Gemini or Maine Cat 30?

[twohapence]

Hi

We were looking for a sensible cruising cat and made an offer on a Gemini subject to survey. The surveyor found that the stringers had popped when it was lifted ashore, the stress points don't have enough glass so they flex and the gelcoat cracks. As the boat ages the cracking just gets worse. I looked at several more Geminis and they were pretty much the same. An OK boat for sheltered cruising but they'll age very quickly. Sanding down the gelcoat and repainting won't solve the problem so you just have to get used to a boat with crazed topsides.

I did hear that they had the certification for the EU Recreational Craft Directive withdrawn but can't find a reference to confirm this.

Cheers

Two

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Mr B

I did come across one very shonky practice in the hulls,

Instead of a single full lenght peice of timber for the hull stiffener, It had 3 peices in it to make the full distance wrapped in a fibreglass box, and made out of soft pine,

I know this, because I have the floor and hulls cut completely out of my boat to repair it to full Australian survey, And I am not impressed with it,


Cheers,
Brian,

Not good.

[Jane.Joy]

The OP has bought his boat and it is neither a Gemini nor a Maine Cat. He bought an old Catalac 12 m. I have been following his blog for a while now and it's dang funny. Sounds like he's too busy (or maybe w/o internet) to get back to the forum to update the thread, but here is the blog post that recounts his purchase and first few weeks of boat ownership - lhttp://2gringos.blogspot.com/2012_05_01_archive.html

Worth a look, if you need a laugh -

[Factor]

He doesnt post here any more.

[Dulcesuenos]

I think he made a great choice! great read also!

[SuenosAzules]

LOL.. liked the blog.. I lived and sailed on a Gemin 105mc for years. I am very partial to them for many reasons. I actually have a article on my website about my experieince living and traveling aboard my Gemini. It is at SuenosAzules dot com. Click on "Living Aboard" in the Navigation Panel on my website if you would like to read it.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by twohapence

Hi

I did hear that they had the certification for the EU Recreational Craft Directive withdrawn but can't find a reference to confirm this.

Cheers

Two

The story I heard was they weren't selling enough in the EU to bother with the paperwork as you had to go thru it annually plus any time you made any updates. In addition, they had to make some changes to comply with the rules.

I've done a little research on it as we are looking at taking our older gemini across (it's a non-issue for us) and the EU certification is mostly design theory as opposed to construction reviews, so it likely doesn't mean much of anything.