Author needing sailing catamaran details

[meirriba]

I have actual experience of Lagoon620.
IMHO there is no way that 2 unexperienced people will manuever it out of a berth in a marina.
Think 2 unexperienced people breaking into a Jumbo jet and flying away��

[Yellowtulip]

Let's look at it another way then. We need a motor boat that's easy to start. Our heroes need to identify the main electrics switch, turn a key and press a button assuming that the fuel supply and cooling water intake have been left switched on, as they commonly are. That's conceivable. The vessel needs to be moored somewhere that has easy access to the sea, preferably with the bow facing the exit of the harbour. It also needs to be a quiet place with little or no security. This probably precludes a Marina mooring, but there are plenty of other moorings in the UK at least that would qualify. They would first have to steal a dinghy and row/paddle it out to the target vessel. Leaving a swinging mooring only requires dropping one line (perhaps two), and no power lead. An alongside mooring would require four lines being untied. I really can't believe that there are many people who would be unable to figure that out. No-one's going to moor a multi-million pound yacht like that, though, but an elderly but seaworthy 45-foot motor boat is conceivable, and may well be easy to enter.
I have had numerous novices on my 33-foot monohull. They all managed to steer a straight line quite easily, so if the route from the mooring is straight out to sea, then that's also conceivable.

[Kelkara]

Originally Posted by grantmc

Stealing a boat like that would require the services of a specialist thief. You'd have to get past the marina security ie. locked gates, cameras and security guards.

Not necessarily ... I seem to remember a story of an 80ft Oyster getting stolen for a joyride from San Francisco a couple of years ago ... can't remember the details, but the boat ended up on the rocks not far away ... the owner learned about it by watching the rescue attempt on the TV news.

But ... as a getaway vehicle a sailboat isn't usually the best choice ... I expect a lagoon 620 will be faster than a bicycle, but you're trying to outrun a villain who clearly has the resources to charter a helicopter to go and look for his stolen boat.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Originally Posted by Bean Counter

Why don't you book a holiday on a charter cat in the Caribbean, with a Captain for a week, you will learn all you need to know for the purposes of the book, and you will have a beautiful location and some peace to continue writing, get the costs as a tax deduction against all the profits you will make from a top seller...

Quoted for the truth!!! [emoji106]

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Kelkara

Not necessarily ... I seem to remember a story of an 80ft Oyster getting stolen for a joyride from San Francisco a couple of years ago ... can't remember the details, but the boat ended up on the rocks not far away ... the owner learned about it by watching the rescue attempt on the TV news.

But ... as a getaway vehicle a sailboat isn't usually the best choice ... I expect a lagoon 620 will be faster than a bicycle, but you're trying to outrun a villain who clearly has the resources to charter a helicopter to go and look for his stolen boat.

And.. one impossible to blend into the background.. good one SA..

[captlloyd]

Go to Amazon, type in “ sailboat instruction book”, search and you will find a ton of books on basic sailing. Under power, a catamaran is very maneuverable do to the fact that the engines are widely separated and during docking you can use the engines alone pretty much to maneuver. Cats are cool ! Good choice for your novel.

[captlloyd]

By the way, please ignore folks here who are telling you how to write your book. Often on this forum lots of answers are given on everything but what the OP wants to know. I do agree that at least one of your characters should have at least some basic powerboat experience to make this event credible.

[Dave_S]

OR

The boat they steal has a topless nymfomaniac sailing instructor on it.

But seriously, the charter boat idea is the way to go, I'm sure once you understand how it all works you will figure a way for them to do it with a degree of credibility.

Maybe steal a boat at the fuel dock ? Or a boat already sailing aka Captain Jack Sparrow. His writers got around the problem by doing just that.

[tstano]

Originally Posted by EliasB

Hello everyone! I'm glad I found this forum and I'm hoping some of you might be able to help. First of all, I am a writer. I write fiction, mostly in the crime/mystery genre.


Of course being fiction this doesn't have to be exact but I try to stay as accurate in my writing as possible.

Any input is appreciated. Thank you all in advance!

Watch Captain Ron.

[LoudMusic]

Is this going to be a comedy? Because "escaping bad guys" on a sailing catamaran is a pretty funny notion. Like Home Alone style comedy.

[BigVee]

Originally Posted by EliasB

Hello everyone! I'm glad I found this forum and I'm hoping some of you might be able to help. First of all, I am a writer. I write fiction, mostly in the crime/mystery genre.

In my current work in progress the two main characters jump in the bad guy's sailboat and take off. Like me, neither of them have any experience operating a sailboat at all. However, I feel like I still need to be able to use the correct details (as opposed to calling everything a doohicky).

After they've escaped the bad guy they do find an operation guide so things get easier for them. The ship they take off in is something similar to (or exactly like) a Lagoon 620 so it is not a small ship. My problem is, I'm probably 600 miles from the nearest luxury sailing catamaran and my little duck boat and a summer spent working on a shrimp boat when I was a teenager are the extent of my boating experience.

First of all, does anyone have real world experience that you might be able to walk me through the initial engine start up and operation (such as backing it out of a slip)? A picture of the control schematic would be extra helpful as I've been unable to find it online.

Same for operating the sails the first time.

I found a Lagoon 450 operating manual online, is this similar to the 620?
Are there any other books you might recommend that the two main characters could find and use (and I could buy) that would be useful to them.

Of course being fiction this doesn't have to be exact but I try to stay as accurate in my writing as possible.

Any input is appreciated. Thank you all in advance!

Ummmm... I am not going to give you advise on writing, but I have to inform you that sailboats move at about jogging pace, most of the time. You could sail for a couple days and the authorities can catch up to you in a couple hours.

[tomfl]

Best thing you can do is listen to the Jimmy Buffet song "Manana". To wit:

"Please don't say manana if you don't mean it
I have heard those words for so very long
Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu_YtJHCR8A

[Redreuben]

For sailing info just buy a couple of “how to“ catamaran books and look at some owners manuals, you may even be able to use the info that isn’t there in the storyline.
As for escaping on a catamaran I guess if their surreptitiously slipping away then no probs, perhaps part of the escape route or perhaps the destination or hiding of any loot entails sailing over skinny water which justifies the use of a catamaran ?
Good luck with it. [emoji2]

[Teleman]

Re the "escaping bad guys" aspect: Every bad guy knows a bad guy who has a big stupidly fast Cigarette boat.

They'll get to the scene of the accident long before the CG or the owner.

[Intentional Drifter]

EliasB -- As others have said, simply getting a 60-some-odd foot catamaran off the dock and underway under power is a complex procedure and any one of a dozen possible missed steps will stop it. Also, after owners make their own modifications (and, we all do!) just about every vessel end up being unique. E.G., with a 60-footer, there's a very good chance that it will have two shore power cables and not just one. There's a very good chance it will have a security system, and a GPS based tracker.

Having a manual on board will be of little help. First of all, manual tell you where stuff is, but they rarely tell you what those items do, which are necessary for getting a vessel underway (that knowledge is assumed), or in what sequence. Also, there is an entire language involved in sailing that is not at all transparent to the untrained. For example, can imagine the comedic implications involved with such terms as a "lazy sheet"?

I have no doubt that a couple of reasonably smart, but inexperienced, people could pull it off, given little stress, and the time and ability to concentrate, read, look around and experiment. But, how long would it take? At least a couple of hours.

And, what would they have if they did pull it off? A large, conspicuous, unusual sailboat escaping the scene, at 7 knots. If they got out of the marina successfully without being stopped, I'd be surprised.