What is the magic beam for a cat

[MyCatLife]

According to my wife... 9.18 meters.

[Sand crab]

Funny…she told me 12 inches.
Lol

[Sand crab]

Couldn’t resist. Just kidding

[sailingchiro]

Mine is 20' and lucky for me I have a travel lift less than a mile from me that can pull out 24'.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Seapig

I am sitting here approximately 300 yards from a travel lift. My boat is 3 inches too wide to use it. The only lift in 100 miles that can pull me out has a 3 month waiting list.


So calling upon the wisdom of the crowds what seems to be magic number to maximize the number of haul out options but not loose the advantage of a multihull?

You might see if there is still a rail someplace that can accommodate you, although it would probably be in and out for a bottom job.

[nortonscove]

As someone that did haulouts for more than twenty years I can say that most lifts will be about 20'6". The cost difference once you get above that size lift is incredible. This could lead to many marinas deciding upon that size. We looked into an upgrade years ago and the lift and required changes to the basin would be at least 2.5 million and probably over 3. That's a lot of money to make up over the years.

[Seapig]

SandCrab, that is a pretty cool gizmo. I wonder how much it costs? I suspect it is a lot less than 2.5 million. I wonder if Santa would bring me one for Christmas.

Django- Have you applied bottom paint, or what kind of maintenance did you do on the beach? Would you for instance risk replacing a thruhull? I would be afraid something would go wrong and the tide would be coming in and I would be sitting with a defective thruhull in my hand and a brick in my shorts.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Seapig

SandCrab, that is a pretty cool gizmo. I wonder how much it costs? I suspect it is a lot less than 2.5 million. I wonder if Santa would bring me one for Christmas.

Django- Have you applied bottom paint, or what kind of maintenance did you do on the beach? Would you for instance risk replacing a thruhull? I would be afraid something would go wrong and the tide would be coming in and I would be sitting with a defective thruhull in my hand and a brick in my shorts.

Have wooden plugs of the appropriate sizes to ram in there just in case..

[django37]

Originally Posted by Seapig

Django- Have you applied bottom paint, or what kind of maintenance did you do on the beach? Would you for instance risk replacing a thruhull? I would be afraid something would go wrong and the tide would be coming in and I would be sitting with a defective thruhull in my hand and a brick in my shorts.

I have Coppercoat, so just need a scrup. Yes would replace a thruhull - you know excatly how many hours you have to do it

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Have wooden plugs of the appropriate sizes to ram in there just in case..

Boaty you are a dirty old man.
I think Seapig was talking about the Sea-Lift. I heard they were only $750,000 to start. Some are self propelled and others are just a trailer made to work off a tractor's hydraulics. They are made near Seattle.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Seapig

I am sitting here approximately 300 yards from a travel lift. My boat is 3 inches too wide to use it. The only lift in 100 miles that can pull me out has a 3 month waiting list.

So calling upon the wisdom of the crowds what seems to be magic number to maximize the number of haul out options but not loose the advantage of a multihull?

My experience is that 24' is about it. Generally the lift is not the issue. It's the lift well. Lots of places here on Chesapeake Bay advertise 24' but can only haul 23'6". There are five places here that can haul wider than that. Up to 27' in the cause of two. One marine railway backed up for many months. One small shipyard (not boatyard) with a floating drydock - scheduling issue and quite expensive. Even rental cranes mean finding a place that can get the crane close enough to the water.

Originally Posted by Chotu

A rough approximation for a sailing boat is the beam is half the length.

Not relevant.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

My experience is that 24' is about it. Generally the lift is not the issue. It's the lift well. Lots of places here on Chesapeake Bay advertise 24' but can only haul 23'6". There are five places here that can haul wider than that. Up to 27' in the cause of two. One marine railway backed up for many months. One small shipyard (not boatyard) with a floating drydock - scheduling issue and quite expensive. Even rental cranes mean finding a place that can get the crane close enough to the water.



Not relevant.

Way more relevant than quoting exact figures. It’s ridiculous to say a catamaran should be a certain beam. That’s completely incorrect. It’s a ratio.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Way more relevant than quoting exact figures. It’s ridiculous to say a catamaran should be a certain beam. That’s completely incorrect. It’s a ratio.

*sigh* The issue here was haulouts.

L/B does not have a magic number. 2:1 is common but again nothing magic.

[Escape Plan]

It seems our friends with 23 ft or greater beams are always scrambling to find a place that can accept them. We are 21.5 and have very few issues finding a place that can fit us. Now whether they have openings is a COMPLETELY different problem!

[owly]

I think the ideal beam depends on what you want........ Looking at older cats, that often had a beam of 16' or less, one would expect that they would have a deplorable capsize record........ they don't! Extra wide beam gives lots of space, but the wider the beam, the higher the bridge deck clearance has to be to prevent pounding. Wider beam is said to often be more difficult to tack. A narrower beam like 16' will fit a slip designed for a monohull, a 24 footer will not. A wider beam should be able to carry more sail area... reducing capsize potential, but in reality, when cats capsize (which almost never happens on a cruising cat, they generally go over diagonally. Those who advocate 50% WLL have good reason... experience.... The amount of sail area, weight distribution, windage, etc are important factors. A Caribbean or Med Condo Cat is going to have a very wide beam for lots of space, a racing cat is going to have lots of waterline length, narrow hulls, lots of beam, and small accommodations. If you want to put the cat in a slip and not get raped, you want a narrower beam. There just isn't any single answer for everybody. Even the "experts" don't agree, and there are other factors beside beam involved. The haul out issue is specific to the owner. The do it yourself owner may be happy to beach his cat and clean the bottom, etc. Somebody else may want professionals to do everything. Where you intend to sail may also be a factor. Services available in coastal US and EU may be quite different from Brazil or Africa. Your wide beam may be a minor inconvenience and expense in the US, but a major problem somewhere else.