The Reason People Are Moving Away From Monohulls

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

Zeehag's got a cat.

It would be difficult for anyone on the multihull forum to not know that.

However you may have noticed there's also cat' with an apostrophe. As the diminutive of catamaran.

We have a cat'. We also have a cat. The cat has lived his whole life on the cat'. He's getting used to the constant capsizes. Doesn't even notice them.

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

The mono's that were abandoned were rolled repeatedly, and dismasted. One sank. It doesn't sound to me like they were abandoned prematurely.

There is no way to reach your conclusion reliably from the cited facts. They may have been abandoned prematurely. Basically, this is because we do not know if some or all rolls or the loss of the masts were because they had been abandoned or if they were abandoned because they had rolled or lost their mast. Even having this information is not necessarily determinative. Most monos, except at the design extreme, are self righting, with or without mast. Sunk ones, and inverted cats, not so much.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Sandero

Boats as "classes" are neither safe or unsafe... more safe of less safe.

Safety at sea is menu of many factors... including how the boat is rigged, canvased and so on. I suppose if you look at some races where boats were lost... such as the Fastnet... how would you account for the fact that some vessels foundered in those conditions and others did not?

I wouldn't make a statement that cats are "as safe" or less safe or more safe than monos. Insurance actuarial data will not tell the story.

As an aside... which naval architect design both monos and cats?

Lidgard for one design's both cat and mono. One of his monos was lost in the storm.

Lavarnos, Du Toit, Bill Dixon, Dudey Dix, Simonis voogd, Phil Southwell and I am sure if I searched many others would show up.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by GTom

That's interesting, why? I thought it was the height of the mast, regardless of hull shape.

Yes, why? Last year in Bali there was an electrical storm, out of all the boats only three reported damage ie wind instuments etc, they were all cats, and there were boats with taller masts! Anyone know the answer?

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

It would be difficult for anyone on the multihull forum to not know that.

However you may have noticed there's also cat' with an apostrophe. As the diminutive of catamaran.

We have a cat'. We also have a cat. The cat has lived his whole life on the cat'. He's getting used to the constant capsizes. Doesn't even notice them.

OMG, this warrants a major clarification that will apply to all of my posts in this thread: I am a cat person, but not a cat' person, although I am sure most, if not all, cat people, and probably cat' people too, determined the difference by context.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by buzzstar

There is no way to reach your conclusion reliably from the cited facts. They may have been abandoned prematurely. Basically, this is because we do not know if some or all rolls or the loss of the masts were because they had been abandoned or if they were abandoned because they had rolled or lost their mast. Even having this information is not necessarily determinative. Most monos, except at the design extreme, are self righting, with or without mast. Sunk ones, and inverted cats, not so much.

Actually we do know. The mono's rolled and were dismasted before they issued their mayday calls. And after losing their rigs were rolled repeatedly. (They may have been rolled again after they were abandoned, but so what?)


There's a very strong likelihood that a boat that has been dismasted and rolled repeatedly will have suffered damage to it's steering and engine. So very likely these boats were dead in the water. (And IMO less habitable than an inverted catamaran.)


There seems to be a common belief in this forum that a mono can be rolled through 360' and will just pop back up and keep sailing. Doesn't happen in real life. In real life a sailing boat that rolls through 360' almost always suffers severe damage, and the crew frequently are injured too.

[daletournier]

Personally the number one safety feature imo that a cat has is its harder to fall off. I believe this is probably the greatest cruising danger, mob. I had some very bad weather last year and it really got me thinking about this aspect.
Also engine redundancy is a big plus .

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Personally the number one safety feature imo that a cat has is its harder to fall off. I believe this is probably the greatest cruising danger, mob. I had some very bad weather last year and it really got me thinking about this aspect.
Also engine redundancy is a big plus .

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

IMO a very realistic outlook.

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Personally the number one safety feature imo that a cat has is its harder to fall off. I believe this is probably the greatest cruising danger, mob. I had some very bad weather last year and it really got me thinking about this aspect.
Also engine redundancy is a big plus .

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

very strong point. I fell off mono 2 x, 1 x close call on open ocean and decent sea. Not even close to falling in cat.

Hope to stay that way.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Actually we do know. The mono's rolled and were dismasted before they issued their mayday calls. And after losing their rigs were rolled repeatedly. (They may have been rolled again after they were abandoned, but so what?)


There's a very strong likelihood that a boat that has been dismasted and rolled repeatedly will have suffered damage to it's steering and engine. So very likely these boats were dead in the water. (And IMO less habitable than an inverted catamaran.)


There seems to be a common belief in this forum that a mono can be rolled through 360' and will just pop back up and keep sailing. Doesn't happen in real life. In real life a sailing boat that rolls through 360' almost always suffers severe damage, and the crew frequently are injured too.

Buzzstar read the stories of the carnage of the injuries in the disastarous Sydney to Hobart race where there were injuries and deaths as 44C suggests. Reality.

[GTom]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Yes, why? Last year in Bali there was an electrical storm, out of all the boats only three reported damage ie wind instuments etc, they were all cats, and there were boats with taller masts! Anyone know the answer?

Poseidon doesn't like cats, he is a dog person.

[TheThunderbird]

There is a difference, plain evidence in this post, between being sailors or just boat owners.

I honestly dont give a bit about others' boats... :-)

And dont mind what others think of mine.

Peace on Earth, and by the Seas

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by downunder

Buzzstar read the stories of the carnage of the injuries in the disastarous Sydney to Hobart race where there were injuries and deaths as 44C suggests. Reality.

I've read many if not most of the weather related tragedy stories, long and short, from the past 50 years or so applicable to races and regattas, as well as many reconstructions/accounts of the solo vessel horror stories, including those extracted from the bigger stories to focus on a particular vessel. Notice I was very careful to include the words, "facts presented" in my subject post in this thread, BUT I did not follow the trail sufficiently to identify the implied and previously available identification information (my fault).

The entire thread does not change my opinion of what I'd rather be aboard in a storm, if I must be aboard. Nor does it in any way convince me that your preference should be my preference, nor mine yours. I've said this before on this forum, but probably not within this thread: The entire discussion reminds me of the reports of theologians arguing about how many angels could dance on the he'd of a pin. They might have been able to eventually decide upon the details of the pin in question, but I suspect they could never agree on the angels or their capabilities, or perhaps it was vice versa. Is not that why this thread is so long? Maybe we are the old theologians incarnate. [Not really.]

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

We have a cat'. We also have a cat. The cat has lived his whole life on the cat'. He's getting used to the constant capsizes. Doesn't even notice them.

Probably numbed by the constant drone of the motors! [emoji6]

[danielamartindm]

There are different things to love about monos and multis. The important thing is to love your vessel and to know her well. I sailed monohulls my entire life before buying a cat, and I wouldn't go back. Well, maybe for a Swan LOL.