To Hell with it, I'm Going Sailing - Hi to All

[Mr B]

Well after a life time of fixing and repairing other peoples boats and ships and dreaming of having my own live aboard boat, I have finally pulled my finger out and bought one, A 34 foot Cat,
I was in the process of building my own design 40 foot steel cat, 26 feet wide, And decided that time was running out for an old goat like me, so I bought one instead,
I am an Engineering Blacksmith by trade, It was the Master craft of all the Black trades. So building a cat was the easy part, I manufacture what ever I need with my own hands, I am now a Boilermaker and Certificated DLI Welder, Its a small part of my trade. Blacksmithing has now gone,
A life time of the wrong women in my life and totally losing all motivation, This was the way for me to go,
I always wanted a boat that would do all the things I wanted it to do, Very versatile, One that was unsinkable, ( I dont swim very well ) I achieved that, 8 water tight bulkheads, Each one will keep the boat on the surface by itself, one that I could sit down on a reef or beach with out damage, 3 inch exposed keel. I did that, one with a folding mast, Hydraulics do that easy, So I could go up rivers and under bridges, 37.5 knots on one motor, and there is two.
Toying with one or two masts, Every thing Hydraulic, Sails included, A 10 year old kid could drive this one,
Carrying capacity of 114 tons, I could carry a car on the front of it, plus my Motor bike, so I had transport where ever I stopped. 20 people in full sized beds, Four full sized queen beds, 6 feet wide at the water line, 3 foot wide walkway all around the bridge deck
Hull speed of 54, fully loaded, and weighing 17 tons, A wharf with sails, dont be mislead, this thing was going to be fast on the water,
I was taught very well by Masters of the trades at the time, Or got a kick where it hurt if I didnt, They did not believe in half measures, or almost right, it was perfect each and every time,
But I might come back and finish my cat at a later stage,
In the mean time I am going to live.
I rode big bikes all my life, I water and snow skied, Had a runabout that my mate and I learnt to ski behind, Missus hated it, Kids loved it, Built my own home, Concrete steel and glass, Has WOW factor by the bucket load, Motor vessel man all my life, Learn to sail on a 14 foot Hobie cat that my mate had, he could sail, taught me all the finer bits, Then I bought the 14 foot Paper tiger and just had fun,
Cartwheeling it was the best bit, Hahahaha Loved it, 10 feet in the air, what a buzz, It was over powered and then some, But I didnt have enough lard to keep the nose out of the water, I took it out by myself or I stayed home.

I have gained immense knowledge from you lot since I have been lurking on here,
So I thought I would tell you a bit about my self,

My next adventure is bringing my new, second hand catarmaran home to Australia.
Hope to meet some of you in my travels, The old fart with the white mustache,
I dont bite, so say hello,

Cheers,
Brian.

[Ocean Girl]

Welcome aboard, have fun!
Mrs Rain Dog

[Charlie]

Good lcuk and welcome aboard. Sounds like an incredible boat.

[Unicorn Dreams]

Welcome Aboard Cruisers Forum

[Mr B]

Thank you people, Magic Forum this one, oodles of very good info and advice,

Cheers,
Brian.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here on the forum.
kind regards,

[Jim Cate]

G'Day Mr B,

You have already made your presence known on CF, so a belated welcome to you.

So, now perhaps you could give us a few more details on your home designed catamaran. We would all be glad to know how you get a 54 knot hull speed with an OAL of 40 feet... I'd like to give that a go myself. And especially when carrying a load of over a hundred tons. On all the fast cats that I know the skipper insists on the crew drilling holes in their toothbrush handles to save weight...

Sarcasm aside, we would like to know how you planned to achieve the incredible performance that you quote.

Cheers,

Jim