The Gemini 105

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by blighhigh

The fiberglass is not vacuum bagged like the better cats. The trimaran from PCI had vacuum bagged amahs but not the main hull.

Not sure if buy that except on the verticle faces of the Top decks . Lots of boats weren't vacuum bagged and don't crack like the gem. We looked at an 08 and it had cracks you could slide a credit card into in too many places to count. We noticed the deck and floor in most of the places had an uneasy amount of flex. Things flex too much other things start cracking

[blighhigh]

If you don't like the vacuum bagging idea then perhaps it is just poor quality control on part of the factory. That was my impression as a former owner. I don't know if the quality control has improved under Hunter management.

[ozzy]

Thanks for that I was not sure if the centre boards could be fully retracted or not. I would like to be able to sit the boat down on soft estuary mud, there are miles of sheltered estuary where we live and it would be ideal to keep costs down if from time to time the boat could sit on the mud.
Thanks again good to here from a Gemini owner, still not decided on which boat to settle on I think more homework and I would like to have a sail in one of course.
Thanks again
Austin

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by ozzy

Thanks for that I was not sure if the centre boards could be fully retracted or not. I would like to be able to sit the boat down on soft estuary mud, there are miles of sheltered estuary where we live and it would be ideal to keep costs down if from time to time the boat could sit on the mud.
Thanks again good to here from a Gemini owner, still not decided on which boat to settle on I think more homework and I would like to have a sail in one of course.
Thanks again
Austin

Centre boards retract fully, Rudders also lift up as can be seen in the piccy, The motor is Hyraulically lifted to clear the ground as well,

As I said previously, be carefull with your thru hulls, They could get popped out,

[Angels of Rio]

I have beached my Gemini on many occasions over many years and never had any issues. What I would say is, drop a kedge anchor from the stern as you run in to the shallow water. If you are in a tidal area you can pull yourself in to deeper water as soon as she floats to drop the leg and motor back in to deeper water if necessary. Or you can just sit and wait.

Regarding the hard cockpit, you will be very happy with it in poor weather, either rain or cold.

I actually have the Gemini number 717 that Tony Smith and his son sailed across the Atlantic from the factory. I think I will never do that again was the 27 days at sea rather than any concerns with the boat. They recorded calms, big seas, high winds and even over 18 knots in the log. I have sailed UK to Gibraltar via Biscay (in late Sept) never any concerns with sea worthiness or safety concerns with the boat.

I have just upgraded to a Lagoon 440, quite a different ball game altogether

I have some reasonable history with the Gemini so any questions are more than welcome

[ozzy]

Thanks angels of rio I will certainly bear you in mind if I need to know any more information., I think the ability to take ground is one of best features of a cat, along with the ability to be stable at anchor. I know I will be pretty keen to stay out of marinas.

[waltsailing]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

As we seem to off the Gemini 105 and more onto cat engines.....

Does anyone have experience with a sailing catamaran having just one inboard in one hull?

Hi,

On the Gemini 105Mc, M, DL etc., the deisel engine is not in the hull, but rather mounted center on the cockpit deck. The drive leg has a few advantages over sail drives, it comes out of the water when sailing or when at anchor/dock. It is linked with the steering, and turns when you steer the boat, providing directional thrust. The drive leg has a latch that can be set to allow the drive leg to hit things(bottom, for example) and bounce up and not damage anything. And, it cross links the steering cables, via a couple of lines, so that if you have a open on one steering cable, both rudders will still steer. Furthermore, the prop, drive leg are out of the water when sailing, so you have less drag, perhaps a 1/2 knot or more in some conditions. zincs on the prop shaft can and do regularly last 5-7 years! The drive leg oil can be changed in the water and the drive leg can be serviced and removed/re-installed in the water without a haulout. But these are easier if you are out of the water. The Gemini is driven by a 27HP westerbeke. With one engine, the Gemini has two independant fuel tanks, and it is not in living areas, so no engine smell inside cabins. Many have added switchable dual fuel filters.

Regards,
Walt,

[donradcliffe]

I'm looking at delivering a Gemini 105 MC down to Southern California next week. Since the boat is new to me, I have a few questions for the Gemini owners here:

1. I expect that I could see 25-30 knots of wind ( with higher gusts) north of Pt Conception. What is the maximum wind (on the quarter) that you would feel comfortable on the boat?

2. What kind of daily run can I expect to comfortably achieve with 20+ knots of wind behind me in the open ocean? The boat seems heavily loaded, with a dinghy on davits.

3. In these conditions, where would you keep the centerboards? My understanding guess would be to keep the leeward board up and the windward one about halfway down, but I'd like some confirmation.

4. I also expect light winds past Conception. What kind of fuel consumption can I expect at 6 knots in smooth water? Do you think the sonic drive leg is reliable enough to run for 300 miles without problems?

5. Anything else I should be aware of?

I'm still not sure I'm going, because my back is still sore from last week's landsailor crash, but I'll pass on your input to whoever takes the boat.

Thanks in advance.

[Training Wheels]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I'm looking at delivering a Gemini 105 MC down to Southern California next week. Since the boat is new to me, I have a few questions for the Gemini owners here:

1. I expect that I could see 25-30 knots of wind ( with higher gusts) north of Pt Conception. What is the maximum wind (on the quarter) that you would feel comfortable on the boat?

2. What kind of daily run can I expect to comfortably achieve with 20+ knots of wind behind me in the open ocean? The boat seems heavily loaded, with a dinghy on davits.

3. In these conditions, where would you keep the centerboards? My understanding guess would be to keep the leeward board up and the windward one about halfway down, but I'd like some confirmation.

4. I also expect light winds past Conception. What kind of fuel consumption can I expect at 6 knots in smooth water? Do you think the sonic drive leg is reliable enough to run for 300 miles without problems?

5. Anything else I should be aware of?

I'm still not sure I'm going, because my back is still sore from last week's landsailor crash, but I'll pass on your input to whoever takes the boat.

Thanks in advance.

Used to have a 105 Mc
1, Was in more wind than that, no issues.

2, 7-8 knots should be easy, but we kept ours light.

3, Both centerboards up.

4, As long as the drive has been maintained, very reliable. We burned about 1/2 gph at 5-6 knots.

5, the lighter the boat, the better.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[donradcliffe]

Thanks for the response. We may wait for a better weather window and motor most of the way. I got the centerboard ideas from Mr B, who used to post on CF and sailed his Gemini from Fiji to Australia--

If your beam on in big waves with your down wind centre board down on the Gemini,

Its downright Bloody scary, The boat leans over wickedly, It picks up the the wave on the high side and over it goes, The down wind centre board digs in,

The boat at 70 degrees beam on, Or sideways to the big waves, I wont do that again, Thats just not fun, Changed my undies after that one,

I had my windward side down fully and the Leeside up fully. and had no trouble with it, Just a comfortable cruise,

But with no centre boards down, The Gem would flick around to being beam on, Very scary also,

This is in waves over 4 or 5 metres high, But under that, I had no problems going across the waves at about 30 degrees to the waves,


some similar advice from the father of one of the crew on a Gemini that flipped in 2012 when racing--

Some facts from my young son suggest that the boat tripped over one of the boards. Another post said the gemini can be scary 70 degrees of the wind/beam sea because it is possible to lift a hull with the leeward board down and sailed hard. Keep the windward board down and the gemini apparently behaves fine even sailed hard. I would suggest low aspect ratio keels are the domain of true cruising cat. The gemini and other similiar catamarans with boards require more care.

[Training Wheels]

Beam to big waves is death to any multihull. The Gem only has a 14' beam, so I would be very nervous in beam seas bigger than that.
We only put a board down starting around 60 degrees apparent, or in light winds upwind. Boards down maneuvering in the harbor.

[Davy J]

This is in waves over 4 or 5 metres high, But under that, I had no problems going across the waves at about 30 degrees to the waves,

Do you expect to encounter these types of conditions?

I haven't experienced 4-5 meter waves so can't comment on that other to say that we sail the boat with the boards up except when sailing to windward or maneuvering in tight quarters. Also, you will need a board down to tack in light winds.

On a trip to Key West last year, in Hawk Channel, we had 19-22 knots on the stern. Wing on wing with a poled out genoa going 7.5 - 8.5 knots and hit a top speed of 9 knots.

When it comes time to motor into a slip I always do a "reverse check". What I mean by that is, I will put the boat into reverse in open water away from the dock, to make sure that the drive leg is locked down and will not pop up at an inconvenient time.

If you will need to gybe downwind, mark or knot the mainsheet so that you don't accidentally take out the lower rear stays.

[donradcliffe]

Here's a report on how not to sail a Gemini. I think these guys would have ended up in trouble no matter what boat they bought.

Found at sea - News - Panama City News Herald - Panama City, FL

[Bobbob911]

Just curious - what do you think they did wrong or could have done better?

[svGenesis]

Originally Posted by Bobbob911

Just curious - what do you think they did wrong or could have done better?

They said they had the main up and motoring, IMO the One thing I don't like about the Gemini's is the beam is very narrow (14') seem's like when the starboard bow stuck in the water the weight got on top quickly whereas a wider beam may have made that less likely.