Downsides to a Cat??

[ssullivan]

All boats are tradeoffs.

Coming from a monohull, what are the downsides to a cat?

[philip van praag]

from a mono
no cant think of anything!!
probly only cost. but that only depends what you compair it two.
there is plenty of banter hear on cat v mono, but if you can say what you want it for and what type of mono you would compair it to. you will get more feed back.

[Ram]

The biggest dowside is the cost of buying one and the cost of marinias, In the Med its sometimes double the price, most place charge 1 1/2 times the price and some the same price as a mono.for dockage. the price for a 12 meters yacht and up is more than below 12 meters
also sometimes there is not room for you, I anchor out many times
Im tickeld about mine and would never go back to a mono for crusing/living

[ssullivan]

Thanks for the replies so far. I am comparing a 1987 Gulfstar Hirsh 45' monohull with a 1976 Prout Snowgoose (36) or 30 foot Iroquois. Leaning toward the Prout.

Which of the two cats will sail faster?

[SeaKing]

I have a friend that has a older Prout. They are sturdy boats. He and his wife are living onboard in the Bahamas. As far as the speed I couldn't tell you, but any cat you load up will be slower and the larger boat you would probably have more load carrying capacity and room to live onboard. His has a yanmar diesel and he carries a Honda 2000 to recharge his batteries and for heavy loads.

[ess105]

Originally Posted by Ram

most place charge 1 1/2 times the price and some the same price as a mono.for dockage.

This is not so bad when you remember that for the same living space you'll actually have a shorter cat than a monohull. Probably still more expense but not by so much when you think of it in terms of mooring costs in relation to your living space. I'm happy to pay a little extra to live upstairs (on a cat) rather than in the basement (on a monohull).

[ssullivan]

ess105: This was exactly along the lines of what I was thinking. A 45' mono may compare in space to the 35' cat. Given that many marinas I've seen are now charging a "square footage" by taking your LOA and your max beam, the cat seems ok in this department.

[SurfNRG]

The mono's are gonna point better to the wind but on a broad or beam reach, or running straight downwind, you'll be saying bye-bye to the mono - unless the waterline on that mono is quite a bit longer than your cat. But the cats will slow down as you load them up.

I've had several mono's and a couple years ago bought a cat after experiencing the advantages on them while on my friends Voyage 440 catamaran in the BVI's. The comfort of the stability on a cat was a BIG plus - no more heavy rocking in a mono while on the hook or having to secure everything to go sailing.

But in a cat you'll miss that, what some call, "real" feeling of sailing while healing over in the slot beating against the wind.

It's all good - as long as you're sailing!

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by SurfNRG

The mono's are gonna point better to the wind but on a broad or beam reach, or running straight downwind, you'll be saying bye-bye to the mono - unless the waterline on that mono is quite a bit longer than your cat. But the cats will slow down as you load them up.

I've had several mono's and a couple years ago bought a cat after experiencing the advantages on them while on my friends Voyage 440 catamaran in the BVI's. The comfort of the stability on a cat was a BIG plus - no more heavy rocking in a mono while on the hook or having to secure everything to go sailing.

But in a cat you'll miss that, what some call, "real" feeling of sailing while healing over in the slot beating against the wind.

It's all good - as long as you're sailing!

Good stuff.

Our 45' mono averaged 6-7 knots, and topped out at 8.9 (never saw 9).

I was hoping an old Prout 36' might be able to do the 6 knots average. I guess we'll just have to learn to live even lighter to be able to wring the most out of the cat. We used to have 140 gals of drinking water, but will probably have to fill that up more often on the cat, right?

I do like the idea of not rocking at anchor. We often anchor way WAY out, often outside of harbors. The swells and passing wakes can be a bit annoying at times and in certain places. The cat will reduce this a lot, right? We should only rock when the wave passes, but not continue rocking again and again, right?

Anyway, thanks for the response. I'm not seeing a lot of reasons that are telling me not to move foward with the cat. Seems right.

I figure if I really miss the feeling of blasting around heeled over, I can just go and borrow a Laser or something for the afternoon.

[Morgan Paul]

Downsides to a Cat??

I think any boat on the water is better than a "land boat"

Good luck Sean

[SurfNRG]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

Good stuff.

Our 45' mono averaged 6-7 knots, and topped out at 8.9 (never saw 9).

I was hoping an old Prout 36' might be able to do the 6 knots average. I guess we'll just have to learn to live even lighter to be able to wring the most out of the cat. We used to have 140 gals of drinking water, but will probably have to fill that up more often on the cat, right?

I do like the idea of not rocking at anchor. We often anchor way WAY out, often outside of harbors. The swells and passing wakes can be a bit annoying at times and in certain places. The cat will reduce this a lot, right? We should only rock when the wave passes, but not continue rocking again and again, right?

Anyway, thanks for the response. I'm not seeing a lot of reasons that are telling me not to move foward with the cat. Seems right.

I figure if I really miss the feeling of blasting around heeled over, I can just go and borrow a Laser or something for the afternoon.

Regarding speed, I've had my Wildcat sailing up to 9 knots in the Intracoastal. Haven't sailed it in high winds in the ocean yet but I've read captain reports of up to 12 to 14 knots in these boats on deliveries from So.Africa. I'd probably wanna reef and drop back down around 10 to lessen the forces on the rigging / sails. Then again, just my opinion.

Cruising speed under power is around 6.0 knots in still water with the two Volvo MD2020's (20 hp each) running at 2500 rpm each. So, if conditions are right, she can sail faster than she cruises under power.

Prout's are usually solid boats. Wonder how much that Prout weighs. The newer model cats usually weigh less than the older. My 2001 Wildcat 350 is 11,000 lbs.. I'm sure the balsa core helps with keeping it light.

I have two 70 gallon tanks between the two forward berths - one for water, other for diesel. I've seen versions where the two 70 gallon tanks were used for water then there were two 25 gallon tanks for diesel placed in front of each engine. Sounds like a good idea. But then again, you'll have an additional (8 lbs per gallon X 70 gallons) 560 pounds. But then again, you'll only have 50 gallon capacity of diesel - which should be fine for those diesel engines that sip fuel.

Does the Prout your looking at have one engine? I sure like the big advantage of having two engines in each hull - makes it much easier to maneuver the boat - and you can spin that thing on a dime. A single engine on a cat seems like it'd be kinda difficult maneuvering in a tight spot like a marina, especially with the added windage. Just my opinion.

You'll love the stability of the cat. It's a whole new world. The only rocking you'll be doing is with your music.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Morgan Paul

I think any boat on the water is better than a "land boat"

Good luck Sean

You said it!

The "land boat" is great for work. We're going to keep it for those times when you need to have a base next to where you are working or when you feel like getting off the boat for a while to go to the mountains. I guess we'll be joinging that "rv/boat" group of people. There was a thread about them a while back.

[Tnflakbait]

Here are some of the downsides:

-Greater initial cost
-Difficulty in finding slips/ cost more
-Greater windage than a mono
-More expensive upkeep, Larger decks/ replacing tramps etc.
-With one engine more difficult to manouver in small spaces.
-With a fast cat you must learn to react more quickly to wind change etc.
-With a slower cat you can't point as well.
-A 35' cat with as much space as a 45' mono will probably not be a great performer.
-A good performing cat 35' will have very little accomadation.
-Weight is a major issue, and affects performance drastically
-They can capsize

I won't mention the benefits.

[jzk]

If you are going cruising, get a cat. If you like to day sail or weekend, then go mono.

Cats simply take some of the "sailing" out of sailing. If you are going out for an afternoon sail, the mono is the place to be. But, but taking some of that motion out of sailing, Cats make living aboard much more comfortable.

[Ram]

In Ibza, they wanted to charge me the same rate as a 75 foot mono hull at the marina! So these costs are very high, I Sailed from La Rochelle,France (N. Atlantic) to Ibza and only stayed in marinas 2-3 times in 6 months, mostly because of the costs involved