Are Cats that Great?

[meyermm]

Being a former mono hull owner I was constantly told how much better Cats were. Always by those owning one sometimes I wondered who thay were trying to convince. Now all boats have there +-s but it seemed that Cats only have +++s that is until the October edition of Cruising helmsman a very well read Australian cruising magazine. The article is nearly four pages but anyone interested would do well to get a copy. Basicly a live aboard couple with a 32 foot Swanson leave there boat in a Marina in North QLD and crew aboard a luxury South African built cat for the last leg home to SA of a round the world cruise. Obviously they also had been fed all the same sales pitch about cats as I Quote "If we had thought life was going to be flat on a Catamaran compared to a mono we were wrong. Bang! Crash! Thump! Suddenly I was wearing lunch on my face" As I said it is a long article much of which is positive but it certainly dubunks a lot of the hype. From my own point of view knowing a little about how things work I could never understand how two hulls that sit on top of the water much more than a mono hull, could hold a cabin flat while sailing in rough weather. The article is well worth getting hold of and I think is a much more balanced view of the Cat Vs Mono debate than I have ever read.

[Ocean Girl]

You realize thems are fightin words. At least you didn't accuse a multihull of sinking.

To each his own. Frankly, I love em all. Anything that catches the wind, lifts, and goes is ok in my book.
Erika

[barefoot life]

"Cats are great when served with Stubs Barbecue Sauce." Jasper the Jack Russell Terrier, November 13, 2009.

[thinwater]

And be realistic in what you expect.

They also require a different skill set and set of habits. Not better or worse - different - and there is a learning curve.

[cat man do]

Cats are ****

I wouldn't have one

[maxingout]

I like monohulls and cats.

My wife would only sail around the world on a catamaran.

I wanted to sail around the world.

We sailed around the world on a catamaran.

It was an easy decision for me.

[GMac]

And tomorrow maxingout's wife will let him put on the pants but only if he eats his greens

Just joshing and know exactly how you feel. Went to suss a boat last week and before we had even got out of the car it had been pooh-poohed by mine. The colour was wrong and the front windows were horrible shapes. She was right about the windows, gawd knows what they were smoking when they did those.

It was a multi. We currently have a mono which replaced a mono which replaced a multi. We just can't seem to make up our mind which way to go so probably not the best person to ask. But the 'sail off into the sunset to later die apon' boat will be twin legged.

If you love sailing you'll do it on just about anything.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by meyermm

......... The article is well worth getting hold of and I think is a much more balanced view of the Cat Vs Mono debate than I have ever read.

But how do you know how balanced the article is? Just because it fits in with your preconceptions, does that automatically make it right?

I owned a mono when I started building a cat. I've sailed on both, I've done medium length passages on both, and I've raced on both.

Both have their pro's and con's, but in my experience, for overall comfort at sea a cat is superior.

I should add a caveat though - I've only sailed on cats which had good bridgedeck clearance, something some South African cats don't have, which could certainly lead to the "bump and crash" described.

Of course you could argue that I'm biased, but who is to say the writers of the article weren't?

[meyermm]

The writer of the article was not a journalist, the story was from the couple written by the couple and there name and photo displayed. My point was that we are constantly told Cats are the only way to go end of story. This article dispelled that myth and pointed out that they also have there bad points. In the first reply the sinking bit was brought up which is one of the more popular selling points for cats. The fact is most boats sink at marina's while unattended which is an insurance company statistic. The other point which I have raised before is cost, you can get a very large comfortable mono for the price of a cat something that most long term cruisers cannot afford but is always evaded in for and against debate.

[MarkJ]

Cats do have some uncomfortable motion.
One wonders (I don't wonder, but I think one does) that some cat owners bought the damn contraptions because they thought it would be a totally smooth ride and it just ain't.

Also girlys who get sea sick (male and female) opt for a cat but then find they get sick on them too!

Yes! If I had a Lagoon 44 I would be happy! But given the $1 million I would be happy on any bloody million dollar mono too!


Frank (Mark just checked out)

[sailingaway221]

Yes they are.

[meyermm]

For any boat to be stable in big seas they would have to spend half of the time impersonating a submarine. Many years ago I travelled to NZ on a large cruise ship the weather was bad and over half the passengers were ill that ship had stabilisers as well. Many who sail cats have never been in real big seas. I think Markj summed it up pretty well.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by meyermm

The article is well worth getting hold of and I think is a much more balanced view of the Cat Vs Mono debate than I have ever read.

Its one persons view after sailing one boat. ONE BOAT!! There could be better boats out there (in fact I know there are). I mean thats like saying that that that all monos are crap cause my top hat used to become a violent death roller down wind.

But hey - I dont give a toss what you sail - I will join you for a sundowner - its your money and your choice.

[Blue Stocking]

Who was it that said, "there are only 3 types of boats, cats, 1/2 cats, and 1 1/2 cats".

[meyermm]

I think the point which has again been shown in this thread is the zealous we are right no matter what that Cat owners have. As I said at the beginning, the article was not totally negative in fact maybe some would thing more pro but for once did seem to show up the fact that they are not perfect as some would have us believe.