Quote:
Originally Posted by CastOff
Here's a question for folks who design and or own a catamaran. I am curious why a cat of say 25ft, can take 6 people plus the captain out for a sail and not be overloaded. Yet if one was to be out alone on the cat with the weight of those 6 people (let's say 150lbs per person = 900lbs) in additional 'stores' to what is normally considered 'cruising gear' on a cat this size, say 1,500lbs, totaling 2,400lbs, many might consider the boat overloaded for it's size
So what's the difference if it's people weight or stores? Best I can tell the boat should sail muc better with the weight down in the hulls as opposed to up on deck/tramps whatever
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You are talking two different weights.
900 in just people vs. 900 + 1500 stores
For a given
wind speed each boat will sail best at a given weight. Competitive
race boats will select crew based on prevailing winds for the
regatta. Heavier winds = heavier crew. One design boats always specify minimum and maximum crew weights + max and min total weight. Most regattas won't allow changing crew on a daily basis but it is not unheard of.
If you are loading the boat to 1500 lbs it makes little difference whether it is crew or ballast. However, generally you can move the crew easier for the point of sail so crew weight is better than boat weight.
It make a big difference on any boat loading it with 900 vs. 2400.