38' cat OK to circumnavigate?

[psychfeld]

thanks so much for this link. I sure appreciate the kind hearted folks who give their time, energy and thoughts into this site/community.

[psychfeld]

good suggestion Ken, I've been watching their trip vids - great way to get sample of life onboard

[psychfeld]

yes, there are tons of lagoons out there! what kind of 43 cat did you choose if I may ask? how do you like what you got?

[Bulawayo]

Originally Posted by smj

Would the Island Spirit be "Hanalei Moon" the original strip plank plug for the Island Spirit 35?


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Its a bit off subject but I would love to know what happened to big one-off cold moulded Island Spirit which is somewhere between 44' & 52' depending on the telling.

[Bulawayo]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Never got around to meeting the folks on the IS, and dont recall the boat name, we were just in the same anchorage for a couple of nights...then they took off to SAIL to somewhere else...crazy people, dont they know better! Pic was taken earlier this year in San Blas, Panama.

Carrying a drogue is probably a bit like putting on your rain gear...not gonna rain for sure. Leave the drogue ashore and youre probably gonna get hammered. Ive been carrying a drogue around for a long time and yet to really need it. Important option for a cat offshore to have though I think. I have considered deploying it when surfing was getting a bit too brisk for comfort, but have not (I think a device you could rapidly deploy on a cat, like right at the moment you break into that high pucker factor surf has potential...somethink like a metal grid near the stern under the bridge deck that could be dropped by pulling a lever and then raised easily...just an idea at this point). Put the sea anchor in storage years ago...might load it back aboard if going transoceanic, but not for near coastal.

Hi Belize,
We now own a Jordan series drogue which we bought early last year. When Dave (Ace Sails) sold it to us we opted for the dyneema hybrid version and also had Dave fit Tylaska J locks. The bridle is also dyneema. We had some chainplates made up, with backing plates and then kept the drogue in its waterproof bag on the aft platform but with the bridle already clipped onto the dedicated chain plates. The bag was also tied on. To deploy the drogue was then only a question of dumping the chain weight overboard and the weight simply pulled the drogue out of the bag. Very easy and simple.
We had used our parachute anchor once in the South Atlantic but I was never happy setting it and I was concerned about it pulling out of the wave face. The series drogue is certainly more expensive to buy but is very easy to use & which means you do actually use it; there are no worries about it wave jumping and it should prove to be more robust.
We have actually used our drogue and we are very comfortable to recommend it.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Bulawayo

Hi Belize,
We now own a Jordan series drogue which we bought early last year. When Dave (Ace Sails) sold it to us we opted for the dyneema hybrid version and also had Dave fit Tylaska J locks. The bridle is also dyneema. We had some chainplates made up, with backing plates and then kept the drogue in its waterproof bag on the aft platform but with the bridle already clipped onto the dedicated chain plates. The bag was also tied on. To deploy the drogue was then only a question of dumping the chain weight overboard and the weight simply pulled the drogue out of the bag. Very easy and simple.
We had used our parachute anchor once in the South Atlantic but I was never happy setting it and I was concerned about it pulling out of the wave face. The series drogue is certainly more expensive to buy but is very easy to use & which means you do actually use it; there are no worries about it wave jumping and it should prove to be more robust.
We have actually used our drogue and we are very comfortable to recommend it.

I have a similar set up, except a Delta Drogue. Ive gone as far as to set the drogue up, ready to deploy, but never quite got to the point I felt it was necessary. Two heavy thru bolted pad eyes on stern. Dogue sits on a ledge on the stern, just unlash and dump over. It is rigged with a section of chain to reduce chance of coming out of a wave and also helps to deploy.

I did get to the point once that my late wife told me I had to slow the boat down...really crushed my groove...I was having a blast. Would have been a good time to test out the drogue, but winds were only about 35 knots so easy enough to reef more instead.

[Mark424]

Originally Posted by psychfeld

Is a 38 too small to take on atlantic and/or pacific crossings?

No.

Read Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach : A Philosophic and Practical Approach to Cruising It's from 1990, but timeless wisdom. Seas, wind, weather is still the same and if anything most things have gotten easier and quality is better. There was a time most people circumnavigated in 30-35' monos. So a 38' cat is down right palatial.

Don't get me wrong, I like big boats. I stumbled across this book after returning from a charter of a Catana 50 - that boat was just "too big", it was great sailing, but the sails, sheets, and everything required me to get help for many things I would have otherwise done myself. Many people do it, but there is zero manhandling anything on this boat in a big blow.

I'm looking at the Maine Cat 38. but that's a very personal choice.

[Bulawayo]

Originally Posted by Mark424

No.

Read Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach : A Philosophic and Practical Approach to Cruising It's from 1990, but timeless wisdom. Seas, wind, weather is still the same and if anything most things have gotten easier and quality is better. There was a time most people circumnavigated in 30-35' monos. So a 38' cat is down right palatial.

Don't get me wrong, I like big boats. I stumbled across this book after returning from a charter of a Catana 50 - that boat was just "too big", it was great sailing, but the sails, sheets, and everything required me to get help for many things I would have otherwise done myself. Many people do it, but there is zero manhandling anything on this boat in a big blow.

I'm looking at the Maine Cat 38. but that's a very personal choice.

Maine Cat 38 - its a nice boat.

[psychfeld]

Yes! the maine cat is a fine vessel. I'm looking as well.

excellent complete investigative study on drogues was done by us coast guard, may 87. it's like porn for engineers!

[Olorin]

I can only speak for myself but I have sailed a very plain Island Spirit 400 (LOA 12 meters/39 feet) from the east coast of the Americas to Australia. Loaded to the max and beyond. We've averaged between 6 and 7 knots on our passages. The crew was myself and my significant other, both in our mid-fifties. We've done over 20,000 nautical miles and never had an issue. We don't sail in hurricanes or cyclones. We heave to if it gets too nasty (only once). Get a sturdy vessel and sail conservatively.

[Bulawayo]

Originally Posted by Olorin

I can only speak for myself but I have sailed a very plain Island Spirit 400 (LOA 12 meters/39 feet) from the east coast of the Americas to Australia. Loaded to the max and beyond. We've averaged between 6 and 7 knots on our passages. The crew was myself and my significant other, both in our mid-fifties. We've done over 20,000 nautical miles and never had an issue. We don't sail in hurricanes or cyclones. We heave to if it gets too nasty (only once). Get a sturdy vessel and sail conservatively.

Island Spirit = Not especially fast but very tough boats, comfortable load carriers and certainly very capable of circumnavigating.

[arsenelupiga]

what i observed over years is that people in smaller boats have more fun than in larger boats.

so get smallest that can live with and use money for living.

40 ft is large boat and lots maintenance. But it was minimum we are happy with.

[GoingWalkabout]

Originally Posted by Skip JayR

I never heard of Catamarans using drogues or parachut anchors... thats mostly theory...

07-01-2016, 19:04	#74
GoingWalkabout Registered User   Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: USA & Argentina Posts: 1,561	Re: 38' cat OK to circumnavigate? Originally Posted by belizesailor Yeah, I'm a slow learner, after a couple of decades, and many thousands of miles on cats of many makes/models (and monos too)...I'm still struggling to get a grasp of the basics. You? Hi belizesailor. Love your posts and wishing you a great 2016. I would like to ask you a little off topic question. What do you think of the height off the water of the decking between different catamaran manufacturers. Ive looked at both Lagoon and Sunreef and it appears that the Lagoons particularly in models above the 45 are higher in the water then the Sunreefs. Do you think this height difference has a safety and sailing issue. Seriously interested in your thoughts if you don't mind. Thanks, Chaya

07-01-2016, 19:49	#75
belizesailor Registered User Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: W Carib Boat: Wildcat 35, Hobie 33 Posts: 13,486	Re: 38' cat OK to circumnavigate? Originally Posted by GoingWalkabout Hi belizesailor. Love your posts and wishing you a great 2016. I would like to ask you a little off topic question. What do you think of the height off the water of the decking between different catamaran manufacturers. Ive looked at both Lagoon and Sunreef and it appears that the Lagoons particularly in models above the 45 are higher in the water then the Sunreefs. Do you think this height difference has a safety and sailing issue. Seriously interested in your thoughts if you don't mind. Thanks, Chaya Do you mean height off the water of the deck you walk on ("freeboard" height) or clearance between the water and the underside of the "bridge deck" (deck that spans the hulls) known as "bridge deck clearance"?

[GoingWalkabout]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Yeah, I'm a slow learner, after a couple of decades, and many thousands of miles on cats of many makes/models (and monos too)...I'm still struggling to get a grasp of the basics.

You?

Hi belizesailor. Love your posts and wishing you a great 2016. I would like to ask you a little off topic question. What do you think of the height off the water of the decking between different catamaran manufacturers. Ive looked at both Lagoon and Sunreef and it appears that the Lagoons particularly in models above the 45 are higher in the water then the Sunreefs. Do you think this height difference has a safety and sailing issue. Seriously interested in your thoughts if you don't mind.

Thanks,
Chaya

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by GoingWalkabout

Hi belizesailor. Love your posts and wishing you a great 2016. I would like to ask you a little off topic question. What do you think of the height off the water of the decking between different catamaran manufacturers. Ive looked at both Lagoon and Sunreef and it appears that the Lagoons particularly in models above the 45 are higher in the water then the Sunreefs. Do you think this height difference has a safety and sailing issue. Seriously interested in your thoughts if you don't mind.

Thanks,
Chaya

Do you mean height off the water of the deck you walk on ("freeboard" height) or clearance between the water and the underside of the "bridge deck" (deck that spans the hulls) known as "bridge deck clearance"?