Monohull to Catamaran

[kjbas123]

We are thinking of selling our monohull and buying a used catamaran. Besides the catamarans being more expensive all round I can’t think of a downside but my husband who has only sailed monohulls is not so certain. We are looking to do more cruising up the eastern coast of Australia to start with. Not a lot of used boats around we are looking at a Lagoon 38 2014 owners version next week that looks hopeful.

[Fore and Aft]

That’s a good first post KJ, it could start a war on this forum.
The only downside I can think of is marina berth availability. I know Hervey Bay is getting pretty tight for multihull berths.
The other issue is slipping costs. A 35 foot cat I surveyed last week paid $680 for a lift and hold while I did the survey.
Cheers

[kjbas123]

Thanks for that info. Certainly don’t want to start a war 😳 Just looking for more space and comfort 😊

[arsenelupiga]

i wont go about upsides but here are some downsides from experience:

marina slip - be careful to go to marina that understand cats. It is really pain seeing your cat handled badly by un-knowledgable mono biased folks.

rigging- there is lack of understanding of how cat rig needs to be tuned. Again, wary of mono world folks.

sail upwind in low winds and confused seas - turn on engine.

thats that i guess.

[boatman61]

Good choice with the L380..
Cats are a doddle to park once you get your head around locking the wheel central and I swing engines only for the maneuvering.. under sail reef earlier.
Best wishes.

[SimonV]

I do not own a cat, but I have sailed thousands of miles, ocean and coastal delivering cats. There are times when I love a cat and other times I wished I was on a mono. I cross oceans and prefer monos in every kind of sea. Those that own cats long term might expound on some of the Myth that newbies are told about but not altogether factual.

[Dulcesuenos]

After starting with monohulls we are on our 4th catamaran. You cannot go wrong with a cat. They are 100% more comfortable in all but the rarest, least used point of sail (pointing high in flat calm conditions lol)
We crossed the Atlantic 2 years ago with some large monohulls and there was little comparison in comfort during the crossing,

[boatman61]

One thing you should be aware of..
A cat owner will never say his boat is crap..
Just like it's very rare a mono owner will say his boat is crap.. till after its sold..
Suffice it to say.. both have their pluses and minuses..

[danielamartindm]

Boat ownership is a love affair. I've owned monos and cats, and each have pros and cons. For the sheer joy of sailing, IMHO, you can't beat a mono; but if you've reached a point in life where beating and burying the rail have lost their charm, catamarans have many good points- comfort at anchor, inside space more like a house than a single-wide mono, little heeling and rolling under way, easier MOB recovery at the sugar scoops, the redundancy, safety, and maneuverability afforded by twin screws, etc. You'll love the Lagoon 380. Best of luck.

[Haywoods]

Hi guys


We just sold our lagoon 380 after spending 500+ days and night with her. I can honestly say she was a brilliant boat and I would highly recommend one. We were complete novices when we bought her and she was very forgiving. Good luck !!

[django37]

Bought our Lagoon 380 in 2007 as my 7th cat, first one in 1971. Have sailed round the world and still love it, nothing ever broke. Take your time to learn to sail it, its a bit different than sailing a mono

[RSH]

There is a youtube channel, "Sailing Zatara" where they sold their monohull and went to a catamaran, and there's some good content about why they chose their monohull and what was behind the impetus towards changing to a catamaran.

In their case, they went with a pretty big honking cat (a Privilege 58, iirc), their monohull was not small either, though.

Here's the video where they discuss it point by point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcG6MgTDbDo

I prefer catamarans, but I think it's kind of like cats and dogs-some people prefer one or the other strongly, some people are ok with both, and then there are those people who don't like either.

I think we can agree that *those* people are shady

[kjbas123]

Thanks for the info

[kjbas123]

We are looking at a 2014 lagoon 380 this week it’s an owners version hopefully will be the one.

[kjbas123]

Yes I have been watching their channel their new cat is amazing! They sold their first boat just in front of where we live!