Fast Cruising Catamarans - How Fast ?

[bill good]

Mine is an old boat & so am I!! At 22kts boat speed I take steps to not go above that speed. Into wind rule of thumb for ETAs 1/2 apparent = boat speed. Boat would be close to 5t cruising. 8-10kts boat speed is normal.

[mtnsapo]

ok, here goes

FP Athena '99
folding props
orginal sails (very baggy)
loaded for weekend cruising
VERY green crew
water and fuel tank half full
crew of 4 or more

I am happy when I see half appearant wind speed

between 7-18 knot appearnt I wil get half, below 7 it is very hard to keep half
above 18 knot s i wuss out and still play conservative as I am new and still felling out the boat.

I think the athena is a fast cat given its narrow hulls and realtively low weight. also doing informal racing (ie that mono is close and on almost on the same bearing) I am able to beat most.

I wish I could get an experinced cat skipper on baot to help me see whre I am losing speed in sail trim and what is safe in higher wind speeds..


Just on more data point...
Brian

[Southern Star]

Wow Bill, 22 knots boat speed on an older 36 foot cruising cat!!!!!!!! With those kinds of numbers I have a serious case of performance envy!

On my Solaris Sunstream 40, performance is rather pedestrian. Loaded with extensive stores, full tanks, various tools (including power tools - I am in the process of interior renovations) and with an old headsail (the main and staysail are new, however):

Under 5 knots of wind speed true, I motor.
With wind speeds at 6 knots true, so long as the water is pretty calm, she will hit about 2.5 knots on a reach (but you had better not head her up above 60 degrees true).
At 12 knots, 5.2 knots;
At 16 knots, 7.8 knots (Above 16 knots, I typically furl the staysail)
At 18 knots, 8.0 knots
At 20 knots, 8.8 knots
At 22 knots, 9.2 knots (Above 22 knots, I typically put in the first reef in the main).

Thththththaaats all, folks! Yes, I need to replace the headsail and I have considered folding props. Even still, my goal is for 1/2 wind speed, when fully loaded.

Brad

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Surfing?

What was the purpose of this quote? You really didn't understand it?

[Southern Star]

I don't think that 44CC didn't understand what was written in the post, I think he wanted more information so that he could fully understand the scenario that was described. Obviously, sailing at virtually 17 knots on a displacement hull with a 40 foot waterline in 40 knots of wind, while flying only a storm jib, is pretty remarkable (more than twice hull speed). Unless, that is, the boat was surfing, or at least assisted by a following sea. Still very fast, but easier to comprehend.

While I didn't specify (apart from referring to pointing no higher than 60 degrees true), perhaps I should have also noted that all the speeds I posted were without surfing/wave assist (albeit with that reference and with those speeds I suspect it was pretty obvious). Nevertheless, even on my boat (and she is obviously no speed demon), I have had 'sleigh rides' averaging more than 13 knots over the bottom.

Brad

[smj]

On our old Seawind 1000 with 4' stern extensions and screecher out we would do about 75-80% of wind speed on a good point of sail. After 15kts. Of true wind the percentage would drop.

[wmoizer]

Our Turissimo 9m catamaran would be on the fast end of the scale for a cruiser, and we seem to match windspeed on a close reach, loaded for a weekend with a family of four plus dog and dinghy (on deck). Fastest to date is 15kts, but I expect the boat can do more with a slicker bottom and better foils. Having spent more time sailing our GBE catamaran, I would say that in the same conditions that the T9 hit 15, the GBE would be doing 18-19.

Far more useful for cruising is the T9's ability to cruise along at 9knots in complete comfort in a light breeze which is fantastic for under 30'. I plan to do a 'Maine Cat 30' mod by adding a hard top bimini for shelter it will be interesting to see how much that affects our performance, particularly to windward.

[mikereed100]

We do 1/2 apparant wind up to 18 knots wind speed, then we reef. I find it hard to concentrate on my reading at speeds over 9 knots.

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by switchcat

Switch 51 loaded for cruising with 6 on board - 20kts surfing. We usually plan on 200 mile days but we have done 2 consecutive 240 mile days - again with surfing waves to help.

20Knots X24hours =480 km =540 'miles' so why only 200 miles???? I have a friend with a 48 mono ketch who always gets 200 miles a day in Caribbean cruising so your hot rod doesnt impress

[geoleo]

Its a Soverel 48 ketch from 1982

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

We do 1/2 apparant wind up to 18 knots wind speed, then we reef. I find it hard to concentrate on my reading at speeds over 9 knots.

Your honest--I think ideal speed is 8.6 kn =10mph . and if you average 6.5 knots all the time your really doing well really really

[smj]

Originally Posted by georgetheleo

20Knots X24hours =480 km =540 'miles' so why only 200 miles???? I have a friend with a 48 mono ketch who always gets 200 miles a day in Caribbean cruising so your hot rod doesnt impress

Kinda hard to stay on that same wave surfing for 24 hrs. At a time. I think 200 miles a day is a great average.

[geoleo]

Surfing? I thought we were discussing sailing?

[smj]

Originally Posted by georgetheleo

Surfing? I thought we were discussing sailing?

Read your post

[slap]

Originally Posted by georgetheleo

20Knots X24hours =480 km =540 'miles' so why only 200 miles???? I have a friend with a 48 mono ketch who always gets 200 miles a day in Caribbean cruising so your hot rod doesnt impress

Two hundred mile days are not all that common - see this article by Beth Leonard and Evans Starzinger: http://www.bethandevans.com/pdf/200mile.pdf

It's mainly about monos, but it's an interesting read.