Have A Question For Catamaran Owners

[zeehag]

do all cats have a stainless steel cable across the bows from ama to ama??
the one that ran over a friend last evenin gdoes,and it caused much damage to a steelie belonging to a friend--the CRASH was described as an earthquake, as his entire cockpit as destroyed by this steel cable. it took out the binnacle, radar, gps, davits, everything in the steelie's aft cockpit.
YES. HIT BOAT HAD MANY MANY MANY LIGHTS just so this would not happen...
some gringos dont know how to drive boats--this one driving catamaran was drongk--on drugs and drink--declared the accident(HA!) to be fault of anchored boat with sleeping owner--he awoke thinking earthquake--and want to cockpit to find he doesnt have any means of propulsion nor navigation. this absolutely sukks--
what other reason is there for having a stainless cable across a huge expanse of bows other than commit damages to others. i do believe there will be a cat owner headed for mexican prison today. he drove into an anchored boat at 5 kts without stopping or slowing. did much damage to a steelie at anchor.

i know most of you guys drive with responsibility and manners----this was a nocturnal drunken idjit with a damage creator on bows to back up his drunken driving. i also know it was not any of you nice gentlemanly folks.

[colemj]

Most catamarans have a compression crossbeam connecting the hulls. The purpose is structural and necessary - preventing the hulls from ripping themselves away from each other and giving the forestay something to tension against.

This beam is usually either aluminum (like a mast section) or a composite of some type (fiberglass, wood/epoxy, carbon/epoxy, etc). It cannot be wire. I have never seen a stainless beam, and that material would be a poor choice for a crossbeam.

Some catamarans also have a loose wire bridle across the bows to mount a spinnaker on. This wire would/could do no damage in a collision.

Describing a crossbeam as a "damage creator" while owning a boat with a large bow sprit and dolphin striker is hypocritical.

Mark

[ozskipper]

What is Ama to ama? If you mean bow to bow under the forward beam yes, its not unusual if this is the type of thing you mean.
http://www.yachtandboat.com.au/asset...tana-42-01.jpg
http://www.yachtandboat.com.au/asset...tana-42-01.jpg

Just like the spreaders on a mast its used to distribute loads and prevent the beam from undue bending.

[zeehag]

dolphin strikers do not allow folks to drive up and over boats at anchor to damage them.
that stainless steel CABLE running across the forward part of the bows serves no other purpose than to allow drunk drivers to commit acts of absolute damage to the boats they drive over in an anchorage--despite bright lights.
this is not a bridle. this is not a cross member. this is a STAINLESS STEEL CABLE running from forward pointy end of one ama to forward pointy end of other ama forward of everything.

the driver of the cat involved in this incident--i cannot call it an accident--was seemingly deliberate--he was driving under engine power in darkness into and over the top of a steel boat's cockpit--that steelie was lit up like christmas tree just so this would not happen.
i see jail time in mexico for the cat owner.....it was a russ purduck type incident--where the cat was powered by a drunk into and over the boat he was unable to see due to bright anchor lighting.....

mebbe some cat drivers need to get new eyeballs and stop drinking while driving over other boats....now--tell me--when these cables ar abused by running over another boat, does any damage occur to the catamaran???? seems the donkey driving the cat did a classic hit and run deal.....

[colemj]

Those wires in the pic are not bow to bow under the forward beam - they are guying the bowsprit which supports a furler/gennaker. In a collision, the sprit would do any damage and not the wires (which are actually spectra line on that Catana pic).

Mark

[colemj]

If it was indeed a steel cable stretched tight across the bows, then I have never seen one and cannot guess as to its purpose.

However, I seriously doubt the designed purpose was solely "to allow drunk drivers to commit acts of absolute damage to the boats they drive over in an anchorage--despite bright lights"

I have seen bow sprits hole boats and severely damage cockpits and cabin houses.

The problem is not with a designed structure on any type of boat, it is a problem with the nut behind the wheel - which is an agnostic issue.

Mark

[Cotemar]

zeehag,

You are blaming this accident on the Catamaran design "WRONG". It was the drunken captain not the cat that was the problem.

Now to get the definition correct.
Dolphin Strikers goes down
Seagull Striker goes up

Most large cats have a seagull striker going up, so the cable makes it a strong beam to support the gib sail forces

[zeehag]

colemj--EXACTLY--but the damage was wrought by a stainless stel able strung between bows ont he catamaran--straight across.
on my friend's stern rail was a 6 hp outboard--now sits in the main saloon. his binnacle is toast. his steering is damaged beyond use. all these items damaged are at the level of the stainless steel cable strung between bows of the amas.
i have not seen this on the other cats i have seen around me--is why i ask if this is a regular bit on a cat or is it something the owner added as he cannot drive except over other boats.....

i know isnt the boats fault--is the damnably drunk and disorderly donkey who drove said cat over the steelie.....at 5 kts....(i wonder if mexican law allows for ownership of cat by the victim of the crime...)

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

zeehag,

You are blaming this accident on the Catamaran design "WRONG". It was the drunken captain not the cat that was the problem.

Now to get the definition correct.
Dolphin Strikers goes down
Seagull Striker goes up

Most large cats have a seagull striker going up, so the cable makes it a strong beam to support the gib sail forces

You beat me to it.

Zee, the boat has nothing to do with the drunk driving it.

I've always known the "up" brace as a pelican striker.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by zeehag

colemj--EXACTLY--but the damage was wrought by a stainless stel able strung between bows ont he catamaran--straight across.
on my friend's stern rail was a 6 hp outboard--now sits in the main saloon. his binnacle is toast. his steering is damaged beyond use. all these items damaged are at the level of the stainless steel cable strung between bows of the amas.
i have not seen this on the other cats i have seen around me--is why i ask if this is a regular bit on a cat or is it something the owner added as he cannot drive except over other boats.....

Cats have hulls, trimarans have amas.

But if you want a real explanation of this wire, post a picture

[Cotemar]

I think what zeehag is trying to say is that it was a cat like this with cables used to support the bowsprit that did the damage. Some use SS cable some use Spectra or Amsteel.

[Sailmonkey]

It almost matches her description, but pole wires don't go hull to hull continuously.

Are there any designs that might not have a compression tube between the bows, but still string a wire for the trampoline?

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

It almost matches her description, but pole wires don't go hull to hull continuously.

Are there any designs that might not have a compression tube between the bows, but still string a wire for the trampoline?

Yes, many designs do that, but the tramp wire is by necessity aft of the compression beam.

Other designs have a more solid foredeck with vestigial bow points and use a wire bridle across the bows to mount the forestay/furler. But this type of bridle is required by physics to look like the mirror image of that holding down the bow sprit in the photo above. It cannot be a straight wire attached across the bows.

I'm with zeehag - the owner added it specifically and purposefully to hunt down boats at night while drunk.

Mark

[zeehag]

the victim in this damage fest is at port capt and i have learned where the cat lives. hopefully this donkey will be dealt with in a n appropriate manner and donkey send time in prison here in mexico--there is injury involved.

guys--thankyou for your input--is good to know he didnt place the item for damage creation-- i learned where the boat is being kept, and is in place--we shall see what happens, as his boat is just by the nuevo vallarta port capt, and the victim is right near the la cruz port capt--could be an interesting interaction, and both drunk driver hit and run guy and victim could end up in jail for a month or so just waiting.

[clockwork orange]

I owned a Macgregor 36 cat that had such a cable, it was about 3 or 4ft forward of the forward crossbeam and was there to support the forward net, i dont think a mac 36 was the culprit though,way too light and low slung, i expect that cable would run into the transom or backstay and the cat would just bounce back. I cant say ive seen this cable settup on other cats. Trust me Zee, there are drunken a holes driving all kinds of boats and imagine the damage that would be caused by the bowsprit and bobstay of a big heavy tank like yours

Steve.