What Not to do on a Catamaran

[drfeelgood11]

Thank you!
Some really good tips on here that I'll have to write down and research ( maybe I'll remember not to piss windward)

Ill also try to find the mentioned book.
Keep it coming

What about drogue vs chute?

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by drfeelgood11

What about drogue vs chute?

No vs to it, they are for different scenarios.

A drogue slows you down, a chute is an anchor.

[Palarran]

Dr. Feel Good,
Welcome to the Cruisers Forum. I'd suggest you go to the Multihull forum and page backwards as there are hundreds of very good threads discussing similar issues as you are asking about. Multihull Sailboats - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

A few things we learned and to reinforce what others have already posted:

Remove and stow the motor from the dingy and if possible lash it to your deck or cabin top. We were hit with a breaking wave that bent my arch from the pressure on the dingy. It was easily repaired but could have been much worse.

If you don't have offshore netting for your tramp, replace them. You can buy lightweight tramps for a relatively small amount. multihullnets, product, Light Duty Open Net

You don't need to buy a drogue. They can be easily made with an anchor and fender. That is what delivery skippers do.

Running in large seas and heavy winds is twice as effective as motoring into the seas. You only need a hanky of jib to keep a good forward speed (3 knots) and the breaking waves on the stern are better than punching through on the bows.

Make sure your cockpit drains quickly. We filled ours with about 8" of water and it took maybe 2 minutes to drain. If we had been hit by another one it could have been trouble. It's a huge amount of weight.

I agree with a previous poster that if your asking or worried, have an experienced skipper go with you. One who has done multiple cat deliveries would be preferred over mono deliveries as they are different beasts. Skippers are easy to find and not that expensive in the grand scheme of things.

[tamicatana]

Sport not with AMARYLLIS in the shade, and don't turn upwind to stall when on a deep reach or downwind...

"Herreshoff also had some advice for handling “the death zone” in which Oracle's AC 72 catamaran capsized last October. “If, in a catamaran, you are sorely pressed by wind or wave, turn her bow to leeward. There you will find comfort and consolation, so light she is, and presents so little resistance, that the wind blows her along like a bubble floating in the air."'

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by tamicatana

Sport not with AMARYLLIS in the shade, and don't turn upwind to stall when on a deep reach or downwind...

"Herreshoff also had some advice for handling “the death zone” in which Oracle's AC 72 catamaran capsized last October. “If, in a catamaran, you are sorely pressed by wind or wave, turn her bow to leeward. There you will find comfort and consolation, so light she is, and presents so little resistance, that the wind blows her along like a bubble floating in the air."'

IMO, unless you are a true professional, this is extremely dangerous. Once the decision is made, there's no turning back. You can't reef, and you can't depower. It really is the worst position to be stuck in. I'd bear the risk of dismasting over pitch poling any day.

Now, if your talking bare pole, absolutely.

[Jimbo485]

If the apparent wind is around the beam, always better to bear off to enjoy that huge reduction in apparent wind speed.
With decent batt cars, reefing downwind is fine. In many ways, I prefer it.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by Jimbo485

With decent batt cars, reefing downwind is fine. In many ways, I prefer it.

In strong winds I can't do it. There is too much pressure on the carrs. This has been discussed on several threads in the past and there are many who believe bearing off has it's followers. But many still are equating what they did on their Hobies as holding true to a cruising cat and again, IMO it is very dangerous to handle heavy winds and waves with sails up by running.

[crabber30]

What Not to do on a Catamaran

Not to motor when you have 15-20kts Mistral, broad reach

[Jimbo485]

We are not professionals and I am still learning about cats. There was a definite change in mind set going from a mono to a cat in so many ways - from anchoring and docking to sailing and provisioning.

From my mono days, I automatically turned up for the gusts but on our cat the linear acceleration from the gust and the centripetal acceleration from the turn was sometimes scary. We spent some time experimenting in the katabatic winds off Dominica - turning up and bearing away in 25 - 40 knot gusts, trying to see how high a hull would lift, etc. Our boat weighs 6 tonnes, with dagger boards and a 24' beam, so it may turn quicker than others with fixed keels? But in the end we came to the conclusion that with the apparent wind at 90 degress or more meant it was better to quickly bear away. And if we don't do it quick enough, the acceleration kicks in and the apparent wind moves forward and we lose the opportunity to bear away. 70 degrees or less, turn up. Between 70 and 90 degrees, is the grey zone and will depend on the wave shape and instinct. If we turned down from 70 degrees, we went thru a zone where the acceleration was incredible, the windward hull starts to lift, the leeward bow is crazy with spray and then suddenly it all goes calm. That turn down should be as fast as possible.

Of course, next year, we might change our conclusions...

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Jimbo485

Reef before you either flip or dismast her

Yes, one of the problems to get used to in a cat is that you dont realize if you are overpowered. The boat doesnt heel, you dont feel the wind puffs much with the big protected cockpit. It took me a while to learn to watch the anemometer and knot log. The forces on the rig and sails are huge if the boat doesnt "give".

[thinwater]

Have you sailed a beach cat in survival conditions, more than once? That will teach you things about power that we can't. It will also teach respect.