Hello cat sea keeping ability

[ozzy]

hi I am a new forum member so please bear with me. I am thinkign about buying a cat to live on and be our home. Cats have plenty of space and are a stable platform so i think will make an ideal home but what i want to know is what are they like in heavy seas and high winds. I won't go looking for bad weather but would like to feel safe come a blow. We live in the UK and seem to see a lot of boats for sale in the Caribbean and other warm places does anyone out there sail/live in rougher/colder seas.
Thanks

[simonmd]

Welcome to the forum!

This has been discussed a few times and they all vary with design. A cat' can be just as good as a mono, if not better. The main thing to consider is the height of the bridgdeck (the area between the hulls where the main saloon normaly is). Too low and you will get constant 'slamming' in high seas. The rule here tends to be that you should be able to motor your dingy between the hulls and only have to duck your head.

[44'cruisingcat]

It gets fairly windy even in warm places. Like 200mph plus...

TYPHOON AND WEATHER IMAGERY: TROPICAL CYCLONE YASI 11P SUMMARY 2011

[boatman61]

Most boats for sale there started out quite possibly from colder waters/climes and stayed there by the owners choice or broken dreams.... sailing back to Europe is a slog for many folks... after the desolation/boredon of a downwind ARC crossing the thought of beating north puts many off so its either get a delivery skipper or sell... most sell... those that can afford it will have them shipped.
The deals down there are great.. if your staying down there... but factor in bringing/getting them back and VAT if they're not EU boats is the killer.
But in the UK.... Cats are superb liveaboards... just budget for marina dues....

[barnakiel]

A multi can be as good or bad as a mono. Cats have sailed to everywhere and at all times of the year.

You will have no problem, just chose the right design and know how to sail it and you will be fine.

My only negative comment is that most cruising cats sail very poorly to windward - or too slow, or at too wide an angle, or in a most uncomfortable manner. I have sailed some that sail to windward well though - e.g. a Catana (47', with daggerboards).

From the deck of a small mono, I can assure you that in an anchorage a cat IS the thing to have - esp. if any rolly anchorages planned in your voyage.

b.

[ozzy]

Thanks for the replies I guess I want the best of both worlds. That is to have a comfortable place to live and a boat that will sail, that is something strong and reliable. What I would like to do first is to crew on a cat first perhaps that might help in my education. There are plenty of estuarys in this part of the world and a mooring that dries out would keep the costs down a bit. Thaks for repling so quickly its good to see an active forum.

[44'cruisingcat]

[PUP] Multihulls in the deep blue

[thinwater]

Not to be rude, but...

The search function will bring up dozens of long threads on many subjects. Why ask before you have done your basic homework? Forums are better for specific questions that are hard to find answers for and discussion from new directions.

[simonmd]

Originally Posted by ozzy

Thanks for the replies I guess I want the best of both worlds. That is to have a comfortable place to live and a boat that will sail, that is something strong and reliable. What I would like to do first is to crew on a cat first perhaps that might help in my education. There are plenty of estuarys in this part of the world and a mooring that dries out would keep the costs down a bit. Thaks for repling so quickly its good to see an active forum.

That's the point, you CAN have the best of both worlds with a decent cruising cat. A monohull needs to be at least a third longer to have the same interior space and cruisers don't worry to much about speed either.

I'm currently in the market for a decent long term cruiser and have done quite a bit of research on the subject. If money was no object, i'd deffinately choose a cat'. And there is the rub, money. They tend to be more expensive than similar sized monohulls and are also more costly with marina fees. However, their stable nature means that they are much more comfortable on the hook so that shouldn't be so much of a problem.

[ozzy]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Not to be rude, but...

The search function will bring up dozens of long threads on many subjects. Why ask before you have done your basic homework? Forums are better for specific questions that are hard to find answers for and discussion from new directions.

Thanks thats ok I will be looking at past forum posts and doing my homework, i am a good boy. Sometimes on formus it is hard to find what you are looking for, and seeing i am new here i was not to sure how active the forum is, thanks again for all your replies are much appreciated.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by simonmd

That's the point, you CAN have the best of both worlds with a decent cruising cat. A monohull needs to be at least a third longer to have the same interior space and cruisers don't worry to much about speed either. That depends on what kind of interior spaces you want and the design of the cat. Speed IS an issue for many cruisers...even a half knot is a big deal at the end of the day.

I'm currently in the market for a decent long term cruiser and have done quite a bit of research on the subject. If money was no object, i'd deffinately choose a cat'. And there is the rub, money. They tend to be more expensive than similar sized monohulls and are also more costly with marina fees. However, their stable nature means that they are much more comfortable on the hook so that shouldn't be so much of a problem.

How and where you anchor can eliminate much of the motion of a mono...but generally I would say that a Cat is a very nice, stable platform at anchor...which is some of the reason their motion in bad weather can be uncomfortable...always the good versus the bad.

[simonmd]

Originally Posted by ozzy

Thanks thats ok I will be looking at past forum posts and doing my homework, i am a good boy. Sometimes on formus it is hard to find what you are looking for, and seeing i am new here i was not to sure how active the forum is, thanks again for all your replies are much appreciated.

Keep asking the questions ozzy, sure this subject has been covered before but it's always good to get a fresh perspective. The answers here may raise optiones or new opinions / experience that wern't in a previous thread.

Originally Posted by psneeld

Speed IS an issue for many cruisers

If that's the case, why do ANY cruisers get a cat? Simple fact is that a large cruising cat going up wind, will be MUCH slower than a similar sized mono. My original point was ment to say that if you're a cruiser, you're not racing anywhere. If what you say was true, then all cruisers would be tooling around in stripped out Bene' First 30's or something like that, not big, heavy cruising boats.

Sure, some may like to get there quicker than some, that's why they'd buy a modern fin keel design as opposed to a full keel ketch for example but on the whole, a few knots either way is not going to be high on the list for a cruiser.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by simonmd

Keep asking the questions ozzy, sure this subject has been covered before but it's always good to get a fresh perspective. The answers here may raise optiones or new opinions / experience that wern't in a previous thread.


If that's the case, why do ANY cruisers get a cat? Simple fact is that a large cruising cat going up wind, will be MUCH slower than a similar sized mono. My original point was ment to say that if you're a cruiser, you're not racing anywhere. If what you say was true, then all cruisers would be tooling around in stripped out Bene' First 30's or something like that, not big, heavy cruising boats.

Sure, some may like to get there quicker than some, that's why they'd buy a modern fin keel design as opposed to a full keel ketch for example but on the whole, a few knots either way is not going to be high on the list for a cruiser.

Choose to agree to disagree...a few knots is huge....remember more than "some cruisers" are not hard core, $500/month bugeted, small, slow and no amenity types. Their thinking is to get out of dodge quickly when weather, schedules or governments dictate...there is a pretty good segment of cruisers that do have schedules to meet...even liveaboards. And speed can be a function of direction...a true cruiser can often head in any direction to get out of harms way or because of scheduling.

I was just staying away from stereotypes for the OP and giving out all sides of the liveaboard issue. One single requirement for a cruiser can wipe out a huge segment of boat designs.

But I do understand your general point as I also chose slower in favor of other vessel attributes.

[Sand crab]

Minor disagreement. Generally the daggerboard cats will point as high or really close to their mono cousins. Even a keel cat can sometimes reach a destination quicker by bearing off and traveling a longer distance but at higher sppeeds. This is VMG, velocity made good. Maybe in light air not so much. I'm basically quoting Gregor Tarjans book and also my limited experiance. Just my 2 cents worth.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by simonmd

If that's the case, why do ANY cruisers get a cat? Simple fact is that a large cruising cat going up wind, will be MUCH slower than a similar sized mono. My original point was ment to say that if you're a cruiser, you're not racing anywhere. If what you say was true, then all cruisers would be tooling around in stripped out Bene' First 30's or something like that, not big, heavy cruising boats.

Sure, some may like to get there quicker than some, that's why they'd buy a modern fin keel design as opposed to a full keel ketch for example but on the whole, a few knots either way is not going to be high on the list for a cruiser.

Are you kidding? Speed is one of the advantages multihulls have. True some production cats don't sail to windward all that well, but most cats are MUCH faster than all but out and out racing mono's on anything from a close reach down.

And then there are the non-production dagger board cats, which not only reach and run well but also go to windward.

Yesterday we were sailing upwind, next to a Farr 40 which is participating in their world championships. In light breeze, less than 10 knots, we were giving NOTHING away. They looked to be pointing a couple of degrees higher, but didn't make any ground on us. I'm guessing they had more leeway.

A few knots more breeze and we'd have blown their doorhandles off.

I'm a liveaboard cruiser but speed IS important to me, not so much outright speed, but the ability to keep sailing when the wind is light. I dislike motoring.