Jumping Ship - From a Mono to a Cat

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

You've lost me...

Divisive = Coming on here after a good night out and typing faster than I can safely think...
Often wonder how many on here think over a post for ages before replying... a talent I'm lacking..
As for the 'Boat Slut' bit... its like when I was a biker... 50cc to 1300cc it did not matter... as long as I was riding...
aint whatcha got its how you use it that counts...

[atoll]

all i can say about production cats is you need to constantly go round with a can of wd40 to stop all the squeeks and creeks in a seaway........fast but noisy get plenty of ear plugs if you don't wanna wake up with everyconstant bang,squeek,creek......

[clockwork orange]

If you go for it, please pay attention to keeping it LIGHT,if you do you will have a good performing boat,ignore this advice and you will have a dog, not a cat. I sailed with a friend on an older Catana 48(i think it was a lengthened version of a 44?) It was a Crowther design and should have been a good performer, it was not. Apparently it had been raced extensivly in the Med and then my friend got hold of it and americanised it with 4 staterooms,1000amps of batteries and everything required to use them,a big rib with 15hp,battery tanks and on and on and on. We sailed it to the Bahamas and to me it was a disapointment in the sailing department. If you have to rebuild the interior you have a great opportunity to do it right.
Steve.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

If you go for it, please pay attention to keeping it LIGHT,if you do you will have a good performing boat,ignore this advice and you will have a dog, not a cat. I sailed with a friend on an older Catana 48(i think it was a lengthened version of a 44?) It was a Crowther design and should have been a good performer, it was not. Apparently it had been raced extensivly in the Med and then my friend got hold of it and americanised it with 4 staterooms,1000amps of batteries and everything required to use them,a big rib with 15hp,battery tanks and on and on and on. We sailed it to the Bahamas and to me it was a disapointment in the sailing department. If you have to rebuild the interior you have a great opportunity to do it right.
Steve.

too true,good advice,unless you want a caravan that never leaves the dock

[Pete7]

Why not take a holiday and charter one before you stick two years of effort into a style of boat you may not like.

Or it just may confirm that a cat is the best thing to sliced bread and therefore the work will be worth all the effort

Pete

[imagine2frolic]

The boat is large enough that loading it down will be difficult. They have their minuses like every boat out there. They also have their pluses which some boats will never have, and that includes multis.

It's only my wife & I. I would never go back to a mono unless I was going to do the Southern Ocean, or I was financially forced to down scale. Still I could find plenty of monos to keep me smiling. The idea is to get out there. Even if it's day sailing. Sailing the world is not for everyone. Make yourself happy, and if you think a cat will do it. Then enjoy, and have a wonderful time.......i2f

[SaucySailoress]

Seems a bit daft getting a bigger boat, just to have to keep it light, though... What else would you do with all that extra space.

HWMO wants it cos it'll be big enough to keep his Hobie 16 on the deck. I said "No way, if we're taking a beach cat it's gonna be a Dart 18."

But seriously, the whole point would be so we could have enough space to take a RIB as well as the opti with oars as a tender... and with more space we'd be able to carry bigger oxygen cylinders so we could mix better Nitrox for the Rebreathers etc... Perhaps pick up paying passengers / students and earn a bit as we go.

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

It's only my wife & I. I would never go back to a mono unless I was going to do the Southern Ocean, or I was financially forced to down scale .......i2f

Why wuld you ever go there anyway? I hear it's quite cold down there...

[Palarran]

My opinion is to skip it. If the boat is truly only a hull, mast, and boom, it will cost more to refit it then purchase one already ready to go. Unless the boat is free and sitting at a dock right next to you.

[mark_morwood]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

If you go for it, please pay attention to keeping it LIGHT,if you do you will have a good performing boat,ignore this advice and you will have a dog, not a cat. I sailed with a friend on an older Catana 48(i think it was a lengthened version of a 44?) It was a Crowther design and should have been a good performer, it was not. Apparently it had been raced extensivly in the Med and then my friend got hold of it and americanised it with 4 staterooms,1000amps of batteries and everything required to use them,a big rib with 15hp,battery tanks and on and on and on. We sailed it to the Bahamas and to me it was a disapointment in the sailing department. If you have to rebuild the interior you have a great opportunity to do it right.
Steve.

Was that "Merlin"? If so she is the boat we bought. I took 1000lbs of "stuff" off her in the first year we had her, and I continue though not at quite such a pace. Definitely agree with watching the weight. It also obviously depends on the hull design. I think the later Catanas were designed to carry more weight than the 48.

With respect to the original posters question, I would say go for it. It sounds like you have already decided. Once that happens going back is hard. I'm not claiming that catamarans are perfect, but we certainly have never regretted shifting from a mono to a cat.

Mark.

[mark_morwood]

If you're seriously looking at a Catana, there is a Catana specific group hosted on yahoo you may want to join. Lots of Catana owners as well as people looking. You can find lots of very good feedback on particular Catanas in addition to the more general multi-hull info here.

CatanaCats : Catana Catamaran Owners & wanta be's

Mark.

[SaucySailoress]

Not decided yet. Haven't seen hull yet, and would need to ship her up through Saudi... or perhaps she's solid enough to sail up. Actually, if she's solid enough to buy, she's solid enough to sail up - if we don't mind camping and picnicing for a few days... although I would be a little sad having to rough it, cos I've just made brand new, super thick cushions for our foreberth...

Just trying to get as much info as poss before seeing her. Thanks for link, Mark.

I know I'm gonna sound ditzy, but I do think the view is always better from a mono... On cats you need to stand on tiptoe to see what's in front

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

..................I'm afraid the monohull proponents just don't seem to have the same highly honed debating skills as the cat owners!

Well, golly....gee....I do like my boat with one hull! There is that size, weight, movement, performance question and, as I understand it the cats have twice as many hulls. So, there you go!

[markpierce]

Traitor! No marble/granite galley counter for you.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

No. I'm afraid the monohull proponents just don't seem to have the same highly honed debating skills as the cat owners!

Sadly true….we just don’t seem to have that same bi-polar satisfaction for substituting a trust in flotsam over structural integrity when dynamic forces become extreme....