Mono vs Multi!

[Redreuben]

Originally Posted by downunder

If I am right the Crowther he is looking at is a great project. Some projects are just well worth it.

Maybe it is, especially in the right hands.

I was being general, any marine "field of broken dreams" has ample evidence. You know it.

That 44C took it personally is not my problem.

[dennisail]

Red, you are probably right in the majority of cases and I actually agree. IF it goes ahead, I hope it will not apply in this case! The prob is many people start with something that is never going to be worth anything no matter what, and costs spiral out of control on a boat with negative value. Armed with this knowledge I hope I can make sensible decision.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Redreuben

Maybe it is, especially in the right hands.

I was being general, any marine "field of broken dreams" has ample evidence. You know it.

That 44C took it personally is not my problem.

I don't know what your problem is, but I certainly didn't take anything personally. I just wondered how you could know a deal was so bad without knowing a single thing about it. Thought you must have some kind of special intellect/insight. But obviously not.

[dennisail]

Some people are just angry, and the internet is a convenient and anonymous way to let of steam.

[RKsailsolo]

Well, it looks like we are done with this one. Time to find better use of my time.

[sealubber]

Originally Posted by ROBCMC

Im new to the forum and considering changing from a mono to multihull.
Have coastal cruised in my Jeanneau's, 34Sunrise and them my SO40.
Loved the SO40, awesome boat under sail, however comfort for family at anchor, space and stability need to be considered, as we will to spend much more time around the Barrier reef, have me considering a cat, (with my wifes assistance)
While the smaller Fountaine Pajot and Lagoons are to her liking I would like something that will push to windward (dagger boards etc) and have better speed running before the wind.
Schionning 1030/Prescott Whitehaven?
Would love to hear any owners of the above mentioned boats thoughts.
Would like to keep around the 35-38 foot size.

I am an absolute till death a large vessel aft cockpit monohull guy. I also was the Professional Captain for several years of a 96ft Cat that made extended passages. My reason for sticking to my personal preference has nothing to do with my experience running this vessel in a negative way. But it did influence my decision not to switch over.

I loved sailing this Yacht, she was fast roomy and a joy to entertain on. No monohull will ever compare to most Cats unless you're in the market for a Perini Navi.

I sailed her in heavy weather and we took her around the horn so I'll not argue stability when operated with care. (You don't point cats under strenuous sailing conditions and you don't reef them in really dire situations.) You take down all the canvas when in really rough weather. And motor along. If you have no engines you give minimal sail area and let the waves control your direction. (not the wind like in a monohull)

Cats are a joyful fun grand boat to sail and I'd have one if they were not so ugly! The only reason I will not own a cat is ascetically I could not feel good putting my money into any multi hull vessel.

The other reason is when I was at work I had to listen to all the monohull guys making backhanded comments. Like must be nice having two slips or I hope you don't hit a system in that thing etc...

That is really my only beef with them. there are down sides such as the cost of docking and yes they are less stable in insane weather than monohulls. If you flip a cruising cat you're kinda an idiot for going out in those conditions to begin with (experience wise) and those are very harsh winds and waves to boot. I dipped the spreaders in this 96 footer with the owner aboard and after stared at the Po box for a week waiting for a pink slip. That was the last time I pushed the boat.

It is unnecessary these days to see weather cats can't handle with all the technology we have now. We rounded the Horn in this beatrice via the roaring 40's and yes it was rough. But how rare is that? Only reason I got to hit that passage is because the owner had the money to pay a crew to take him around. Most people will not see these types of things even if they crossed several ponds a few times.

It is very important for a monohull guy to get trained when moving to a cat. Especially if you plan to do anything serious with her.

I have a wife and kids nowadays but I will say the girls do like the cats over the monohull. They are cooler looking boats to the dirt dwellers. And honestly they are more fun to have guest and parties on.

[robert sailor]

My experience on Cats is limited to sailing on a 45 foot performance cat with dagger boards that could actually sail fast and upwind so I came away with a good impression however the current bunch of popular cats are butt ugly and don't sail all that well but while they are ugly from the outside they sure are pretty from the inside!

[sealubber]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

My experience on Cats is limited to sailing on a 45 foot performance cat with dagger boards that could actually sail fast and upwind so I came away with a good impression however the current bunch of popular cats are butt ugly and don't sail all that well but while they are ugly from the outside they sure are pretty from the inside!

Nice post that is absolutely accurate based on your described experiance.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by sealubber

The other reason is when I was at work I had to listen to all the monohull guys making backhanded comments. Like must be nice having two slips or I hope you don't hit a system in that thing etc...

IMO the ONLY downside to owning a cat. Putting up with dumb comments from ignorant monohull owners. "You can't sail to windward, it'll flip first time you hit bad weather, blah blah blah..."

Why do they feel they MUST say this? I don't immediately bring up rolling, heeling, sinking, broaching, or all the other nasty habits mono's have.
So what's their problem?

[robert sailor]

Probably all the pent up jealousy from living in a dark cave watching you guys with your 500lb dinks.

[Redreuben]

Dumb comments from the ignorant.
That's probably what racism feels like.

[robert sailor]

Thought the average Aussi had a sense of humor

[StuM]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Thought the average Aussi had a sense of humor

Fifty percent of them are below average. You're bound to run into them half the time.

[Sailing fast]

What are we talking about again? Mono vs multi right.

The wife and I entertained a fixed budget experiment.

Same money, mono vs cat. We were at the boat show so the dollars were high to get sufficient cat options. Besides the lack of open areas on board (the family requirement) the other thing that stood out was the "shoal depth options". Cruising in the Bahamas, much more than a 6 ft draft ( probably more like 5) would seem to be a worry. Especially with a skinny fin keel. New boas are not the full keel "run agrounds" of yesterday year.

The best case given that fact IMO was a retractable keel mono like the southerly. But that was crazy expensive and really confining on board with the room for the keel.

Having spent time on a few boats (FP Athena, tartan and beneteau 40-45) I can say I much prefer the "feel of a mono" for sailing responsiveness, and predictability of the motion, I can e finitely appreciate the uprightness of a cat. Your abs will get a work out out in the Gulf Stream, but you can at least compensate with a hot bowl of soup, or a full blow meal (IMO of course)

At the end of our hypothetical, fixed price, purchase we would choose a cat over a mono to give ourselves, and our kids room without being on top of each other. The separateness of the hulls and togetherness of the salon outweighs my need for a tiller. I am torn on the safety factor, but in today's weather prediction and routing, caution can mitigate substantial ( not all) weather related risk. Plus I hate the thought of running aground in a pointy fin keel boat.

I might also throw out the topic of cost of ownership including resale since cost isn't all based on initial outlay. Complex I know, but of serious interest to me for realistic purchases.

[StuM]

> What are we talking about again? Mono vs multi right.

Actually, no. It was a poor choice of Subject Header:

The OP said:
Im new to the forum and considering changing from a mono to multihull.
...
While the smaller Fountaine Pajot and Lagoons are to her liking I would like something that will push to windward (dagger boards etc) and have better speed running before the wind.
Schionning 1030/Prescott Whitehaven?
Would love to hear any owners of the above mentioned boats thoughts.