Quote:
Originally Posted by Otia
Sorry for my English, I'm French speaking.
Disclaimer: First I must say I am a monohull person and I have some resentment towards seaworthiness of cats.
This past fall I sailed a L380 from NYC to Turks & Caicos.
We hit a bad winter storm on October 30-31. Up to 60 kts winds. I thought the Cat would break in pieces, but it held. Those noises though... it's nothing to make you feel confident. Never again I want to sail a Cat in a bad storm.
One other major complain I have about the L380, the one I was sailing anyway, is the lack of sail controls. For instance, there were no outhaul, no vang, no nothing! It was obviously a boat for cruising the BVIs in fair weather. May be not all L380 are the same, I don't know. When in rough weather, like you have to expect in a long crossing through the Pacific, you do appreciate controls to reduce your sails, flatten them, etc. |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Otia
Hey, I did not want to upset you, nor anyone else. I did put a disclaimer, I admit I am biased in favor of monohulls:
- For the same money, let say as a L380, you can get a serious monohull with similar comfort.
- I did sail cats a few times, not just once. It's nice, lots of space, but I lack this feeling of sailing -- again, I'm biased. Not everyone feels the same, and it's ok! I have friends who bought cats, we still are friends...
- High seas seaworthiness of cats is disputed. Whoever is considering getting a cat to cross the Pacific should be aware of this and make an informed decision.
- cheers. |
The fact is that in 60 knots of storm force conditions, any sailing vessel - mono or cat - will sound like it's going to break up and disintegrate because the
wind will be screaming through the
rigging and over the coach roof. The seas generated by 60 knots will also toss any vessel around like a toy - most sea worthy vessels can handle this abuse BUT whether the humans onboard can handle the sustained stress and induced fear, is another question.
I wonder if Otia has been at sea in a mono in 60 knots storm conditions? - if so, then he can make a comparison. If not, then his comments above are moot until such time... there's a youtube clip of a L440 in 60 knots and the
skipper seems to have enjoyed himself, LOL!!!
The second comment regarding the sea worthiness of modern cats on the high seas is just not true any longer (if it ever was). I too was a monohull die hard but really the old mono chestnut "cats flip easily in storm conditions" is just misplaced. Any objective analysis/research of the available evidence of cats in storm conditions and any
research into modern cat design and specific
catamaran storm tactics, quickly dispels this old chestnut.
The reality is that many lagoons (albeit they are heavier & slower than other cats out there) have crossed oceans safely and weathered storm conditions while doing it.
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