in my ignorance I assumed it was a natural transition but now I am curious.
and as far as the monohull casket goes I would much prefer for little fishes to pick the meat off my bones rather than sail in one of those ostentatious contraptions!

[Canibul]

a shallow draft multihull also has some safety built in for where we live and sail. These islands are surrounded by reefs and coral heads. Most of it is uncharted. Our three foot draft lets us get to a lot of places without worrying so much about hitting hard things attached to the sea bottom in shallow water. In fact, there are places where we can get over a reef easily where similar sized monohulls just can't go. We like this.

We like those Wharram designs, too. A lot. But we're basically old hippies at heart, anyhow. Well, in my case, a redneck hippie.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Polux

SNIP
with the exception of Jean Pierre Dick that after having tried racing offshore big trimarans get back to big offshore monohulls again (after a big capsize).

SNIP
Regarding space as a main concern it is not by chance that most cats are from the family of the floating condos. Regarding performance those cats are not faster than a performance monohull and more boring to sail.


SNIP

From a link on the internet

After a season in the MOD70 trimaran class, Jean-Pierre Dick and his sponsors have decided to return to monohull racing.

Not sure if it was the sailor or the sponsor who made the decision.

Have to wonder if a performance catamaran would be faster than some of the non performance cruising monohulls I have seen.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by tomfl

From a link on the internet

After a season in the MOD70 trimaran class, Jean-Pierre Dick and his sponsors have decided to return to monohull racing.

Not sure if it was the sailor or the sponsor who made the decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGL9rkuOcVk

I only said that it was after that capsize and a fact: he is returning to monohulls.

Originally Posted by tomfl

Have to wonder if a performance catamaran would be faster than some of the non performance cruising monohulls I have seen.

Yes I agree with that, specially if they are modern cruisers and if some upwind sailing is involved or sailing in bad weather. The ARC has more and more cats doing it and since we are talking about 300 boats the results of the transat in real time give a good information about the comparative performance on a mostly downwind passage.

Last year's results confirm what you have said regarding monohull cruisers not being slower than some performance cats in real ocean conditions:

For instance, a fast Gunfleet 58 and a Hanse 575 were faster than all performance cats (some bigger) being only beaten by a Gunboat 62 ; a Dufour 375, a Dufour 385 a Pogo 30 a Bavaria 42, A Southerly 42, a Bavaria 40, a XC 45 were all faster (or made about the same time) than almost all cats (many much bigger) I mean, a Privilege 585, an Outremer 590, a Catana 471, a Fountain Pajot 58 a Previlege 495, Catana 42, 431,, Outremer 42, Previlege 515, FP 43, Prout 45, Lagoon 45.

Some performance cruisers, like a First 40.7 a Grand Soleil 56 or even a medium weight luxury cruiser, a Discovery 55, made several days less than the fastest cats nominated above and many days less than the slower cats.

https://www.worldcruising.com/conten...s%20211213.pdf

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Its my impression from reading CF a lot of Multi-hullers have NEVER owned a Mono.. they went straight from Zero to Hero..
Only thing to go back to is dirt.. and I believe quite a few have..

Fair question... but wrong.

I've owned a mono and have sailed on many.

The PO of mine had a mono first. And they have bought another (larger) boat.

My 2 dock mates that have cats had monos.

---

And yes, some do start with cats. I'm not sure I think that is wise, unless they have small cat experience. Of course, I would say that about any boat, since I believe dingies are the best teachers.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Polux

I only said that it was after that capsize and a fact: he is returning to monohulls.



Yes I agree with that, specially if they are modern cruisers and if some upwind sailing is involved or sailing in bad weather. The ARC has more and more cats doing it and since we are talking about 300 boats the results of the transat in real time give a good information about the comparative performance on a mostly downwind passage.

Last year's results confirm what you have said regarding monohull cruisers not being slower than some performance cats in real ocean conditions:

For instance, a fast Gunfleet 58 and a Hanse 575 were faster than all performance cats (some bigger) being only beaten by a Gunboat 62 ; a Dufour 375, a Dufour 385 a Pogo 30 a Bavaria 42, A Southerly 42, a Bavaria 40, a XC 45 were all faster (or made about the same time) than almost all cats (many much bigger) I mean, a Privilege 585, an Outremer 590, a Catana 471, a Fountain Pajot 58 a Previlege 495, Catana 42, 431,, Outremer 42, Previlege 515, FP 43, Prout 45, Lagoon 45.

Some performance cruisers, like a First 40.7 a Grand Soleil 56 or even a medium weight luxury cruiser, a Discovery 55, made several days less than the fastest cats nominated above and many days less than the slower cats.

https://www.worldcruising.com/conten...s%20211213.pdf

Did you look at the engine hours? I think only the Gunboat thought it was a race. Without knowing whether the motored because of dead air or bad weather, we don't know much. Also, on a long race, routing is huge.

But most of us never said the cat thing was about speed. It's about doing the sort of sailing we like; in my case, multihulls are great for coastal cruising and shallow waters. All of my favorite coves are 5-6 feet deep. They cured my wife's motion sickness. I have no interest in crossing an ocean and would be a great fool if I bought a boat with that as a consideration--but that relates more to the silly circumnavigation dreamer's thread.

Go back to mono? Yes, if I moved to a place where that were a better tool for the job.