Besides Antares

[psychfeld]

I'm trying to acquire a preliminary list of the viable catamarans types that would be suitable for blue water cruising in higher latitudes beyond the typical tropical climates were they tend to be most common.

This would include a very robust design and construction as well as a protected helm for cold weather.

Aside from the Antares vessels, which look spectacular in fulfilling this albeit at a high cost, what manufacturers might be reasonable to check out. Most of the cats I see in bvi's, thailand, med, etc seem to be perfectly suited for warm climates exclusively.

Any suggestions for places to look would be appreciated.

cheers

[Multihull]

Originally Posted by psychfeld

Any suggestions for places to look would be appreciated.

cheers

Antarctica 2015 expedition: key take-aways | NW Passage

[BlueBuddha]

Take a look at Christ White Atlantic cats. Also the saint Francis would be a good option.


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[Sand crab]

Check out the Maine Cat 41. It has a really innovative protected helm/cockpit with all control lines leading inside. They are all custom built so I would expect you could get them to add some Kevlar to the hulls for protection from the frozen stuff. The original design was acrylic Strataglass window surrounds but now they have a tempered glass option.
Maine Cat 41 - Maine Cat Catamarans

[Cottontop]

FreeFlow 46

[Sail IC]

Cruising in the higher latitudes outside of the trades will have you sailing in different conditions. I would chose a boat that goes well in light breeze and that can effectively and (reasonable) comfortably sail upwind in strong wind and waves.


The Antares has a reputation to be very slow. Never sailed it myself but I compared notes with one sailing the same route and it seemed clearly slower than my Orana, which isn't a rocket either. Stepping on the Antares, it has a lot of weight forward. Large fiberglass panels and the generator placed in one of the forward compartments. All this weight has to be supported by a relative full forward hull sections. Sailing it upwind in 20+ knots wind and waves must be both slow and very uncomfortable.


My pick in this size would be the new Outremer 45. All weight is well aft oriented around the fore/aft rotation center, slender front hull sections. Together with the boards, this boat will be very effective and much more comfortable upwind, especially if throttled back a bit.


On top of it, the new Outremers has a roomy, light, and livable interior. Like a condomaran on steroids. The bulkhead helmstation needs to be fitted with a good bimini with possible enclosure.

[Four Coconuts]

Robust? Privilege 435/445 or 465EZC/495. If too much $$$ than older Leopards were heavily built.

[Heath68]

Originally Posted by Multihull

Antarctica 2015 expedition: key take-aways | NW Passage

What cat is that? It looks lie a Fountaine Pajot?

interesting voyage!

[Sand crab]

Yup it's a Salina. They had extra kevlar added to the hulls for the bergy bits.

[Catalysis]

Sail IC:
The Antares 44i is not heavy, mine weighed 22,500 lbs on the travelift last year.
In terms of speed, a couple of weeks ago, we sailed from Emerald Bay,Catalina Island to Coronado CA, a distance of 96 miles in 12 hrs.
Winds averaged 10-15 knts.
While not a racehorse, certainly not slow.



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[Heath68]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

Yup it's a Salina. They had extra kevlar added to the hulls for the bergy bits.

Hey I must be learning something from following these threads!

cheers

[valhalla360]

I assume you are interested in ruggedly built.

Maybe something like an older prout or catalac.