Recommendations for bluewater cruisers under 30 ft

[jSchooley]

Looking for advice on under 30' singlehanded multihulls capable of passage making.

Many thanks in advance,

[Don C L]

OK, I don't have a multihull, and the only ones I have sailed are Hobie Cats, but I have always lusted after the 35' version of this 30' Newick design, so I will be curious to see what the multihullers out there say (and to see if my own affections are misplaced!) Good luck in your search!
BTW this one was built by these folks:
Multihulls — Damian McLaughlin

[Arthurwg]

Wharram Tiki 30, if you can tolerate the minimal accommodations.

[Mr B]

Try a Gemini 105MC after the 2002 model,
Its 34 foot, but is very easy to sail single handed,
Mine is in Australia, Sailed across the Pacific,
Many crossed the Atlantic to live in England,

[jdazey]

More information would be helpful: what kind of "passages", budget, lifestyle? How rigid is the 30' requirement? Some promising boats are around 31-33'. Keep in mind that people used to make long passages in small multis, but that's not the current fashion. I had a Piver AA31 that was capable enough.


Catamarans:
Catalac
Heavenly Twins
Wharram (already mentioned)
Maybe some of the older Prouts


Tris:
Piver Nimble
Cross 28
Dragonfly 28
Some Crowthers
Marples Seaclipper 28
Telstar
Horstman 27-9



If you can go to 31', you can consider Newick Vals, Brown 31s, a bunch of others. I think most, if not all, of the above-mentioned have made ocean passages. Whether or not that was a good idea is another question.


Cheers,

[Training Wheels]

If I were single, I’d do a Corsair 31. A little bigger, a Contour 34.

[jSchooley]

Gemini 105MC was on the list, but the pri$e tag is up there. I was thinking about a modest purchase to last about 5 years and than upgrade to larger vessel if needed.

[jSchooley]

Great ideas. Thank you. I have to work for another 7 years so weekend cruising + summer sails up and down east coast. After that live aboard all the way ...

The 30' marker is what I supposed is a delimiter between $$$$ and $$

[jdazey]

With 7 years of coastal cruising ahead of you, I'd second (or third) the suggestion of a Corsair if you can afford one. That would probably be the best combination of performance and accommodation as well as being trailerable. You will probably find that over 7 years your tastes as well as your budget will change.


Good luck with your search,

[mikereed100]

To be honest, for "bluewater" cruising I think a monohull makes more sense in that size range. The cruising payload for a 30' multihull will be quite small in comparison with a similar sized monohull.

[Sand crab]

Maine Cat 30 but it will be over $100K. Gemini started out as a 30' and the 3000 and the 3200 (32') series are pretty affordable now. I consider them more of a coastal cruiser but I think they will be fine for you.
If you go just a little bigger then you can get a Seawind 1000 which is a really decent boat and has crossed oceans so I guess it would be considered a blue water cruiser. These are 33' and around $100K or more.

[boatman61]

A Prout Sirocco is fully capable for what you want..
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/sirocco-26-prout

[Jerry Woodward]

Don't forget the PDQ 32, especially the LRC with 2 Yanmar 2GM20Fs, shaft drive and skeg protected rudders. She has a very protected and dry cockpit, high bridge deck clearance and is built extremely well. I have further outfitted mine for blue water with high output alternator, more solar, watermaker, N2K system with upgraded autopilot, AIS and radar. I have no doubt she is now very blue water capable.

[owly]

Probably the best option in terms of stability, sufficient beam, good payload and adequate living space, etc at under 30'... would be the home built Kohler KD 860. It would also be the easiest to build, all flat sheet plywood & epoxy glass sheathing hull construction. It has good bridge deck clearance to avoid pounding, low windage... needless to say there is not standing head room in the bridge deck saloon, which is a sacrifice you must make to avoid pounding due to low clearance, and still be able to sail close to the wind in light wind conditions. 1200 kg (2640 lbs) payload is far above everything else in that size range, and in fact the commercially built boats do not even list a payload. Unfortunately these simply do not exist in the used market. Boats like the Gemini and Iroquois are in my opinion too narrow beamed for blue water voyaging, and the Gemini is decked almost all the way to the bow, which is not a good thing, and is no longer done on serious blue water catamarans. The Oceanic 30 is a good roomy cat with enough beam...at least 50% of LOA, but again it carries the bridge deck all the way forward. These have been sailed safely across oceans. One family took one of these around the horn (Children of Cape Horn by Rosie Swale ). https://www.amazon.com/Children-Cape.../dp/0236177133



I'm looking at the same thing more or less. I began by looking at monohulls, and realized that I would not be satisfied with a monohull..... I don't want to spend my time living on my ear as they say, or to spend days or weeks rolling rail to rail while sailing downwind. These are as much safety issues as comfort issues, especially when sailing solo. I looked at trimarans, and the load capacity was pathetic... at best 1500 lbs for a 30 footer, and while that may sound like a lot, it isn't when you start looking at what you need to have aboard for a passage...and or to live aboard. Catamarans can offer as much as double what I trimaran can carry.... unless they are garbaged up with lots of modern conveniences. A catamran with a nice bridge deck cabin with panoramic view means that you can keep a decent watch in foul weather with minimal exposure time. Again that is a safety issue, as cold and fatigue greatly effect your performance, coordination, etc. You will sleep best on a cat, and one should not discount cooking safety...... a scald burn is no trivial thing.

My favorite catamaran does not seem to exist, though among the factory built cats, the 32' Fontaine Pajot Maldives comes very very close. The ideal for me would be a 30' version of the Kohler KD 860, but with Richard Woods Sagitta cabin on it, but I'd want it built in foam sandwich, and with a bridge deck level chine outboard to increase galley volume & counter space.



I to have a 30' criteria I would like to meet. Unfortunately boats in this size range are heavily performance oriented, rather than being designed for load carrying, and this is a mixed blessing......... the bridge deck begins well aft as it should, and they tend to have about 18' of beam for stability. Narrow hulls for speed, reduce displacement per inch of submersion, and they tend to be heavily canvassed for speed. "Normal" live aboard voyagers want something beginning at about 38', and on up from there.... and demand standing headroom everywhere.... The Maldives 32 has less than standing headroom in the bridge deck cabin, but has a pop top along the aft wall..... a reasonable compromise IMHO. There are a fair number of older cats in this size range other than these, such as the Catalac 8M, the Americat 30 and endeavor cat 30, and the Prout Quest 30. Used Wharrams are fairly common and relatively inexpensive, but with the open deck and life in a veritable culvert, really aren't suitable for people who want reasonable comfort.. even minimal, on a long trip.... but they are said to be seaworthy, small wharrams having crossed big oceans. Here is a listing of small cats for sale:
https://www.sailboatlistings.com/cgi...atching+Boats+


Below are some more listings...



H.W.


KD860page
Sagitta catamaran by Woods Designs
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/oceanic-30
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/gemini-313000
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/iroquois-30-mkii

[Arthurwg]

Originally Posted by Don C L

OK, I don't have a multihull, and the only ones I have sailed are Hobie Cats, but I have always lusted after the 35' version of this 30' Newick design, so I will be curious to see what the multihullers out there say (and to see if my own affections are misplaced!) Good luck in your search!
BTW this one was built by these folks:
Multihulls — Damian McLaughlin

There's what appears to be a really nice 38 ft. Newick Echo II listed on Yachtworld. Not exactly cheap at $150,000 asking. Years ago I had a chance to buy Newick's race winning Rouge Wave, asking $90,000. Fabulous boat, but that was a great deal of money for me at the time.