Bigger cost: very big monohull or medium big catamaran

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by accomplice

I beg to differ. At 58' monohull we're not that much bigger than 55' and handle a family of 7 easily -- and occasionally cruise with up to 4 guests as well. .

And people liveaboard and cruise 20 ft yachts as well an probably claim that's easy to.

Your easy is most definetly someone else's nightmare.
Great for you if you can do it, but its not for everyone.

[accomplice]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

And people liveaboard and cruise 20 ft yachts as well an probably claim that's easy to.

Your easy is most definetly someone else's nightmare.
Great for you if you can do it, but its not for everyone.

Everything is relative, and it depends on what you get used to. It reminds me of the story of the Rabbi and the goat. After cruising with 3 adults and 8 kids on board, cruising with only 2 adults and 5 kids was relatively easy.

[voehringer]

Ah, life....it’s how you choose to look at it.

We are a 60 ft Brewer; myself, wife and 11 yr old. We each have our own space(s) and I could see one or two more permenant crew if necessary. With that said, the issue for us was sail plan. Sloops and even catches start having some large (read difficult to single-hand) equipment.


Wa are a three masted schooner, so each sail is comparable to what you have on a 35-45 ft boat. All easily handled by one person. The trick is not to get caught out with too much laundry up. I’ll let you know how it goes, but we try to be very conservative. If we want to get there fast we go by plane.

[Olddan1943]

Originally Posted by voehringer

Ah, life....it’s how you choose to look at it.

We are a 60 ft Brewer; myself, wife and 11 yr old.

Wa are a three masted schooner, so each sail is comparable to what you have on a 35-45 ft boat.

That will be a handful to single hand especially at night. Really should have two people awake when underway, one at the helm and one on watch.

[markpierce]

At my marina, a berth's cost (at an end tie as double-sided berths can't accommodate extra-wide boats) for a wide catamaran costs 50 percent more for a given length of a single-hulled boat.

[a64pilot]

Expense?
Will depend I believe on which boat is in better shape, has higher quality fitting and is a better build, not number of hulls.
I have seen way more money spent on wet decks and other structural problems than I have seen on bottom jobs etc.
Some boats and designs don't seem to age well. I am not a fan of saildrives for instance, I suspect ones that are years old cost more to maintain than shaft drives of the same age for instance.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Olddan1943

That will be a handful to single hand especially at night. Really should have two people awake when underway, one at the helm and one on watch.

I have my autopilot at the helm 100% of the time on passage leaving me to be on watch.

People sail fast around the world single handed fairly regularly.

[valhalla360]

In the end it's probably a wash but a lot depends on where and how you travel.

If it's occasionally having extra bodies or 24/7 for months makes a big difference. Are these kids or adult couples?

Personally, I would lean towards a cat as a better living platform but a 55-60' mono isn't bad. But both will be tight living for a permanent situation with 6 adults.

Yeah, in some areas, they charge more per foot for a cat, but you have a lot more feet with a mono. A lot of moorings, have size cut offs (up to XX ft) and at 55-60', you will be over where the cat may be allowed...but not a huge issue.

I would suggest taking some time to go to the big boat shows and get on several to see what the spaces look like.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Personally, I would lean towards a cat

Once again I'll mention weight issues.

Probably OK if your worldly possessions are a swimming cosie and a shared toothbrush but if you want to maintain any sort of original intended performance from what I have seen many/most production cats will suffer with 6 people, all their gear, a couple of months of supplies, upgraded anchor gear, chain and a spare or 3, diving gear, genset, SUP, decent dinghy and outboard, fuel, water, desal, spares and for the softies, a/c.


I would be happy to be proven wrong.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Once again I'll mention weight issues.

Probably OK if your worldly possessions are a swimming cosie and a shared toothbrush but if you want to maintain any sort of original intended performance from what I have seen many/most production cats will suffer with 6 people, all their gear, a couple of months of supplies, upgraded anchor gear, chain and a spare or 3, diving gear, genset, SUP, decent dinghy and outboard, fuel, water, desal, spares and for the softies, a/c.


I would be happy to be proven wrong.

Next time, I suggest, post the whole quote in context.

I already covered the issues you brought up. We really need to know more about who these people are and how long they will be on board.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Next time, I suggest, post the whole quote in context.

I already covered the issues you brought up. We really need to know more about who these people are and how long they will be on board.

Angry response from you.

I believe post 1 covered it.

. Say you have a big crew and want to comfortably fit 6 on board. You hope to complete a circumnavigation and take your time doing it (over several years).

Seems pretty self explanatory to me.

[valhalla360]

I believe post 1 covered it.

Quote:
. Say you have a big crew and want to comfortably fit 6 on board. You hope to complete a circumnavigation and take your time doing it (over several years).
Seems pretty self explanatory to me.

Actually, no, post 1 did not cover it: Comfortably fitting 6 on board and completing a circumnavigation over several years are separate sentences and therefore separate thoughts. It does not clearly indicate how long the full crew will be staying on board or if they are all adults, mix of adults and small kids or some other combination.

Hence, my request for clarification on the actual crew makeup. It would be highly unusual for 6 adults to complete a circumnavigation over several years where all 6 were full time on the boat cruising (possible but unlikely). More common would be some joining for shorter periods or possibly a family with small kids. If the major crossings were primarily conducted by 2-4 adults and others would meet them at destinations, your point about cargo capacity largely goes away.

Of course, even if the boat does slow down a bit when heavily loaded, a cat is still very much a viable cruising platform. The idea you will cross oceans at 15kt is mostly marketing anyway. The big advantage of a cat is the comfortable cruising platform it provides.

[danielamartindm]

Originally Posted by Olddan1943

I can only tell you about when I was looking for a cruising live aboard motor driven cat.
We went down into the starboard hull with galley, berthing area and head. I was very comfortable, I looked at my then-wife seeking her approval.... Her eyes were big a bucket bottoms. She was not comfortable with the narrowness of the space. We went down into the second hull which included another head and berth etc. Needless to say, that was the end of me considering a cat. Less than 2 years into the marriage, she left me for a "better" and "on-shore" offer. chuckle

Perceptions differ. To me, stepping down into even larger monohulls is like entering a single wide, the perception of a long, narrow shape is unshakeable. Sure, the hulls on cats are narrow, but compensation is offered by the bridge deck saloon/galley that psychologically draws it all together and affords a straight walk-in entry to the vessel. I don't like the feeling that I'm descending into a hole, but that's just me.

[mikehmc]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

I am a cat guy, have owned them and cruised them but they do have their limitations as do all boats but consider the weight of gear you and your crew will be carrying for your lifestyle.

A large mono can usually suck up the weight without affecting performance whereas a cat will become a dog.
Its why we got what we got.
Near 5000 litres of water on board for example - makes no difference to her and one less system (desalinator) to worry about.

The list of pro's are long.

Simi 60 is your boat? I am unclear which boat type.. it sounds like you endorse cats, but then you say the cat is a dog. Which boat is carrying 5000 liters of water Simi60?

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

If I were to take the next step up, it would be to a 70ft monohull, which offers about the same space as a 45 ft catamaran like a newer Lagoon or Fountaine Pajot. Catamarans need to be evaluated individually, since some are much larger than others of a given length.

Example: An Outremer 55 is tiny compared to a Lagoon 450.

Agreed as evidenced by this photo of a Lagoon 45' beside a Helia 44' at the show. Having spent months (including transatlantic) aboard the 157' Pride of Balimore II, I can tell you that how the boat is laid out has a great deal to do with it. There was no "alone time" with a crew of only 12 :-)

Regards,