Help me find the right boat - 45'ish performance cruising cat

[Dave_S]

I have a huge wish list, but I understand that you can't have everything so here are the things that I hope to find.

Fast in light winds
Suitable for travel - East Coast, Kimberley's, and Pacific Islands
Light
Dagger Boards
Outboard motors
Swing up rudders
Galley up
Can beach it
2 heads
2 showers

So far I've come up with Schionning and not much else but my wife doesn't like the look of them much. I'd like to say her view is way down on the list and I'm not scared of her but her super power is that she can smell fear.

[belizesailor]

Budget?

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Budget?

It depends on how much of my wish list gets filled. I am comfortable somewhere in the $300's but that doesn't exclude more expensive boats if they are a really good deal.

[lindabarzini]

What do you think of Catana or St. Francis? Why do you want outboard motors?

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by lindabarzini

What do you think of Catana or St. Francis? Why do you want outboard motors?

Thanks

I've had one look for Catana's based on another thread I found here but when I looked they were over budget but that maybe just my timing - there weren't many listed.

I'll have a look at St. Francis now.

I like the outboards for a few reasons.
I can pull them right up out of the way for speed and clearance
I can replace them cheaply-ish
They are pretty fuel efficient now
I hate diesel smell
Use the same fuel as the tender

[tp12]

Might be able to do a Grainger

[AD28]

Schionning would be the first choice. They're gorgeous...

there's a guy on these fora with an Oram design

Barramundi ticks some of the boxes

Outremer ticks some of the boxes

Crowther ticks some of the boxes


Actually, there aren't many newer boats that will tick your boxes. Older models have more of the features you describe, odd as that might seem. With your budget you could get an older boat and modify to your liking

Performance in light airs depends on your ability to keep the boat light...
With pretty much any boat, you get any two of three things: cost - performance - comfort

[Slainte1]

Shuttleworth but they are rare

[David Mark]

I see you are from Australia , We have a Seawind 1160 in California USA easy to sail with two as you get bigger you need more crew , Our boat was made in Australia so would think there are a few down under .

[Factor]

Oram 44. Job Done.

[Phantom v]

Have a look at the Stealth Designs on the Asia Catamarans website, they are designed for cruising in the tropics, they tick pretty much all of your boxes & can be built in a racer/cruiser or more live aboard version. They have been built in 11.8, 13 & 14 metre versions & Alan has a few different layouts available.

[tp12]

Originally Posted by Factor

Oram 44. Job Done.

The only problem there, as far as I'm aware, is that Bob has retired and closed his business. You can no longer buy plans to build them.

They would have otherwise come into reckoning for me; great boat.

Exceedingly rare as a used buy

[LTDsailing]

Not to dissuade you from your ideal boat - but whenever I think about beaching a cat, I always think about how much bottom paint I would be grinding off on the sand...

If you were to expand your search to boats that really aren't meant to be beached - you open things up a lot.

[44'cruisingcat]

It's surprising how little bottom paint you do lose. You really don't see any difference between the bottom and the rest of the hulls. We do put an extra coat on the very bottom, like you tend to do on all the wear spots, round the waterline bows etc, but really we haven't noticed losing significant extra amounts of antifoul.


I guess people whose boats are drying out on every tide for months on end would see significant wear though.


But the ability to dry out expands the available anchorages, and some of them are spectacular.

[knockabout]

most marina's have cats for sail use the phone book/sounds like you need a granger/or x racing owner built with plastic bucket and 2 ltr milk bottle with holes in the lid (Head and shower)fill the bottles with water sit in the sun/ wen at the perfect temp hold above and soap up/save 1/2 for rinsing off/need 2 buckets with wide soft on backside rims/place 1 bucket/milk bottle shower in each hull along with sea rug sleeping bags stormy pfd's Gerry cans full of 2 stroke esky's full of necessities/no joker valves/no water pumps/no power drain of fridge freezer/