Good names in cats

[Talbot]

have you re-distributed some weight yet and tried it?

[Tropic Cat]

not yet...but am working on it. See my PM

Rick

[gosstyla]

Will

I believe your impression that anything under about 40ft will not be appropriate for offshore is correct - for a few reasons.

[Tropic Cat]

Considering hobby horsing and bridge deck clearance, I would say >40 feet is better.

[Talbot]

At one point a few years ago the boat with most numbers engaged in a round the world trip from UK was a 27 ft cat - the Heavenly Twins.

The Prout 31, 34, 35 , 37 and 38 have all done round the world trips with no problems. Once you start getting above 40ft sailhandling becomes more difficult, berthing more expensive, and all riging sails repairs considerably more expensive, so for 2 people why would you bother.

Bridgedeck clearance is not just a case of height of bridgedeck from the sea level, but is also very much a design issue where the shape of the curvature of the join between bridgedeck and hull is vitally important to minimise slamming.
There are other issues which reflect on the chosen boat, for example fuel and water stowage, and capability to carry cruising loads (the biggest difference between the Prout Snowgoose, and the Snowgoose Elite)

[will n]

Rick- That's not good news, that actually my first choice of location as I have lots of family and friends there. But then again I certainly couldn't complain about Peurto Rico or San Digo. I think I would prefer Puerto Rico, however, but know nothing about marinas - how much it costs ext. It's on the north side of the island; if anyone knows anything about the area I'd love to hear about it.

Kevin - My cat needs is very own cabin and holds his own at trimming sails. Therefore anything less than 50 ft for his luggage just wouldn't do...

I will have to go look at PDQ's and Prout's in person here in the near future do get a real good look. I've only been on a few cat's in my life, so I need to remember that a 36 foot cat is much larger that a 36 foot mono.

Gosstyla and Rickm505- What are those reasons you mention, it seems that you all are not in the majority, so I'd love to hear your opinions.

Talbot - I agree that above 40 would certainly be much more to handle, I am of the mindset that smaller tends to be better, as long as safety is not compromised.

[Talbot]

The smaller the cat, the higher the possibility in a short steep sea, that the cat will "hobby-horse". This is where it rocks bow down stern up and vice versa. In those short steep seas, this can get to the point where if you are trying to motor, it is actually impossible to get over the top of a wave, cause as the bow comes down, it tends to push the boat back down the wave. Normally all that happens is it robs all the speed from the boat.

As I have already said, this normally happens on smaller boats, and the catalac is particularly prone to this due to their underwater shape. The more modern underwater design and low aspect ratio keels of newer boats help to minimise this. Furthermore, it tends to be a problem close to shore where the shallow water causes the seas to be steeper and shorter, and is not so much a problem in the open ocean.

I have seen monos with long keels misbehave in the same way!

[will n]

What in your opinion constitutes a size where this begins to go away, or better yet a design. As you said it is alot about the underbody, many are saying that the Prout 37 and 38 is a great design, but others say that you must having something larger than 40. Of course those boats are just about 40 feet so maybe there isn't much different.

As I've said I've been a leaner my whole life, so I'm just starting to learn and understand our double hulled brothers. And really falling in love.

Fair winds,

Will

[Moby Dick]

Broadblue 385 - www.broadblue.com

[will n]

I also meant to say that cat's with outboards make me nervous, I don't want gasoline on my boat, at least not much of it. And I would feel much better about buying diesel around the world.

And I think it's the snowgoose, that has one diesel...interesting. In the middle too?

[Tropic Cat]

Hobbyhorse is a term coined to describe motion while heading into wind/waves with close wave sets. We have this type of wave (4-5 second wave period) in our part of the world. A short boat is constantly in motion bow to stern and it can get uncomfortable. A larger boat is long enough to start up a wave when the stern is still on the last one. The motion is still there but it's not as extreme.

Talbot covered bridge decks very nicely. I might add that newer cats sit higher off the water and do very well at minimizing slamming (catching a wave under the bridge deck).

I have a list of Melbourne area marinas. If you like I can send it your way. You never know, you might get lucky.

Rick in Florida

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by will n

And I think it's the snowgoose, that has one diesel...interesting. In the middle too?

I am of the mind set that ..wide boat... two engines

Rick in Florida

[Tropic Cat]

Brevard County list of marinas ... not updated

http://www.brevardparks.com/bcmac/marinas_a_c.htm

Rick in Florida

[Jeannius]

Originally Posted by rickm505

I am of the mind set that ..wide boat... two engines

Rick in Florida

One or two engines was always an option. Many have two.

Some with only one come with a leg that rotates through 360 degrees making them -supposedly- reasonably manouverable.

Others will have an hydraulic drive system. I've tried one of those and it worked reasonably well except for during docking (just when you need it most). The one I tried... As soon as you shifted one prop into neutral, the other took all the drive and went twice as fast!. Probably OK once you get used to it.

[Talbot]

and some have a diesel outboard! - like me! A lot of Prouts of various sizes up to the snowgoose elite, have a single diesel inboard driving a silette sonic leg. It does make manoeuvring more difficult, but you can fit a single bow thruster to recover the ability to manoeuvre. It does provide other benefits such as no drag when sailing! and an ability to easily access the prop if you accidently run over a crab line.

I am not sure that there is ever a length that eliminates hobbyhorsing, but it is a feature of distance between wave peaks as much as underwater shape. The more rounded the boat is shaped underwater from forward to aft, the more susceptible to this problem, and that is primarily older designs. Catalac is particularly prone, but given the right wave conditions, any boat will do it. the solution is to either alter course slightly or to motor sail.