Jumping Ship - From a Mono to a Cat

[bstreep]

From a dedicated mono guy who had a not-so-good experience chartering a cat:

If you LIKE cats - AND you've had some experience with them, why not.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

The other little thing was the spinnaker. For some reason the Thais put red tape on one leech, and blue on the other. All our other spinnakers have red and green tapes, and we assumed this was how they came...

Was it an asymmetric spinnaker? You'd only put red and green tapes on a symmetric chute. Red and green would never make sense on an a-kite, however, because you have a definite luff and leech.

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by Bash

Was it an asymmetric spinnaker? You'd only put red and green tapes on a symmetric chute. Red and green would never make sense on an a-kite, however, because you have a definite luff and leech.

Nope, it's symmetric, we don't use asymmetric ones. So the red/green isn't even important - but we just had no idea where the blue came from!!!

[44'cruisingcat]

If you're getting the Catana at the right price, go for it. But be prepared for it to take a long time and a lot of money to fit it out. A 47 foot cat is MUCH more boat than a 40 foot mono.

Everybody here seems to be talking about the different motion at sea, yet the reality is you'll spend the vast majority of your time at anchor. And that is where cats absolutely RULE.

[SaucySailoress]

Hmmm... doesn't look like it'll happen, but we'll go take a look anyway. My brother-in-law had said that his brother-in-law was keen to get rid of this hull which is taking up the yard. However, having spoken to the brother-in-law-in-law today, it sounds like he doesn't need the space after all, and is thinking of doing it up himself anyway. SO crossed wires

Never mind, I've never met the BILIL, and it's been a long long time since HWMO has seen him, so we'll go visit, play golf, and get back to the remaining 18% of the work we need to finish on the monohull..... and wait for the next great deal to come up (pref one that doesn't involve so much work!

And you know what - it was bad timing anyway - I mean, I started making the new cushions last week with the fabric we saw and bought 8 years ago for our dream boat... and now I started, I gotta finish!

[NYCSavage]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

There are problems though:[*]There's noone in Kuwait who'd want to buy our boat.

That will be all that sand that is putting people off!

I know i'd take her if I lived there (and could afford it lol)

[Bash]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

Nope, it's symmetric, we don't use asymmetric ones. So the red/green isn't even important - but we just had no idea where the blue came from!!!

Interesting. Someone must have been confused in the Thailand loft. Or maybe they ran out of red/green tape?

[SaucySailoress]

The jury's still out.

Pros:

1. Much bigger
2. Can beach it
3. Stabler in heavy weather

Cons:

1. F***ing expensive
2. F***ing huge
3. F***ing expensive
4. The pirates (and touts) will think we're F***ing rich
5. It's a F***ing lot of work
6. It would take at least 6 months to get it legal, and this is the Middle East where these things can either go remarkably smoothly, or can kill ya
7. It would need to to work for another year at least to pay for it
8. It'll cause loads of rows when the work doesn't go fast enough to suit madam here
9. I don't like the cockpits on cats... Even though they are huge, they totally block your view
   

SO, we're just waiting for HWMO to accept that it isn't the right project for now...

On the bright side, it's given us the kick we need to get back to that last 15% that we're down to on our mono now!!!

[Eleven]

Go take a serious look and plan your interior with a local chippy.
If you get agreement with Bro all the better, he'll drive the chippy and you can sort out who buys it afterwards. (No commitment just yet).
The only problem I see is the mast isn't at the bulkhead and neither are the helm positions but you'll be doing most of your sailing by autohelm. If you don't fancy that add hydraulic rudder control with a wheel where you want it in the cockpit with a wheel inside too for those cold AND wet days.
In the meantime if you can't get the last bits done on the wobbly boat you shouldn't be considering doing the interior of a cat!!! - Now there's a challenge to get you going.

[Talbot]

It always amuses me that whenever someone starts a thread on cats, the first people to offer advice are always mono owners. Mostly with "why not" as their message.

Motion in a cat underway is different from a mono / some like it, some don't.

Some boats creek, some don't / cats are no different (mine doesnt)

long distance cruising contains a LOT of downwind sailing, you would have to be brain dead to think that a mono is more comfortable on this point of sail.

Weight in a cat is the enemy / it is directly inversely proportional to performance but some designs are built to carry weight, and some are designed for speed.

The important concept for a catamaran is that you can have two of the following>

performance
cost
cruising comforts

Where the catamaran has problems is in finding haul out facilities, and the cost of alongside berths.

Where it is at its best is the comfort at anchor. If there is a party in the anchorage you can bet that the cat is the boat of choice.

If it is your intention to re-fit the interior yourself, then this is where you will need to change the methods you used in your previous boats, as a home build tends to add significant weight. The cost of getting lighter weight building material may be a deal killer.

That granite cook top is a no-no

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by Eleven

In the meantime if you can't get the last bits done on the wobbly boat you shouldn't be considering doing the interior of a cat!!! - Now there's a challenge to get you going.

You should know better...

The final jobs:
- Upholstery: didn't wanna do that till all the mucky work done.
- Leecloths: ditto.
- Compressor: didn't wanna do that for as long as possible cos it'll affect the racing.
- Generator: ditto.
- Watermaker: ditto
- Water heater for shower: hmmm....
- Waterproofing Hatches: ongoing project, not sure it'll ever be done

I never said we can't get it done - I said we need to get it done!

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by Talbot

Where it is at its best is the comfort at anchor. If there is a party in the anchorage you can bet that the cat is the boat of choice.

Thats it then - no cat for us. I lost all my social skills somewhere between 37 and 38.

[44'cruisingcat]

What the heck are leecloths?

[boatman61]

They stop you falling outa bed....

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

What the heck are leecloths?

Now I feel really stupid. I could spend hundreds of thousands and lordy knows how much time rebuilding this catamaran - but I'd save myself an absolute fortune in leecloths. Duh. Where's the sand, let me go bury my head...

PS - Boatman, he only doesn't know what lee cloths are, cos he's a cat sailor... not really his fault, see!