The Cons of Owning a Catamaran

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by minaret

Close. I think a better analogy would be someone who lives in a plastic McMansion that was built quick in a gated neighborhood and wont last 50 years saying that to someone who lives in a beautiful little stone cottage by the sea thats been there for 200 years.

I think the better analogy is Model T Ford Vs 5 Series BMW
I'll have the newer, more modern more efficient vehicle any day thanks.

[Notpopeye]

Originally Posted by Highland Fling

... start by saying they have little to no knowledge of multihulls then pontificate on why a multihull is better and comes out with rubbish like "in a boat pretty much capsize safe " I am old enough to remember when every week there was 'another' cat upside down.........now things are much better BUT come on how can you start a post with i know nothing - then write that!!!!!

Posters posed the question, "What is my motive for starting the thread?" This attempts to answer that question.
And as little as I know, surely you cannot suggest that a monohull is less likely to sustain a knock-down or capsize than a multihull in like conditions.
The advantages as I outlined them are what I see. Not seeing cons other than the obvious, I posed the question that started this thread.

[Highland Fling]

Originally Posted by Ram

yea I remember I flipped my first cat about 199 times- A Prindle 18 ft cat- and thats been 35 years ago-

Well i have done about everything you can do with a Dart 18 flipped to windward leeward and pitch-poled it a few times BUT i was thinking of cruising cats first generation home built plywood cruising cats then the odd R McD cat Iroquois Cherokee and Apache - way back then masthead floats became the norm

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by Notpopeye

And as little as I know, surely you cannot suggest that a monohull is less likely to sustain a knock-down or capsize than a multihull in like conditions.

Certainly you can. The design of the boats is very different. A mono designed for heavy weather will right itself under conditions that a cat won't. Catamarans are reefed for the gusts whereas monohulls are reefed for the sustained winds.

The boats are sailed differently. It's no great revelation.

[Highland Fling]

Originally Posted by Notpopeye

Posters posed the question, "What is my motive for starting the thread?" This attempts to answer that question.
And as little as I know, surely you cannot suggest that a monohull is less likely to sustain a knock-down or capsize than a multihull in like conditions.
The advantages as I outlined them are what I see. Not seeing cons other than the obvious, I posed the question that started this thread.

NASTY....I have absolutely no problems with your motive or thread but your post was like i said just pissing into the wind never a good idea

You wrote - And as little as I know, surely you cannot suggest that a monohull is less likely to sustain a knock-down or capsize than a multihull in like conditions............

Actually i do - so take your own advice and read slowly and carefully

In a squall a monohull will look after you it is self tending it will heel over and probably round up till equilibrium is met.............in a Cat you had better be ON THE BALL (read below to see how even an experienced multihull owner got caught out) or you will be UPSIDE down in a flash

DONT believe me of course read here..............

Press Chris White Designs High Performance Cruising Catamarans

Read ALL OF IT from a Multihill expert and designer - Yes a 57 foot cat flipped and a monhull would have had an interesting moment or two no doubt about that but it would have kept on sailing once the squall was past. If you come here to learn then dont post silly suggestions slagging off others...........also go do some real reading - get a copy of the multihull bible The Cruising Multihull by Chris White

Amazon.com: The Cruising Multihull (9780070698680): Chris White: Books

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by malbert73

No doubt, your cat is a really nice one (I think you posted some pics on another thread). I wonder if a custom built cat using higher tech material than plain FRP like yours has inherent advantages over mainstream production cats. In particular when it comes to performance, your daggerboards seem the way to go, but it seems few production cats have them until you get high end. It would seem these are necessary for good upwind performance, right?

Where is your helm station? I always liked the Atlantic/Gunboat forward/inside helm station. If I were to design my own cat, I'd have a forward steering cockpit with an aft mounted wheel attached to a long axle/hub that goes into main cabin to another wheel- that way you could steer inside or out using the same steering system.

When I sailed aboard charter cats, and climbed all over a bunch at the boat show">Annapolis boat show, many had the bulkhead steering station so I felt like I was peering over a wall, and couldn't see the sails. Others had the flybridge, which felt very exposed and isolated, not to mention the high boom.

Found a pic where the helms can be seen:

100 6642 - Cruisers & Sailing Photo Gallery

They are right next to the headsail sheet winches, about 2 metres from the mainsheet, forward of the rear beam, so quite safe, and SEMI-sheltered by the cockpit roof.

[Mr B]

My Paper Tiger has a mast head float,

Why, Because it has a 20 foot mainsail,

Its over powered to buggery and pitch poles nearly every time I take it out,
Its pure fun,
Nothing better than being flicked into the air as its bow digs in and over you go,

20 foot main on a 14 foot boat, Paper Tiger,

The Gemini has a 12 metre mast on a 10 metre boat, so It wont pitch pole,

Cats have come along way in 35 years, so have Mono's.

They are both good vessels, It just differs what you want to use the different vessels for and personal preferences,

I personally prefer Multihulls as they do what I want it to do,

Very early cats did have a lot of problems, That was more the hull design than any thing else,

Over powered and very skinny hulls, No wonder they flipped, Racing ones are even worse,
Their built for speed, and very little else,
You cant live or cruise on a racing cat, There's nothing off them,

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Highland Fling

NASTY....I have absolutely no problems with your motive or thread but your post was like i said just pissing into the wind never a good idea

You wrote - And as little as I know, surely you cannot suggest that a monohull is less likely to sustain a knock-down or capsize than a multihull in like conditions............

Actually i do - so take your own advice and read slowly and carefully

In a squall a monohull will look after you it is self tending it will heel over and probably round up till equilibrium is met.............in a Cat you had better be ON THE BALL (read below to see how even an experienced multihull owner got caught out) or you will be UPSIDE down in a flash

DONT believe me of course read here..............

Press Chris White Designs High Performance Cruising Catamarans

Read ALL OF IT from a Multihill expert and designer - Yes a 57 foot cat flipped and a monhull would have had an interesting moment or two no doubt about that but it would have kept on sailing once the squall was past. If you come here to learn then dont post silly suggestions slagging off others...........also go do some real reading - get a copy of the multihull bible The Cruising Multihull by Chris White

Amazon.com: The Cruising Multihull (9780070698680): Chris White: Books

It does say "HIGH PERFORMANCE cruisng catamarans" though. Implicit in that is the requirement for a competent crew - as it would be on a high performance monohull. The real fast mono's need attentive crews in heavy weather also.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Mr B

You cant live or cruise on a racing cat, There's nothing off them,

Depends. The big racing multi's are incredibly fast, not many motor boats or even ships could keep up with them, yet they keep crews of several sailors fed, watered and rested for more than a month.

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by Highland Fling

NASTY....I have absolutely no problems with your motive or thread but your post was like i said just pissing into the wind never a good idea

You wrote - And as little as I know, surely you cannot suggest that a monohull is less likely to sustain a knock-down or capsize than a multihull in like conditions............

Actually i do - so take your own advice and read slowly and carefully

In a squall a monohull will look after you it is self tending it will heel over and probably round up till equilibrium is met.............in a Cat you had better be ON THE BALL (read below to see how even an experienced multihull owner got caught out) or you will be UPSIDE down in a flash

DONT believe me of course read here..............

Press Chris White Designs High Performance Cruising Catamarans

Read ALL OF IT from a Multihill expert and designer - Yes a 57 foot cat flipped and a monhull would have had an interesting moment or two no doubt about that but it would have kept on sailing once the squall was past. If you come here to learn then dont post silly suggestions slagging off others...........also go do some real reading - get a copy of the multihull bible The Cruising Multihull by Chris White

Amazon.com: The Cruising Multihull (9780070698680): Chris White: Books

Good post, thanks.

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by Mr B

My Paper Tiger has a mast head float,

Why, Because it has a 20 foot mainsail,

Its over powered to buggery and pitch poles nearly every time I take it out,
Its pure fun,
Nothing better than being flicked into the air as its bow digs in and over you go,

I sailed sunfish as a teenager and I'm sure I spent as much time in the water as in the hull.

When I see a cat pitch pole I do wonder about the danger of getting the noggin smacked a good one? You do make it sound like fun.

[Highland Fling]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

It does say "HIGH PERFORMANCE cruisng catamarans" though. Implicit in that is the requirement for a competent crew - as it would be on a high performance monohull. The real fast mono's need attentive crews in heavy weather also.

Your interpretation your opinion but not one i agree with.

I would suggest it means NOT a CONDOMARAN - excuse the bad language

A catamaran that actually sails 'and fast' not just a load of marketing hype that gets tagged onto every production cat.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

How about you explain why so many monohullers feel the need to come to the MULTIHULL FORUM to tell us how much better their boats are than ours?

I hate to tell ya but, this is the CRUISERS FORUM, not the multihull or monohull forum. Start a forum for multis only if thats what you want and then you can tell us all to slag off.

[44'cruisingcat]

A catamaran that actually sails faster than all but absolute racing monohulls (and probably faster than quite a few of them) might be a more accurate description.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Depends. The big racing multi's are incredibly fast, not many motor boats or even ships could keep up with them, yet they keep crews of several sailors fed, watered and rested for more than a month.

But comfort is not one of the requirements in a racing boat,
Your on there to win a race, Nothing else.
So you put up with the discomfort,

Any thing that is not essential to winning on the boat is left on the wharfe,

How many cruising cats, Race, And I dont mean up the bay for a few miles.

They also dont stop for sundowners or a visit to that nice beach for a couple of weeks,