Performance Cat makers?

[jdazey]

Originally Posted by arsenelupiga

so, you accepted to take little food, little diesel, little alcohol, etc, etc for reward of fast passaging...

Looking at the action of boats out there in open ocean, Eric Lerouge designs and build quality win my vote.

Gunboat and other recent entrants have not been field tested enough to trust them. Testing boat in flat water and boasting with numbers should not qualify as test except if you want to use boat for whale watching or snokelling tours

You're doing well, but you forgot to mention that performance cats flip more often than hamburger patties at McDonald's. I must be doing something wrong because ours is still upright despite my best efforts


Cheers,

[Sos]

Originally Posted by boatingnewbie

Thanks for the suggestions. I saw that review video from Yachting World of that Rapier 550. Interesting boat for sure.

One thing I noticed in the video (in 2 videos of it sailing, actually) is that you could hear massive creaking of the boat construction non-stop. That would drive me crazy (and others too that posted in the comments). I wonder if that was just because it was probably hull #1 of that boat and they hadn't yet worked all of that out?

If you want to cruise at 15 knots you are going to have to put up with more noise then a bit of creaking! You will also have to have a good method of slowing down....

[fivecapes]

TS42

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnSIbPK92Dk

SIG45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=7FBxlKpVAgs

[lizardofoz]

Originally Posted by boatingnewbie

Please list any performance cat builders that you know of...

Seems like Gunboat and HH are two popular 'very high-end' builders.

I believe Catana and Outremer are in the next pricing tier.

I recently stumbled upon companies like SeaWind and Balance.

Others?

Mumby Alloy cats fast
Catana overweight and not fast
Autremer fast
De Fredis fast.
McConaghy fast
HH copy of Nigel Irens Gunboat fast
Original Gunboat fast.
Seawind maybe their 52 footer but not the smaller models

[jpmesa]

Check out Maine Cat, not as high end as the others mentioned. They are very well built. There are several places where you can rent them.

[jojolimited]

Originally Posted by arsenelupiga

reality is that performance cats are coastal cruisers at best.

Overload it and I am going to be faster and will ruin your weekend.

So, if you buy one, do not do ocean passage

People are known to starve on such cats trying to cross oceans.

have nice day

Someone forgot to tell La Vagabond that the Outremer wasn't for crossing oceans.

[jojolimited]

Originally Posted by lizardofoz

Mumby Alloy cats fast
Catana overweight and not fast
Autremer fast
De Fredis fast.
McConaghy fast
HH copy of Nigel Irens Gunboat fast
Original Gunboat fast.
Seawind maybe their 52 footer but not the smaller models

This myth seems to keep a life of its own. It's not true, HH hulls are original designs. The only thing in common with Gunboat is they are both carbon fiber. I've been on both, they are not the same boat.

[Catmandu]

The one thing that WAS in common between the HH and the gunboat 60's were that they were built at the same location ...

[Zarih]

Originally Posted by LeeV

Xquisite https://xquisiteyachts.com/

The Knysna is also a performance catamaran I believe. Both stunning

[onthehook17]

I own and am currently in the build process of HH55 #3 named Ticket to Ride which will be delivered in Dec 2019. We sold our FP Helia and went through a similar lengthy evaluation process of performance cats and feel very confident in our decision to buy an HH55. My wife and I plan to circumnavigate.
There is nothing copied between the Gunboat 60s and the HH catamarans. The HH catamarans are beautifully finished, M&M designed, carbon fiber daggerboard cruising or racing catamarans. We wanted a boat to cruise the oceans that would roll off 250 mile days routinely. Just my opinion, but I feel that a performance boat over 50 feet intended for ocean voyaging should be made in carbon and have daggerboards.
You are welcome to visit our Wordpress Blog, search Ticket to Ride.

[yeloya]

I might have missed if already mentioned; Eric Lerouge 64 (altready in our boat yard) and Alibi 54 which is expected to come next week. I'll sail both of them and tell you if thye are really as fast as thye are supposed to be.


Meanwhile, "fast cruising" doesn't exist if we agree on what is "fast" and what is "cruising". For me cruising is having my wine sitting on table at 30 kts of wind, not to have trim every second on a more forgiving boat. If you are on one of the boats mentioned here, you'd better have one hand on the mainsail sheet and watch out every second. You may not necessarily go turtle as some people are telling if you don't do that but if you don't trim properly you don't really enjoy the boat. These boats are extremely sensible to proper trim. And for me this is racing mode, not cruising.
Outremer and Catana are one of the few cats that are "relatively" fast, they offer "relatively" good volumes/payloads whilst you don't have to worry too much when the wind picks up to high 20's or low 30's or when you are hit by a sudden gusts.


Cheers


Yeloya

[44'cruisingcat]

We had 4 days of 35 - 48 knots, could still put our coffee on the table. (We don't drink alcohol on passage.)

The often overlooked reality is that with an easily driven boat you can carry less sail. In those conditions we had a couple of square metres of headsail out and were sailing at 6 knots with no effort whatsoever.

On heavier boats the loads are much higher.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by onthehook17

I own and am currently in the build process of HH55 #3 named Ticket to Ride which will be delivered in Dec 2019. We sold our FP Helia and went through a similar lengthy evaluation process of performance cats and feel very confident in our decision to buy an HH55. My wife and I plan to circumnavigate.
There is nothing copied between the Gunboat 60s and the HH catamarans. The HH catamarans are beautifully finished, M&M designed, carbon fiber daggerboard cruising or racing catamarans. We wanted a boat to cruise the oceans that would roll off 250 mile days routinely. Just my opinion, but I feel that a performance boat over 50 feet intended for ocean voyaging should be made in carbon and have daggerboards.
You are welcome to visit our Wordpress Blog, search Ticket to Ride.

Enjoy, you lucky bugger!

[Bill Gibbs]

"performance" isn't a subjective term. It can be calculated. Guesses from displacement, sail area, and waterline will be close. I race my Schionning GF1400 regularly and rate -38 sec/mile. A local Lagoon 42 rates +96. I have to be over 2 minutes a mile faster to beat him. I have a performance cat, he does not. We have a Lagoon 450 rating +129. Outremer 55 @ +62. Gunboat 62 @ -54. Turbo'd Gunboat 66 @ -94. Cross 42 @ +155. Moorings 4300 @ +120. Weight in racing condition is a big factor, these Gunboats have been emptied of non-essentials.
Performance boats are more likely to capsize and need a vigilant crew.
You need wind to sail fast. I can exceed wind speed, but slower boats do not.
Doing Tortola to Los Angeles we did cruise at 14+ knots a lot, when there was wind. Baja Bash was mostly motoring at 6-7 knots.
My cruising buddy and coach swears anything over 10 knots boat speed is not "cruising". These comments are proportional to boat size, but I get his point.

[jalfrezi]

Dazcats. Multi marine. Milbrook Cornwall.
Brilliant pieces of kit well made and because of the devaluation of the pound very good value Gareth Thomas