The Gemini 105

[Lt.]

I am curious to hear from those who have, or do sail the Gemini 105 about what they think of them. Do you like them? Did they do well sailing offshore? Were they as "as spacious and airy" as advertised? Where did you store the dingy? And feel free to say whatever else comes to mind about them. They seem to be very nice looking boats to me.
Also, what other boats are out there that are similer to the Gemini, or that are better than or the same as it, but In the same, I'm gonna say, 34-37 ft. size range.

[bix85]

I've only sailed a Gemini in protected waters, so I can't help with the offshore part, but it sailed well, and I found it easy to handle. It's small enough (beam) that it will fit in a standard slip. For it's size, it is spacious, but not quite spacious enough for living aboard indefinitely (IMHO). I wish they made a 38' version. The aft cabins both fit two, but just barely.

[robwrongshoes]

I own one. It is indeed very spacious for its size, particularly if you're comparing to a 34' monohull. You'd be better off comparing to a 40'-44' monohull when considering space.

Other pros:

• Price:*Gems sells at a price point that is easier on the wallet than most cats of similar size
•*It can get into really thin water w/ boards raised
•*The boards allow it to point better than cats lacking centerboards or daggerboards.
•*An active and supportive owner community. See Gemini_Cats : Gemini Catamarans

The cons:

•*Build quality varies by boat
•*You often see deck crazing. Though purely cosmetic, it's irritating to many
• The Westerbeke w/ sonic drive leg is clunky for some
•*Some slamming, though for me not as bad as what others have claimed it to be.

I hope this helps. Gems are great boats. They're great at what they were designed for-- coastal cruising, with plenty of space and performance at a price that's generally more affordable than the other options that exist out there. You just have to acknowledge they're built to a price point. If you want a true blue water cat that's designed from the outset to handle really serious seas, this isn't your best choice, but you also should know that no true blue water cat is gonna be priced around a Gem price point anyway.

Rob

[inky]

I was looking at them a couple of weeks ago, not to buy but because it is the boat of choice for a blog I was surfing through. I found this shortly afterwards.

Gemini 105Mc - Transatlantic Voyage on Vimeo

[Waterway Guide]

I echo Rob's notes exactly, and add that it motors great too, burning only .75 gal/hr at 6 knots. We will trade up to a larger cat when we plan to sail more distant oceans, but it's perfect for the east coast and Bahamas. It's not comfortable sailling with a "right on the beam" chop, which can be annoying. Heavy downwind it is pure heaven and will surf speeds well over it's "hull speed." We averaged 9 kn. under sail wing and wing one day coming up the bay...we've hit 11 for brief periods. Others claim to have sailed even faster.

[Tropic Cat]

Does anyone know if the new arrangement of having Hunter Marine build the Gemini 105 is going to change the boat in any way?

Does this mean Performance Cruising Inc. is kaput? I wonder as 'The Catamaran Company' now has exclusive sales rights to the Gemini catamaran. It seems to be a twisted relationship at best.

[webejammin]

I dought the Catamaran Co. is not going to spend money to change the design that is selling all they are making already. Hunter is just contracted to build the Gemini cats not an owner.

We love our 02 Gemini 105Mc with the oiled teak interiors sence it can be re-oiled and looks new after lots of use in it's 10 years. We looked at lots of sailboats both monohull and some cats and we compaired the storage and beds one queen and 2 double to a 53 ft monohull we seriously looked at. Our moorage is resionable because it fits in a std 40 ft slip ( we need a 40 ft slip because of our dingy davit makes us about 39 ft long and most marinas can accomidate us.
We like the dingy davits with the hammoc couch that adds so much extra room on deck. We live in the PNW and really enjoy the encloseable cockpit and sail year round, even a light snow.
I agree with what RobWrongshoes says, Seeing his Gemini at anchrage at Cypress island in the San Juan Islands helped us make our desision to buy our Gemini 105Mc.
We love having the model with the movable roller screecher track and when flying it with the main down wind wing and wing works super and can move at wind speed easily. Up wind sailing is really good with use of the centerboards it can easily point as well as many monohull boats. My best speed was with a 35kt wind off the beam was 14kt's and running down wind with the main and 150% gen we often get 11 to 12 kt's reefed.
We love winds of 20 kt's and get great upwind performance. My only offshoe trip was from San Diago to Catalina Island and back it handled it great.
My good buddy has a 105M sailing the bahamas and keeps it in West Palm Fla during hurricane seasion, he has only good things to say about it in his offshore sailing and has lived aboard about 9 months a year for the last 4 years.
Recently there have been 2 different Gemini 105Mc's that have finished there cyrcumnavication with no problems.
We lived aboard for the first year we owned our boat and can't waite untill we go crusing and live onboard full time again.

[Canibul]

We looked really hard at the Gem 105, and ran across a whole lot of happy owners who absolutely love the boat. In our case, we just decided we needed a bigger boat.. we do have five sons, and they all now have "friends" and we could just see the situation when we tried to fit something like six adults at a time on one of the Geminis, with four of them not being sailors. If they had built a one size bigger version, say a 38-42 ft, we would probably have bought one. I think it's a great boat for a couple and maybe a small dog.

[Angels of Rio]

I can add some experience to the Gemini discussion on performance and safety.. I have owned a Gemini 105Mc for 10 years, she was sailed across the Atlantic by the owner of Performance Cruising Tony Smith and his son. The video of the trip 45min can be seen on Utube, big seas and serious wind on more than one occasion. They hit in excess of 14 knots on a number of occasions and toped out 1t 18+. I have sailed her on the South coast of the UK, across Biscay, Atlantic coats of Portugal (November) and on to Gibraltar and never a worry. They are easy to sail and very comfortable for two. The one thing I would add is a diesel heater for the colder climates. The drive leg is great if you get something round the prop, which I have on a few occasions.

[crazycat]

Ditto with Rob my best friend got one pounds/slams in a heavy seas but so do almost all small Cats, the Dog leg is a pain on the older ones constant up keep sails great, check out Slapdash.com Jamie and Seth sailed one around the world last couple years. I didnt get one because the price, ended up with a older Prout 35 which I love. little wider little more room. The 105 started in the 90's so even the earlier ones can be cost you a few bucks. If you got the cash check out the PDQ 36.

[advocate777]

Am also leaning towards a Gemini 105mc within the next 6 - 9 months.
Have also heard that a PDQ36 is good but I have never sailed on one.
Catalac's also are in the running but it will come down to price and plus they seem to come on the market overseas and I am based on the Chesapeake-
100K is about the max I can swing - give or take
anyone have any experience in comparing the above boats? (Gemini-PDQ36-Catalac)
Do you think my price range is realistic/ I have seen Gemini's on yachtworld from 90-120K on the low end.
I am partial to the Gemini-
It will be just for my wife and I, with an occasional guest or two.
Don't mean to hijack the thread but wold be interested in sharing notes with the poster as we go forward regarding the gemini and other cats in the same price range-

[Dulcesuenos]

For 100k I would look at the PDQ 32. There's a LRC model in GA for 100k . Great shape looked at it myself. Even though its 2 births vs 3 the two births are each the size of the larger birth of the gem and one is equal to the two of the two rear births of the gem combined. In other words the Gems rear births are too small for two avg people. The salon is nicer in the pdq and the build quality far superior plus twin engines.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by advocate777

Am also leaning towards a Gemini 105mc within the next 6 - 9 months.
Have also heard that a PDQ36 is good but I have never sailed on one.
Catalac's also are in the running but it will come down to price and plus they seem to come on the market overseas and I am based on the Chesapeake-
100K i.......

In general, I think it would depend on what your projected boat use is. For day sails or weekenders, the Gemini is the way to go as it has plenty of room, it will also out perform the other two boats, being lighter and faster. If you plan on anchoring out a lot or traveling, you'll want a heavier boat with 2 diesels to handle your refrigeration, battery bank and solar panels.

Safety, redundancy, reliability, maneuverability (especially with high winds on the beam when docking), speed, battery charging capacity and cruising range, are all greatly increased with twin diesels.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Tropic Cat

In general, I think it would depend on what your projected boat use is. For day sails or weekenders, the Gemini is the way to go as it has plenty of room, it will also out perform the other two boats, being lighter and faster. If you plan on anchoring out a lot or traveling, you'll want a heavier boat with 2 diesels to handle your refrigeration, battery bank and solar panels.

Safety, redundancy, reliability, maneuverability (especially with high winds on the beam when docking), speed, battery charging capacity and cruising range, are all greatly increased with twin diesels.

I think the Gemini is much more than a weekender. To me not a bluewater boat but a great liveaboard coastal cruiser. Probably not as fast as the Pdq36 as the phrf ratings show the Gemini anywhere from 30 to 50 points higher in the ratings.
The discussion of outboards vs diesels could go on forever. I've owned both and much prefer out boards.
Pros of diesels:
1. Maybe a better range than outboards
2. Better charging capabilities
Pros of outboards:
1. No prop saildrives or shaft in the water full time. Which means a big increase in speed and no worries of electrolysis and growth on the drive.
2. Lighter weight which means better sailing performance.
With the price of solar being so low and the deck space on a cat so large using the motor to charge the batteries shouldn't be an issue.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by smj

...
The discussion of outboards vs diesels could go on forever. I've owned both and much prefer out boards. ..

No, I think its a very short conversation. If you've sailed in the tropics, then you've been struck by lightning. It's happened to me as well. The outboards get fried and diesels are unaffected. No electric or electronics to get toasted. This could mean the difference between having a nasty afternoon or losing your boat.

Southwinds, an American sailing magazine, featured an article on lightning strikes and boats in their June 2009 issue, and mentioned my experience in their story.

Click here to read my Lightning hit story in print. (It's on page 44.)

Like I said, it depends what you're going to do with the boat.