A Catalac in a Storm. . .

[Goosebumps]

this issue of discussing a catalac 900 for bad weather is indeed not so relevant, but cobsider the catalac 10m then we talk about an actual passage maker, and very sturdy, good sailorat that. Seamanship is a very personal skill, we observed our mentors our charter caps our sail teachers, or we just went and experimented some of us reading and trying. My point very few if us get actually caught in bad weather but have read all there is to find on the topic. Myself I have learned the hard way, didnt observe enough before being caught out. I sailed my catalac 10m from Cape Town to North Mozambique, and those infirmed amonst us sailors know that the easy sail on this coast is with the currents not against. The South African part of yhe coadt is very scary and I was unlucky to have bad weather all the way to Maputo. Nothing extreme but enough to do 19 knots from Richards Bay to Maputo, thapt is until the Inhaca turn, with only a handkerchief size part of the genoa out. It amazrd me how well this went with circa 35knots wind waves from the rear, high enough to scare me badly but my catalac just lifted nicely and slid down off wave passing, very comfortable. A catalac 10 m was a very well made yacht, in many ways, and I have gotten to trust it very much. I have had to go out here in North Moz to go assist others in quite bad weather and other than bouncing around and realizing how small we were in those sea conditons, and getting wet of course, i really am impressed with my cat. I want to add that this is not a case of yacht owner will love and defend and promote his yacht choice but rather a case of someone who fidnt have enough money to buy any other more sexy cat and had the catalac grow on him

[Dulcesuenos]

Its pretty much a given that cats really handle storms very well if you can run with it. Much better than alot of monos, monos have the advantage in heaving to, but if it gets really nasty Id feel alot safer running rabbit on two hulls than one. Read an comment from a capt on a leopard 38 delivery from SA, said they topped.out surfing at 32knots on the gps in huge seas.and the boat handled it decently. Yeehaw.....

[Goosebumps]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

PS I think some Catalacs have big windows that are definitely not up to storm force conditions in open waters. Explore this subject, just in case, if you seriously venture offshore.

b.

I saw this post late, as I have. Catalac 10m and have sailed it from Cape of Good Hope to Tanzania in heavy weather I can say that the windows of my cat withstood all!


Sent from East Africa via Cruisers Sailing Forum app

[ron17571]

How often is the weather checked? Can you take shelter somewhere or out run it. If you have enough advanced notice.
When reading over the years i kept seeing articles about using a sea anchor and
Battiening down the hatches and riding things out.
Just a thought. I sail lakes so..

[edneely]

Okay, so here's a question from someone with catamaran experience limited to Hobies.

I know catamarans have a great deal of initial stability, but zero ultimate stability. How does this play out in the larger cruising catamarans? In what sort of conditions do you have to worry about capsizing?

[ron17571]

Originally Posted by edneely

Okay, so here's a question from someone with catamaran experience limited to Hobies.

I know catamarans have a great deal of initial stability, but zero ultimate stability. How does this play out in the larger cruising catamarans? In what sort of conditions do you have to worry about capsizing?

My experience is a bit more than yours. Hobies and Prindles! I remember reading about the James Woods cat designer abandoned his cat in very rough seas. Of course it was found floating. I would guess very bad storm conditions,would be the problem. Confused seas.
I once asked my neighbor, A ex navy man about my idea of sailing the world. He said if the ship wasn't 600 feet long, it was a bad idea.
Yeah, i have no salt water experience so im just an interested observer hoping to learn something.So i believe its' a matter of being weather aware and being able to avoid or get away from bad weather.

[edneely]

I guess I wonder how hard the wind would need to blow to get a large cat on a broad reach up on one pontoon.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by edneely

I guess I wonder how hard the wind would need to blow to get a large cat on a broad reach up on one pontoon.

Its the beam sea that's a greater danger.. get a strong wind under a hull while she's still on the uplift and chances of flipping rise greatly.. its usually a combination of beam sea and to much sail that leads to these incidents

[edneely]

Blerg, yeah, I meant beam reach. I know these boats are much heavier and wider with respect to sail height than a Hobie, but what winds speed are we talking about?

[ron17571]

You could just slow down. It would be that freak chance of wave action and wind that would do you in.
I thought that Wharram cats had a few good ideas. The deck design makes you catch less wind underneath.Perhaps wave action hitting the boat also.
The design of the stern seems like a good idea.Reminds me of round stern ships.The way waves would hit a boat is something i think of.
I just am not a fan of the hull mounting system. If the cat is staying together permanently.
You could drag something and just use a storm jib.
Just consider what a monohull does. 360 degree rolls? How many are at the bottom.

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by wambam

Phillip Berman says in his "10 Commandments for Buying a Catamaran":
". . . ". . . a performance catamaran that can pull 12 knots running before a storm can easily sail away from just about any sustained winds over 50 knots. Unfortunately, many catamarans on the market today are very slow. . .To overcome this problem I highly recommend adding a bowsprit to carry a permanently mounted roller-furling screecher. This easily handled sail will boost your multi-hull’s sailing performance dramatically and there-fore greatly add to your safety if you need to reach or run away from bad weather. . . "

I find a lot to take issue with in this statement. Sure, my boat will do 12 knots given enough wind, but these speeds are very tiring for a cruising couple. Even if you trust the autopilot at these speeds and are not hand steering the noise and motion will prevent getting any real rest. I wonder how many short-handed crews could keep it up long enough to 'run away from bad weather'. Consider as well that mid-lattitude lows can be hundreds, even thousands of miles in size and that they can move at up to 30 knots and the notion of outrunning or dodging them in a mid-size cat seems a bit of a stretch.

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Its the beam sea that's a greater danger.. get a strong wind under a hull while she's still on the uplift and chances of flipping rise greatly.. its usually a combination of beam sea and to much sail that leads to these incidents

Sorry to disagree with you, unless you were making a generic comment. Catalac and beam sea is in less danger than running downwind and being silly about it. Tom Lack offered quite a lot of money for evidence of any successful lifting of one hull in a catalac that did not include use of a crane. However I know of two that got into trouble running down wind. I may be a coward, but 18 kts in a catalac in bad conditions is a mite fast for me.

[valhalla360]

If you are flying a hull, you are intentionally (or thru incompetence) pushing the boat too hard. Pushing a monohull that hard or not knowing what you are doing is likely to put you in a dangerous situation also.

One difference is you reef a cat based on the gusts vs monohulls reefing based on the average.

The only cruising cats, I've heard of going over were being pushed very hard or people did something stupid (or both)

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Talbot

Sorry to disagree with you, unless you were making a generic comment. Catalac and beam sea is in less danger than running downwind and being silly about it. Tom Lack offered quite a lot of money for evidence of any successful lifting of one hull in a catalac that did not include use of a crane. However I know of two that got into trouble running down wind. I may be a coward, but 18 kts in a catalac in bad conditions is a mite fast for me.

Catalac's are to low for that.. lifting I mean..

[ron17571]

Makes a person wonder what the actual recorded number of large cats that have flipped over,Then what were the circumstances? Also, how many have sunk?