Cruising Cat vs. Cruising Mono Performance

[Alan Wheeler]

but sailing monohulls, as such, have been around for less than 300 years

What about Noah's Ark? The first boat ever built and she's mono. Maybe it didn't have a Sail, but it didn't have an engine either, just relying on tide a wind to move.
Of course, ya just gotta have faith it existed :-)
But then there were the Vikings. What about the ships some dude made mirrors to try and burn them to the water line. Those examples are far older than 300yrs.

[Keegan]

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

What about Noah's Ark? The first boat ever built and she's mono. Maybe it didn't have a Sail, but it didn't have an engine either, just relying on tide a wind to move.
Of course, ya just gotta have faith it existed :-)
.

So are you implying that god favored monohulls when he told Noah to build that ark? God must have been concerned that Noah would flip over or pitch poll in one of those twin hulled contraptions with all those animals on board. The animals would not have liked the slamming of the bridgedeck either. ALso, there were no containers floating around in the oceans back then so there was very little chance that Noah would have hit one and sank to the bottom in that lead-laden mono.

Keegan

[Pelagic]

I am sure both Noah and God were concerned with “bale capacity” to house and feed all those procreating animals, so definitely, defiantly…. a…monohull!

[imagine2frolic]

Cook the great explorer was really surprised by what a multihull can do. I think he was sailing into the Hawaiian islands when a large multihull came over the horizon doing double his speed.

[ssullivan]

Oh no... and the thread degenerates... ha ha

Well, I couldn't expect any less. It's a difficult debate and one without an answer, other than your own personal choice.

However, it did surprise me to find that the cat was basically the same as a crusing mono in performace, when I accounted for higher downwind speeds (per given LWL) and lower, but acceptable (to me) upwind speeds.

As others pointed out, I think I'll miss the motion and grace of monos under sail, but that's ok, because that rolling motion at anchor wasn't so fun anyway.

[rebel heart]

I'm pretty sure the first boats, ever, were dug out canoes and the such. Seems rather reasonable to imagine that you'd need one hull to work before you tried using two.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

I'm pretty sure the first boats, ever, were dug out canoes and the such. Seems rather reasonable to imagine that you'd need one hull to work before you tried using two.

Your post got me thinking...

I'm going to venture to guess the first boats were logs tied togther. Neither cat nor mono.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

Your post got me thinking...

I'm going to venture to guess the first boats were logs tied togther. Neither cat nor mono.

Not true! That's still a single hull, just made of multiple parts fastened together!

If they took the logs, shaped the square, and glued them together, it would very much be "one hull". So change out the glue for rope, and knock the bark off instead of squaring them... one hull!

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Not true! That's still a single hull, just made of multiple parts fastened together!

If they took the logs, shaped the square, and glued them together, it would very much be "one hull". So change out the glue for rope, and knock the bark off instead of squaring them... one hull!

Hmmm.... isn't that debatable? Isn't it a multi and I mean MULTI hull?

Lots and lots of little hulls, high initial stability and poor ultimate stability, just like a multi.

Of course, I can't actually have an argument with a 30 yr old programmer type I like on here (when I'm a 36 yr old programmer type too). It'll have to be a nice emotionless debate a la Java vs .net or something...

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

Your post got me thinking...

I'm going to venture to guess the first boats were logs tied togther. Neither cat nor mono.

The first "boat" was probably just a fallen tree. Same as the first "bridge" I guess.

But the first ocean going boats were certainly the polynesian catamarans and proa's, which crossed the Pacific Ocean thousands of years ago.

[fastcat435]

In a rough comparising it is all abouth weigth versus sail area and it does not make a big difference if it is a monohull or catamaran
given 10000 kilo,s of weigth and 100 squire meters of sail area the monohull will be slightly better pointing and the cat with identical weigth and sail area will be slightly better reaching this has all to do with windage.
The advantage of a cat is that we need no ballast .
very little can be done to take ballast away on a monohull but with a cat a lot can be done to save weigth.
Greetings
Gideon

[fastcat435]

I do not think this has anything to do with a mono or multihull , I find pleasant and very unpleasant sailors in both,
If a impolite or not so good brought up sailors switches over from mono to multi or vica versa it will not change the person.

[Keegan]

I hear multihullers make better lovers and have better manners. Something about doing things straight up instead of healing over...

Keegan

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Keegan

I hear multihullers make better lovers and have better manners. Something about doing things straight up instead of healing over...

Keegan

Yes I agree, MH's can only do things straight up and perhaps you should consider that most women prefer a guy who will stay focused on one hull instead of flirting around!

[fastcat435]

Multihullers should make better lovers , especcially on board since we have California King sized beds of 6 x 7 ft and the max healing angle is 10 degrees and do not forget the headroom above the beds of 5 feet ?
I am sure in the Dolphin it should be about the same

Greetings
Gideon