Which Blue Water Cruiser Cat Should I Buy?

[SeaKing]

If I have to guess from the list, I say the Catana because you are a racer

[ausaviator]

I say the Orana 44. Value for money, good looks and reasonable performance, but because you work in IT you are not rich and it was affordable given your circumstances.

[Jaymannyc]

What a great bunch of answers and comments. Let me address a few of the names. I love the catana's boards and ability to go to windward but don't want to spend the next 4 years in the sun. Better boat for 3 week cruises. Also I prefer galley down.

The enclosed cockpit was really important to us it is good for cold weather sailing, safety, comfort and laziness.

We were also interested in boats that could handle two anchors at once. And a boat with a balanced electrical system. (i.e. large batteries matched by the proper charging and wiring)

[danielamartindm]

Check out the Leopard 46. Sails like a dream, nice interior finish, good bridgedeck clearance, plenty of room.

[Jaymannyc]

Ok... cat out of the bag. I am a happy owner (well soon to be) of an Antares 44i. Flaws to my choice?

[Sand crab]

Antares wasn't going to be my choice because of your racer spec. I beleive them to be on the slow side like most cruiser cats. Has one ever won a race? Otherwise they are great safe boats with a really nice finish. I'm jealous. BOB

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Jaymannyc

Ok... cat out of the bag. I am a happy owner (well soon to be) of an Antares 44i. Flaws to my choice?

None - there are no absolutes, just personal compromises. What suits you may not suit another and vice versa, what really matters is that you understand (a) your own compromises and (b) some basic laws of physics about hydrodynamics and windage etc.

[Jaymannyc]

Here are some choices I enjoyed making

Main sail : In mast vs traditional. Chose traditional as the large roach is nice to have and the boat has really easy reefing systems that don't require leaving the cockpit.

Propellor: Not sure on this one yet. Too many opinions not enough hard data. Would love volvo to write an article on their propellors.

3 cabin layout: Went with storage

Sails: currently have jib, genoa, screecher, asym and thinking about parasailor

The comes with almost all the creature comforts: AC, washer dryer, water maker and enough electronics to start a social network.

Safety: getting a liferaft, epirb, sat phone. and a ditch bag with all the goodies.

Galley: love the down version, yet the boat offers up as well.

How she sails. Very well. Yes she is not a TP 52 but she tracks well to weather and is comfy off the wind. Light boat so she can sail in not much breeze. But i am not racing but cruising.

Also installed the v3 from KVH for internet and the SSB pastor modem. Should be have good access to weather.

The rest of the electronics are furuno (ais, gps, radar)

[Tom4U]

Originally Posted by Jaymannyc

So it's Christmas time and I have just bought a boat for two of us to sail off into the sunset. We plan on going around the planet. We are youngish mid 40s. We have done limited cruising and offshore but plenty of racing. We live in a condo so not great at fixing stuff but work in IT so we are nifty with things that flash.

Here is our list of "needs".
Safe boat for 2 folks that plan on sailing not just the carribean
Plenty of comforts (ie storage, watermaker, all the newest electronics, AC for rare marina time, decent shower)
A fun to sail boat in more that just 15 knots on the beam
New boat - learning curve easier since stuff break slower.

So here was our list:
Antares 44i
Catana 42
Gunboat48
Leopard 44
Orana 44

Before I reveal our choice what do folks think? What would your call be?

Nice selection, there is no Lagoon. Maybe you should have a look there, very good saylor and price is great. I own a 440, but the New model 450 is great.

[TOM]

Originally Posted by JJ77

Catana 47,just look at her!fast and comfortable,and no gunboat price tag.

Cheers,
JJ

Add a bit of swell forward of the beam and some confused seas with 35 knot gusts {pretty standard indian ocean stuff } and your nice fast catana is not looking so good .That video looked like it was taken in a lake .

www.byamee.com

[Talbot]

A St Francis 44, or Knysa 44 is well worth a look as they are a good compromise between performance and cruising load carrying capability.

[catty]

For those interested here is a Review .......Antares 44i

I always find it intereting to compare the displacement and sail area to a similar length cruiser from the monohull arena.See........BLUE WATER BOATS | BENETEAU OCEANIS 45 | BLUE WATER SAILING MAGAZINE | CRUISING, SAILING, BOAT REVIEWS, GEAR, CHARTERING | 888.800.SAIL

The Oceanis (Beneteau) 45 is lighter with more sail area, so I'm not sure how the Antares will sail.

Regards

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by catty

The Oceanis (Beneteau) 45 is lighter with more sail area, so I'm not sure how the Antares will sail.

Regards

I'd be interested in a wetted area comparison, also. 2 shallow hulls vs 1 deeper one.
As I stated earlier the Antares are not known for their speed but are known for their comfort and luxury. BOB

[tsmwebb]

I'm partial to the Atlantic 42 (shocking eh?). It has plenty of room for two and sails very well. Inside and outside steering is wonderful. The cockpit is easy to work from and rewards the cruiser who likes sailing for its own sake. Watch keeping is pretty civilized and it has a nice separate shower (we've got hot and cold pressure water and a watermaker in ours)... If you want to winter over in Patagonia it's probably not ideal but for seasonal mid lat and tropical cruising it's a design that I think is worth a look...

Tom.

[rockerdar]

Originally Posted by Jaymannyc

Ok... cat out of the bag. I am a happy owner (well soon to be) of an Antares 44i. Flaws to my choice?

You yourself are the only one that will ultimately decide on the flaws, if any, to your choice. What suits you doesn't suit others.

We have had our catamaran for 5-1/2 years now. I prepared my own 'short list' of various cats with the pros & cons of each (I used an Excel worksheet for this), and then compared them and made my decision. Before I came up with the short list, though, I personally visited & walked about on most of the major players in the cat market. From doing so, I determined I absolutely would NOT consider a cat with the galley down. And after 5-1/2 years, two trans-Atlantic crossings, and several seasons of cruising and 'happy hours' on the boat, that was 100% the right decision (for me personally). I don't want to be down in a hull in the kitchen when it's rough or when I'm having a party. My galley has a big sliding window and is adjacent to the cockpit, and I love it not only for parties but also when having dinner to be able to pass things in and out as well as being able to still participate in the conversation while I'm preparing food and/or drinks.

We also were sailboat racers prior to our world cruising mode. As such, we wanted a performance cat vs. a floating condo. We only raced it in one regatta (Antigua Sailing Week, which we won), but nevertheless we like to sail fast. So we chose a boat with daggerboards and a high bridge deck clearance.

With regard to the dual helms vs. single, we chose the aft dual helms. You have a better view of your sails as well as better view when navigating through crab pots, up to docks, etc. Once you're underway, you will discover that you will use your autopilot the majority of the time. So you're not out 'in the elements' too often. We steer more than most of our friends (just because we like to!), but still use the autopilot most of the time. There have been times when we've had no choice but to steer (extreme storm conditions), but I certainly never felt uncomfortable or unsafe at my aft helm.

All that said, we have friends with an Antares and they love it. What they were seeking in a boat was totally different from what we wanted. We each found what we wanted and each believe the boat we chose was the right boat for us. I've got many other multihull friends, each with a different type of boat. While I like all of their boats, I don't like any of them as much as mine (well, except for the Gunboat 62, but I wouldn't want it because then I'd have to have crew aboard!).