Do Multihullers Ever go Back?

[smj]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Still waiting for a quad-hull

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[StuM]

Originally Posted by smj

Attachment 80809

The real thing: Encore Quadcat, 1997, Macon, Georgia, sailboat for sale from Sailing Texas, yacht for sale

[brownoarsman]

Only two ever made?! Mind boggling

[downunder]

Originally Posted by colemj

Which is still a win in my book…

Mark

Particually if your intention is to live aboard fulltime.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by weavis

I for one, am totally sold on Cats. Having a background in Motor vessels and sub 28 foot sailboats, I fell totally in love with the whole Catamaran thing after fishing off a 36 foot pontoon boat in Florida.

A few weeks later, I took a ride on a 36 foot Catamaran and that was me over to the dark side forever. Had I stayed in Florida, I was ready to buy a Catamaran. It would do everything I wanted in terms of living on, weather handling, small draft (useful for Florida West coast), great fishing deck, easy sail handling, Bahamas was calling............

now having relocated to the UK and working in and out of Spain and Mallorca, It seems that I could justify doing it in the Med

I like stability at anchor. I have no problem with upwind motor sailing if necessary. I dont really mind hull slamming once I knew it was par for the course in a rising sea with some low deck clearances......... I love the width..... I like knowing the boat is inheritently seaworthy. I like not leaning.

This doesnt take away any of the fun of a monohull. Its just a preference.

Similar background bought up with fishing, trawling and diving on the GBR with both monos and cat motor vessels and a cat's motion suits me. Only sailing is recent on charter cats trialling various types so it is useful trolling the various forums and blogs for useful info on sailing.

For me personally space for permanent live aboard, draft and a good diving platform mean I have not considering a mono at this juncture. Personal preference only.

Its interesting to watch and learn from the personal biases and often expertise of various posters. Good info as well as crap can come from such exchanges so I do hope the Mods do not close down this thread (Coops) prematurely.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by steve.garlick

Okay, further comments on the Chamberlin 44.

First though, it always puzzles me why people think there is a 'right answer' to what type of boat. It is such an individual thing, and every boat is a massive compromise. I find it hard to understand the passion... merging into vitriol that some bring to this discussion.

We'd been sailing trimarans (28' F850 and Trailer Tri) and thought of a cruising trimaran as our first option when considering cruising boats. I still have a passion for tri's and think that Farriers are just the bee's knee's for a coastal cruiser, fast day boat. We looked at a fantastic 40' trimaran, but when my wife saw a friends Hitch-hiker, she said 'You're not having a trimaran, I want the space of a cat'.

We were coastal sailors at this point, having cruised the Whitsundays and the coast off NSW. We had very limited experience of long-term live-aboard. We bought the Chamberlain for its room. It was incredibly spacious, with 3 queen size berth's in separate cabins, a fourth cabin with twin bunks, a huge galley with 2 fridges, washing machine, etc etc. We were seduced by the space, as are a lot of cat owners. If you want a condomaran, I can think of nothing that gives you the amount of living space that a cat does.

Some lessons are more expensive than others, as was our experience with this cat. It was homebuilt strip cedar and glassed. There was some rot in the cedar (not the primary hull, but internal tanks and some deck fittings). The engines were difficult to access, the rig was large and difficult to manage, and she was just a big boat with big windage and a handful to dock with my experience at that time.

We sold that boat just after the financial crash, and lost a motza. But we learnt a lot of valuable lessons. One is just how much cash and continual maintenance that a boat takes. We learned that we wanted a simple and smaller boat, with an easily handled rig. My wife and I are in our late 50's and getting older by the minute, and we have to plan for that. We also realised that Australia is not the best place to start a cruise, and we decided to buy our boat in the Mediterranean.

We choose a very classic boat, a Bowman 40. This boat, designed by Chuck Paine, arguably represents a pinnacle in British boat building. I gain a lot of pleasure from looking after a classic boat, that sails superbly and is built incredibly strong. There are so many intangible factors to boat ownership that are ignored by lots of these facile arguments about whether cats are better than mono's. When you spend so much time maintaining a boat, you've just got to love it. The Bowman gives me that feeling, unlike any other production boat.

Now, after 2 years in the Med, we have a much better idea about living full-time on a boat. I still believe that small is beautiful, as we struggle with the ever increasing marina fee's. We've learned to be much more independent, with a new generator and solar panels, grey water tanks etc etc. We've also learned that being able to tuck into tiny anchorages and being secure on the hook are critical in being able to avoid excessive marina charges. We've hauled out in primitive boat yards (because of the expense in marina's) with primitive lifting gear. Our boat has suited us well for that purpose and I don't lust after a cat (and I have experience on well built cats). I do lust after a pilot house, and perhaps more storage room, but aren't willing to pay the downside for those things.

I vote for 'Each to his own' and 'Viva la difference'.

Steve

Thanks for that Steve. I thought being a Chamberlain it was Aussi based and of strip plank.

Good info. Cheers

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by weavis

When its getting into a pissing contest about cats vs monos with a distinct lack of humour.........

For those that dont know... VIDEO does not really show the full extent of wave height due to linear lack of perspective and some other technical stuff.

No fence man Over estimating the weather is as common among monohull folks too.
To get an idea of the wave height is to time from crest to crest and how long the horizon is out of sight vs visible (adjusted with observation height).
BR Teddy

[Factor]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Doing an experiment.. seeing how long it takes to get on every Multi's ignore list.. think I'm almost there...

Including customers?

[Factor]

Originally Posted by markpierce

I like the looks of this cat, although you'll never catch me owning one:

Well you dont own any sailboat so I suppose that question is moot.

[Coops]

Originally Posted by Factor

Well you dont own any sailboat so I suppose that question is moot.

He is not actually asking a question. Owning a sailboat is not a requirement of being on this forum.

Coops.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Coops

He is not actually asking a question. Owning a sailboat is not a requirement of being on this forum.

Coops.

Didnt say it was, either your first or second points. He said he would never own that catana, I merely noted given that he didn't own a sailboat, well that is hardly surprising.

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Factor

Well you dont own any sailboat so I suppose that question is moot.

You obviously don't know me. I spent a couple of decades sailing a sloop and cutter. Sold my sailboat a couple of years ago, for something more suitable. Nevertheless, my current boat has vestigial sails.

[captain58sailin]

What is important to me. For me it is the journey, then the destination. Like everyone else I want to be comfortable as possible during the journey, though I sometimes wonder if overcoming the hardships is part of what makes the journey special. It is a better story to tell when you have to overcome some challenges (see boaty's most recent adventure). I get the idea from reading a lot of the multi hull posts that the speed is paramount and short transit times are the goal, the extra space aboard is a plus. If that is your thing then good on you. For me, I prefer viewing the journey as important as the destination, sometimes more so, if it takes me a day or 2 longer to arrive that is okay. I'll be happy to wave as you jet on by me. I really don't care what anyone else thinks of my vessel choice.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by markpierce

You obviously don't know me. I spent a couple of decades sailing a sloop and cutter. Sold my sailboat a couple of years ago, for something more suitable. Nevertheless, my current boat has vestigial sails.

What a lovely boat!
How does it perform under sail may I ask?

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by weavis

What a lovely boat!
How does it perform under sail may I ask?

If the winds are right, the rig reduces roll and adds a half-knot or so if I'm motoring below hull speed. It's not a motorsailer. Let's say it's sail-assisted.