3 options small Cat

[bouncycastle]

My cousin had the prout snowgoose before he died from cancer . I helped him on his annual North France Ireland cruises. Headroom in center cabin not good.Yanmar ,35 HP problematic for parts and ate belts until the source was identified a bearing gone on the engine drive. Short choppy seas the out drive cavitated punching upwind . Motoring Against wind slow and ate fuel really needs a 60 PR 80 HP turning bigger slower prop or twin 30 hp in the two hulls and folders with all those costs and loss of space and noise to cabins. For costal cruising the modern outboards fuel economy looks the way to go .Sailing against the wind hard work slow real slow or slow punch upwind with motor on 60% or 3 knots at best or fuel figures go out the window . The average wind force in the mid lattices is force three. The extra wetted area of the cats requires a force 5 to get moving if its a older era made heavy type cat like snowgoose of the 1980 era..Very strong boats if your caught in force 12 but windows should be stronger and rudders are too small prone to issues of wearing out parts or repairs. Weight kills cats like treating a sports car like its a truck impacts sports cars. High performance cats are two hulls with acres of sails on huge masts twice the length of the boats hull length. Cruising cats are masts the same length as the hulls so when fully canvassed in force 8 will still not turn over.What does it take to over turn a 35 foot prout of the 1970 era in the 1970 era. In a force 7 close to shore with offshore wind small waves off the Irish east coast with 7 foot extended mast with full spinaker and genoeo and full main doing 18 knots plus while passing Wicklow head a reasonable sized mountain region the down draught and funnel effect of the local mountains proved too much.The novice sailor left at the wheel while the experienced crew went below to play cards meant the boat flipped..Expericed. crew if steering had enough time to depower the craft if they had been on the helm. Standard sails the craft would probably not had the capsize but speeds would have been slower . Realistically for mid latitude sailing most cruising cats need to go on mega weight diet forget diesel engines do modern e tec OB just opt to drift in light airs and need larger rigs if your not planning to stay in trade wind regions and always only sail with tail winds.

[sailhand]

My mast is 15 metres and my boat is nearly 14 metres. Bob orams boat is 14 metres and so is his mast. These boats are considerably stronger than 1970s cats. Engineering in cats has advanced considerably since those early boats. The use of unis and carbon etc along with modern finite element analysis provide much stiffer structures with much less weight. Those older boats are tough though. Chopper gun or woven fabrics, whatever the case maybe, made for thick laminates that were very resin rich. A lot of production boats werent even hand laminated after the emergence of the chopper gun. The hulls are thick and heavy but not particularly strong for their weight. If you had 25% glass you were doing well, and what glass you have is cut into very short lengths which inhibits the overall strength of the laminates. Try to get something that is at least hand laid and preferably not woven fabric, stitched fabrics where the glass stays straight is much stonger. I am not sure but i think the pdq cats were made with more modern techniques possibly cored and with better resins. Beware the polyester boats with ply bulkheads and water tanks that are part of the hull. One brand of australian production cat had fresh water tanks that used the hulls and a main structual bulkhead as part of the tanks, these invariably rot.

[Espiros]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

Heavy compared to what? The 35 I mentioned in my earlier post is lighter than a Lagoon 380 and a FP Mahe 36. Both are considered decent entry level blue water boats. Yes they are under rigged, but at the same time have a better SAD than both the modern 'blue water boats' mentioned above. In fact the weight and SAD of the 35 is comparable to the PDQ36. The stats are there to check.

So the only accurate part of your statement is the low bridge deck clearance. There's no getting around that.

Don't get me wrong. There is plenty not to like about Prouts, and I'm not recommending the OP buys one, but your description of them seems off to the point of having an agenda.

EDIT: I should also add that the SAD and the weight of a Snowgoose 35 is better than a Gemini 105M, but worse than the MC version. That being said, the Prout is a much stronger built boat.

Thanks

[Espiros]

Originally Posted by Seafarer7

Also take a look at the Victory 35 catamaran. Hard to beat in terms of roominess and liveability in that size range.

love this boat!

could be the name?

I love Victory motorcycles as well!


you right they look great

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by Espiros

love this boat!

could be the name?

I love Victory motorcycles as well!


you right they look great

They look good and are comfortable but they have many issues with window leaking and cracking, also some were outboard powered and some were diesel, so options there, I know one has made it to Hawaii, and I've seen a few around the caribbean. They have a nice layout inside, honestly not sure they are as well made as the Endeavour cats. I say this after sending one in pieces (Irma boat) and seeing it's construction I've seen Endeavour 36 cats in your range. Though not what I consider a pretty cat they sail well, were well made, and great accommodations.

[Espiros]

yes, I seen those endeavours and like them.
I like how open the main saloon is ..

[boatman61]

Watch these guys on a traditional classic Wharram living aboard as a family to get an idea what its like.
The new Tiki designs are nicer and being lighter sail a bit better. Great sea boats designed by the guy who taught the modern designers the importance of beam to length ratios.. and unlike many he sails his own designs.
Meet Sailing 2 Canoes.

https://youtu.be/Vd-nt2lgSGw

[jmh2002]

Yep, Wharrams should be still be rated as a choice if you just want to get out cruising in a warm weather climate.

Keep the simplistic, easy to maintain parts, add some more creature comforts, and try to have the best of both worlds without spending 500k to 1m.

Do the Dready Gunn Roberts pirate crew look like they are somehow having less fun vs money spent?

I think not... I think they are living the dream...

[JasonL]

One manufacturer, not yet suggested, is Seawind, their earlier 9m, then 10m, then 10.8m models.

[alansmith]

Boatman, just a thanks for the link to "Sailing 2 Canoes". What a joyus thing to watch. Absolute joy to see this couple raising these two beautiful little girls on 2 canoes....Only sad thing is ....so few videos. Watching another video blog called Sailing Project Aticus....they put out a video almost weekly...what a grind to keep up with that kind of schedule.

Any way...to the original poster looking for a catamaran that is sea worthy and reasonable price....Wharram cats rock my world. I have a trimaran that comes apart and trailered to where ever i want to go and drop her in. There certainly is a case that can be made for boats that won't cost you both of your gonads. I paid 15K for my boat plus a 2008 Hayabusa Suzuki rice burner on steroids. I sold it for the guy and remitted him 7500. It has 2 large bunks, Lavac head, kitchen, Engle fridge, and outboard. A Corsair F31 will cost you 70-100K. Corsair's advantage is foldable amas. But my boat is larger and more robust at sea....much more livable inside.

Wish you the best of luck in your choices....choose well....choose simple...you will regret buying complex and expensive unless you have deep pockets.

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by Espiros

Gemini 105
Prout snowgoose elite 37
Tomcat 9.5

New to sailing.
Dreaming of buying my first and last Catamaran

Would love to be able cross oceans few years from now.


From these 3?

Which one would you sugest and why?

Budget $80,000 tops

Have you seen this article?

https://www.sailmagazine.com/multihu...r-classic-cats

[tomtriad]

Just a work of advice, no matter which catamaran you buy. Weight is the kiss of death to multihull performance and safety. In your original post you noted how much storage space is offered in the Prout. Don't fill it up! Just because you have volume doesn't mean you have to fill it all with stuff. Multihulls get their stability from buoyancy. The smaller ones (under 40') don't give you as much payload as a comparably sized monohull. Leave the scuba tanks and compressor at home, and stick with snorkelling!

[Scout 30]

Don't forget the Fisher Catfishers. Probably not the fastest but I love the way they look & I'm sure they're very well built.

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/197...isher-3176043/
28 Fisher Catamaran - built by Fairways - Catfisher
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