Which Cat for blue water cruising

[Bob Burg]

I am in the mkt for a used cat 45'+/-. My primary concerns are strength and seaworthiness, then ease of handling. Are there any opinions out there. I used to own a Lagune 55, don't like the boxy look of the newer boats.

[Jeannius]

Love the look of the Lagoon 55/57 and the rest of their range from that era. Last decent looking Lagoons IMHO.

Don't know what your budget is but I would have thought Catana and Privilege would be the most likely 'production' cats from 2000 onwards that would appeal to you.

[SeaKing]

Look at the Voyage 500, sleek looking, sails well and lots of room.Or go Charter our new 520 Owners version"Silver Lining" at Voyage yachts and look at the 500's there, that are available

[Factor]

Lightwave 45 is a good candidate

[Sand crab]

At 45' all of them are good.

[barnakiel]

My friends rtw'ed in A Catana of roughly this size. No issues. Good speed, easy to handle, plenty of comfort. Recommended.

b.

[Bob Burg]

If you were in a serious blow would you feel as secure in a 45' cat as in a similar size mono hull?

[Factor]

More secure. I would be safer and less tired, I wouldn't be being thrown from side to side, I would be able to prepare and eat a meal. I would be fully reefed and running away with possibly the drougue out.

[Bob Burg]

Anyone got any experiance cruising on the Carabean sde of Panama? No body mentions Fauntain Pajot. I like the looks of the Bahia though never been on one.

[Sand crab]

I always thought the Bahia had good lines. The sugar scoop steps are a little weird but otherwise a good boat. These are the good boats at 45':
Outremer, FP, Lagoon, Leopard, Voyage, Nautitech, Dean, etc., etc.,
Or as I said before, all of them. All brands have pluses and minuses. There is no best boat or perfect boat.
I would have listed Seawind and Manta but they don't make a boat this big.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Bob Burg

If you were in a serious blow would you feel as secure in a 45' cat as in a similar size mono hull?

Absolutely.

b.

[Kiwikat]

We can personally vouch for the Fountaine Pajot Bahia

Cheers
Kiwikats

[Jeannius]

Originally Posted by Bob Burg

No body mentions Fauntain Pajot. I like the looks of the Bahia though never been on one.

You said you were interested in strength. FP are probably the flimsiest of the production cats.

[Gordon]

Just look at the Orana44, not flimsy at all!!!!!!!!

[Mark Johnson]

The best designs are "one off" custom built boats, although there are a few good production cats out there.

Build quality is important, but will NOT make up for a bad design. Most new cats were designed to resemble an apartment, & thus, sell boats!

The boat needs to be built very strong, but also light weight! It needs to be "sailed light" as well. (Leave the fine china at home)

In a 45' boat, you need enough wing clearance to drive your dink through, and "just barely" standing headroom in the bridge cabin.

You need a smallish cabin, with good walkways forward, and lots of open netted space between the hulls forward.

You need a shaded helm, with good 360 degree visibility. (And a high clew headsail that doesn't block your view)

Smaller cabins are for a low COG and less windage, so are better, as are smaller cabin side ports, but really good ventilation.

You need protected rudders that are either "kick up" or RUGGEDLY skeg mounted, and not as deep as the mini keels.

If it has boards, centerboards, (with internal rubber bumpers and a fuse line to hold it down), are FAR more forgiving to impact that daggerboards!

You want all heavy payload (engine / batteries, tools, tankage, scuba tanks)... as low in the boat as practical, and as centralized as possible.

Ground tackle, (chain & windlass), need to be far aft of the bow, on the forward cabin's wing.

You need a rig & sails that are balanced, not over canvassed, and really easy and quick to reef or strike.

Remember... Many of the things that catch your eye at a boat show, and make you think: "WOW, this is palatial"... Are the very things you DO NOT want, IF you want a good, solid, SEAWORTHY, multihull.

The pictured cat was designed & built by my friends Jeff & Jose Allen. It fills most of these requirements well. They found this boat to be "more boat than they needed" in retirement, and are currently cruising the South Pacific in their Cross trimaran, after weathering a hurricane at sea!