The Cons of Owning a Catamaran

[AllezCat]

hey OP,
I did not read all the posts, but I would caution that crossing an ocean does not necessarily deem a vessel a "Blue Water Cruiser" . Some bloke crossed the atlantic in a rubber duck: Alain Bombard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I would suggest at certain budgets a mono would be far better - and with shoal draft or perhaps retractable keels - it can have some of the cat advantages. In shore different story...

[colemj]

Originally Posted by smj

I wonder which would.be more comfortable and faster on a trade wind circumnavigation, a Sundeer 64 or a Outremer 64. I would guess the Outremer would be faster. I'm sure the Outremer would be more comfortable.

If they were CRUISING on a trade wind circumnavigation, then both boats would finish it at the same speed. As would a Morgan Out Island 28 and a Pearson 23 and Wally 65 and a Waterline 1480 and a ...

They may be separated by a few minutes or a couple hours during the last inter-island hop, but I doubt any of them would notice.

Mark

[David M]

Envious "dog" owners?

There are cat people and there are dog people...and they don't always get along.

[Notpopeye]

I think they get along, but the dog owners just feel superior.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by SearenitySail

Notpopeye,

That is pretty much the idea! There is a saying out there somewhere that goes something like this -- "buy the boat for what you can do with it now, not what you plan to do with it in the future."

Who really knows what the future holds?

Marshall

That's Bankable. I wish I had, had that advice years ago.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

That's Bankable. I wish I had, had that advice years ago.

Years ago you would not have listened !

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by Notpopeye

after reading and studying, I believe that the theory of
get the smallest boat that will fit your needs' approach. Every extra foot of boat means greater maintenance cost, slip fees, marina fees, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a bigger boat. I think you mentioned that you wanted a newer boat, but in your price range that will limit you to a much smaller cat. There is nothing wrong with a small cat, but I think you may be on the wrong track with a Gemini. The 39" of clearance is a misunderstanding. The best I have seen was about 6". Most will slap at anchor. Your needs may be different, but if I were looking for a long-range cruiser in the lower price ranges I would be checking out Wharrams, Woods, Searunners and the like.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

OK, now things are getting interesting. I agree that for a more relaxed passage, the fact a mono will de-power on its own makes bunk time less stressful, and this is what I tried to say in my first post, for a passage to be fast and comfortable short handed, the mono has it in spades. If there is such a thing as an "average" cruiser, then maybe 15% of the time is passage making, while the other 85% is grooving on the hook, and that is where the cat is a comfortable choice. A mono can't give you more room or less rolling at anchor. But a cat, if sailed conservatively on a passage (shortened sail), not as fast, but still safe and will get you there at some time frame behind the mono. Once there for that 85% typical time frame, I'll take the cat.

The multihull mantra: reef early, reef for the gusts.

If you reef you will still be fast. You'd be surprised.

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by Notpopeye

The manufacturer sent me a brochure which lists the bridgedeck clearance (at the bow) at 39 inches.

The draft is from 18 inches to over 5 feet with the centerboard down.

The displacement is 9800 lbs and the beam is 14 feet as stated by Mike.

I have read that a bridgedeck clearance of between 2 1/2 and 4 feet is good so 39 inches surely must be adequate. And while the displacement is light, this 9800 is without fuel, water, stores, etc.

Again, my knowledge is below poor so I merely list the specs above so everyone knows my consideration.

Lastly, I am looking to spend around $120,000 or so and I have seen a few Gemini 105Mc's close to that range that are relatively new boats. And because I do not want an older boat that looks ratty, I would prefer a newer boat and with price being a factor, the Gemini seems like a good fit.

That 39" clearance at the bow is meaningless, you need to take a walk around some haulout yards with a tape measure and look at the clearance at the LOWEST point, the 105 i measured had 4" under what must be berth flats in the tunnel to the top of the bottom paint, now im sure that the waterline may have been raised, but people generally do that because the boat floats lower in the water than its supposed to, usually due to filling up all that loverly storage space. The earlier Geminis had more clearance. Make no mistake,low bridgedeck clearance is miserable, a friend of mine has a Telstar trimaran with low clearance under the berth flats and it is horrible, i know,i slept their on a trip from the panhandle to Key West. Other than that i like the Geminis for the reasons others have pointed out. Dont get hung up on the 105, a 3200 in good shape would be a nice boat. One thing i should point out is that the interior of a gemini is pretty much as cave like as a monohull, when you are sitting at the settee the windows are way out there.
Steve.

[td1]

Notpopeye- another con is cargo weight capacity. While a cat may have more volume to store stuff in, they typically can not carry nearly as much weight as a similar size mono without a serious reduction in speed and maybe safety. I think it comes down to cost- if you can afford a well designed and built cat around 40+ feet, that's a great choice and has many advantages over monos (and some disadvantages too). If you don't have +- $250k, in my opinion you'll probably be better off with a mono that fits your budget.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by td1

Notpopeye- another con is cargo weight capacity. While a cat may have more volume to store stuff in, they typically can not carry nearly as much weight as a similar size mono without a serious reduction in speed and maybe safety. I think it comes down to cost- if you can afford a well designed and built cat around 40+ feet, that's a great choice and has many advantages over monos (and some disadvantages too). If you don't have +- $250k, in my opinion you'll probably be better off with a mono that fits your budget.

If you can't afford a big cat then you should buy a dog. I don't get it...

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by terminalcitygrl

Can you hove to in a cat?

Absolutley. See extended discussion here on CF at http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...n-70306-6.html.

[smj]

Originally Posted by colemj

If they were CRUISING on a trade wind circumnavigation, then both boats would finish it at the same speed. As would a Morgan Out Island 28 and a Pearson 23 and Wally 65 and a Waterline 1480 and a ...

They may be separated by a few minutes or a couple hours during the last inter-island hop, but I doubt any of them would notice.

Mark

I was thinkimg more along the lines of an ocean crossing. May be a big difference there.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by markpierce

The Ark is more my style.

Is that a Lagoon in the background? - awesome bridgedeck clearance .

[bairdag]

Originally Posted by Jeannius

Wow that is impressive. Can you remember what sort of apparent wind angle you were at in the 2nd video? That jib seems to work well!!

45 degrees True. You can see it on the instruments. 16kts in 20 kts breeze. Reefed. Able to have a hot shower or cook a meal.

If cruising in relaxed mode we would have put in a 2nd or 3rd reef but this only requires a crew of 2 to make these kind of speeds safely. If you are unhappy you can easily power down.

This was in flat water. In a sea we would race about 12, maybe more and cruise about 8-10.