Whats it like in an upturned catamaran ?

[Dave_S]

I have an escape hatch in each hull and it has 12 wing nuts holding each of them on and I wonder how easy/hard is it going to be to remove if someone is in bad weather and in that stressful situation.

Has anyone experienced this ?

[KingGuppy]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

I have an escape hatch in each hull and it has 12 wing nuts holding each of them on and I wonder how easy/hard is it going to be to remove if someone is in bad weather and in that stressful situation.

Has anyone experienced this ?

You must of just read the 44 Helia sinking post above. I've got no experience but would like to know as well.

[SV Bacchus]

Sounds like one of those things you should practice ahead of time, kinda like a lifeboat drill. See what it takes to turn them, even if stuck, and have that secured near the hatch so in a real emergency you can find it and use it. JMHO

[RaymondR]

There's a sea survival book about three Kiwi guys on a trimaran called "Rose Noell" which overturned. From memory they drifted for 129 days before washing up in a bay on the New Zealand coast. The authorities were extremely suspicious because they were in pretty good health and it was suspected that they could not have been adrift for that length of time and still be in good physical condition. The author had some good suggestions re survival in an upturned multi hull.

I imagine that if you worked at it hard enough, things like valves on the water tank">fresh water tank vents so they did not drain out, making at leaast one compartment water tight so you could pump it out, etc you could make a reasonably comfortable haven in the hulls of a multi hull.

[catsketcher]

Are the wing nuts inside or outside - to let you out or in?

The wing nut idea is an old one and I doubt my ability to turn them effectively if I got cold. John Cadwallader on St Therese back in 1988 capsized and I think he may have had wing nuts on that boat. He is on the Multihull appreciation society on Facebook so you could ask him.

Remember that a cat is a totally different beast to a tri when capsized. Rose Noelle had powerful 150% ish floats that held almost all of their inverted volume each. So the crew could cut a hole in the main hull and she did not sink much. Also she had a centre cockpit sole the crew could live on.

Seacocks and sink drains and escape hatches will cause your cat to sink greatly compared to a tri. It may be impossible to live within. So you probably just want the hatches to get out and get onto the bridgedeck and have a raft there although that seems awful. Look here at a well founded cat designed and built for capsize habitation. Still the skipper spent hours in the RIB. The crew was safe in the forward area inside. I hope I would have been happy inside instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CLlwKtdW94

Somewhere up front is likely to be the best spot inside.

cheers

Phil

[Hardhead]

This is likely a stupid question -- but when you open the escape hatch, is there a concern with trapped hull air escaping, and causing that hull to possibly sink?

[David M]

Wondering how an inverted hull would eventually have enough oxygen if it needs to be airtight to avoid sinking. I don't understand how one could live in there for days.

[gulfcoastsailor]

Given the circumstances, you would be in at that moment...

In my mind, those escape hatches provide about as much peace of mind as the TSA at the airport. Forget them and memorize your way out the normal way... just underwater, upside down and 50% chance of it being dark. Oh yeah, and don't forget the sea conditions under which you would be performing this Houdini act.

Best of luck!

[wcapital]

No personal experience....but one thing I'm pretty confident in saying is that I'd prefer to be struggling with nuts on an escape hatch in a cat floating upside down than to be trapped below in a monohull on its way to Davy Jones' Locker!

[KingGuppy]

Originally Posted by catsketcher

Are the wing nuts inside or outside - to let you out or in?

The wing nut idea is an old one and I doubt my ability to turn them effectively if I got cold. John Cadwallader on St Therese back in 1988 capsized and I think he may have had wing nuts on that boat. He is on the Multihull appreciation society on Facebook so you could ask him.

Remember that a cat is a totally different beast to a tri when capsized. Rose Noelle had powerful 150% ish floats that held almost all of their inverted volume each. So the crew could cut a hole in the main hull and she did not sink much. Also she had a centre cockpit sole the crew could live on.

Seacocks and sink drains and escape hatches will cause your cat to sink greatly compared to a tri. It may be impossible to live within. So you probably just want the hatches to get out and get onto the bridgedeck and have a raft there although that seems awful. Look here at a well founded cat designed and built for capsize habitation. Still the skipper spent hours in the RIB. The crew was safe in the forward area inside. I hope I would have been happy inside instead.

Somewhere up front is likely to be the best spot inside.

cheers

Phil

Great video!

Going to paint the bottom of my cat bright orange like construction workers wear, so rescue can spot me faster.

[akprb]

Originally Posted by wcapital

No personal experience....but one thing I'm pretty confident in saying is that I'd prefer to be struggling with nuts on an escape hatch in a cat floating upside down than to be trapped below in a monohull on its way to Davy Jones' Locker!

And this is the right answer! Cats don’t sink for starters.

Secondly you have to be either insanely incompetent or insanely aggressive to capzise a modern cruising catamaran.

It is prudent to practice and have tools at the ready in case of emergency. I think we were much more likely to hit a submerged object (as mono are as well) and that was much more of an offshore concern for us.

Collision bulkheads, check ;-)

One nice thing about a cat, unless it breaks up into little pieces your going to have a lot of stuff with you while you wait :-)

[CarlF]

Never experienced it but talked to someone who had. First, it's probably dark as which ever end of the boat is lower has shorted the whole lighting system. Very dark if you capsized at night. 2nd, your tools and flashlights may have fallen out of their storage places and are somewhere under all the floating cushions and crap that's floating in the water you are wading in.

And it's dark.

I was once told that a quick way to get fresh air and a little light is to cut the head hose at the seacock.

[Cadence]

I am stupid. I do not see letting the air out of a buoyant hull. If you can't swim enough to exit via the normal way, if upright, maybe you should not be sailing?

[Thumbs Up]

Cats don’t sink for starters.

Some catamarans can sink, some can't.

[Phil Mavis]

Originally Posted by akprb

And this is the right answer! Cats don’t sink for starters.

Secondly you have to be either insanely incompetent or insanely aggressive to capzise a modern cruising catamaran.

It is prudent to practice and have tools at the ready in case of emergency. I think we were much more likely to hit a submerged object (as mono are as well) and that was much more of an offshore concern for us.

Collision bulkheads, check ;-)

One nice thing about a cat, unless it breaks up into little pieces your going to have a lot of stuff with you while you wait :-)

I'm not trolling but I'm not sure if I agree with this post. Just offering another opinion.

Everything sinks depending on the situation. Remember the unsinkable Titanic? Cats sink.

Rogue waves have and will continue to capsize even the most experienced and prudent sailor. A monohull will right itself providing the keel doesn't fall off. Once you're in an overturned cat, there's no way of righting it without help.

Totally agree with being prudent to practice and have tools at the ready.