Do Multihullers Ever go Back?

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Port Phillip Bay, Millpond to 2 metre waves in ten minutes and zero visibility, Torrential rain and screaming winds,

I sank my Speedboat on the ramp with Following seas, Dragged it out with the car, A 60 foot sail boat was up on the rocks beside the Ramp,
13 boats sank in Port Phillip that day,
It wasnt forecast, It just happened, Bang, Out of nowhere,

Boatie sailed a Mono across the Southern Ocean from Perth to Hobart, Ask him about it,

Tasmania is only 140 miles away from where I live, across Bass Straight, Hahahaha,

Victoria or Tasmania, Australia, you dont like rough weather, Dont buy a boat,
New Zealand is the same,

You will get caught in it, No matter how well you plan your trip,
Winds in excess of Forty knots is quite common here,

And there is nothing between us and the Antartic to slow the winds down, we get the full Whammy, If your not prepared for it, You will die, Its quite simple,

Well Mr B, you sure like the dramatic exposition!

But I'm not quite sure that you grasp that the conditions that you quote don't mean much. The Port Phillip Bay scene that you mention... we've had similar things in many places, especially in the tropics far from the 40's. And sinking your speedboat on a ramp?? How is that related to cruising in Australia in a sailboat?

And Boaties delivery of Wotnames boat across the Bight... what about it? He successfully sailed a small plywood Van de Stadt on a routine passage. I've been on the boat, and it surely isn't a special heavy weather design, but it made it in good order.

And so you live 140 miles away from Tassie, "hahaha". That's nice! But does it mean that you know much about sailing there, or about sailing to there? Perhaps so... perhaps not so much. You say that you aren't a tourist (in your next post). In fact, you haven't even sailed in Tassie at all as I read it. I don't know if Ann and I are tourists there or not. We've made 10 two way crossings between NSW and Tasmania so far and spent 11 summers cruising the Tasmanian waters, including one circumnavigation of the island. We have seen some strong winds and big seas, but nothing that we haven't experienced elsewhere. We think that it is a truly wonderful place to cruise. You say that you have lived and boated there all your life... seems a shame that you haven't enjoyed such a good cruising ground.

Jim

PS To all: please excuse this thread drift on my part. I just get kinda passionate about Tassie, and hate to see misinformation go unchallenged. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, of course, but opinions backed by experience are my favorite types.

[boatman61]

Sorry MrB... gotta go with Jim on this... when your boats up together again grab a nice window and Island hop the Bass down to the E coast of Tassie.. I loved it down there.. lots of sheltered cruising grounds and places to hang out..
Plus you'll get to meet Wotname.. that alone is worth the trip..

[markpierce]

Typical multihuller in the Bay Area. (Photo taken yesterday; boat appeared to make a drastic course change to "buzz" me.)

[markpierce]

Zoom:

[Factor]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Typical multihuller in the Bay Area.

Bay Area?
Moreton Bay? Redland Bay? Deception Bay? Hudson Bay? Bay of Biscay? Bay of Islands? Bay of Plenty?

As for buzzing you - sure thats what he was doing, playing chicken with a big steel boat, for his next trick he will stand on the freeway jumping in from to trucks, and buzzing them.

[Southern Star]

donradcliffe, did you truly believe that your post #788 in some way advances this thread (do multihullers ever go back?); certainly it speasks to your irrational hatred of mulithulls, but beyond that, what were you attempting to accomplish? You pose a question as to why less than 3% of the boats in your marina are mulithulls and then suggest that "maybe the sailors her know something that the armchair promoters on this forum don't.

Wonderful cyclical reasoning: those who own multihulls here (or presumably elsewhere) and promote the same are not sailors, but purely 'armchair' promoters. Why? Obviously, because all real sailors own and promote monohulls and therefore only armchair sailors own and promote multihulls.

Your 'reasoning' is positively breath-taking! Suddenly all has become clear!

Brad

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Factor

Bay Area?
Moreton Bay? Redland Bay? Deception Bay? Hudson Bay? Bay of Biscay? Bay of Islands? Bay of Plenty? .

No. The San Francisco Estuary (bays and delta) in CENTRAL CALIFORNIA.

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by Factor

Something else you have no experience with? I have a screecher and yes I can single handedly use it. No you cant use them partially furled, why would you? The answer to long periods of downwind sailing is MPS, again easy to single hand.

Your offshore inexperience is showing--have you ever had to deal with getting an MPS down singlehanded in the middle of the night in a 35 knot squall? When you are not at your best, having averaged about 2 hours sleep for the last 4 days (read Rebel Heart's comments on sleep deprivation)?? What is your wife/GF going to do when you get pulled overboard by the damn thing?

Since you won't believe a monohuller, here is a quote from a multihuller on CF

"Re: Is a screecher worth it?
Having both a 90sqm screecher and a 155sqm ASYI, I find the main determinant as to what I use, is the number of crew. Certainly sailing short handed (me and one novice), it's always the screecher, even deep down wind, when I relocate the tack to the just inside the windward bow/cross beam junction where it flys well even behind the full main. With a useful assistant, as well as the prospect of a reasonable time on a given tack (30 min or more) I'll use the ASYI for optimal performance and style. Obviously the sails don't fully overlap in wind angle performance with the screecher being significantly better at 70-90 TWA and the ASYI at 140-160 TWA range. If I could only have one, I'd look at the likely crew composition. You need two strong able bodied people to handle the ASYI (one on the sheets/halyards/winches and the strongest on the tramp hauling the sock up or down with down generally being the problem), potentially three if you get caught with 25+kts (two forward).
__________________
"Second Wind"
Lagoon 440 Hull #30
Brisbane, Australia.

Now as to why you would want to partially furl the screecher, maybe it would better than running bare poles or trying to unfurl the jib without taking the screecher down and making a great tangled mess aloft. But I'm seeing that the continuous line furlers won't hold the loads, so maybe you should just run under bare poles until daylight.

[donradcliffe]

Now to what is my next ride, where I am mostly racing against former multihullers who have gone monohull--

The final clue is that this type of boat holds the world record for speed under sail at an awesome 110 knots!

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by Southern Star

donradcliffe, did you truly believe that your post #788 in some way advances this thread (do multihullers ever go back?); certainly it speasks to your irrational hatred of mulithulls, but beyond that, what were you attempting to accomplish? You pose a question as to why less than 3% of the boats in your marina are mulithulls and then suggest that "maybe the sailors her know something that the armchair promoters on this forum don't.

I think it's a legitimate question though. It does seem weird that there are so many advocates of multihulls, yet comparatively so few actual multihulls around. Of course, the many decades of monohulls on the resale market affects that. The reason for so few in California is probably also due to greater distance from Europe (where the biggest manufacturers are) as well as those sky-high California taxes.

Still, when you go to boat shows, I would estimate off the top of my head that about 2/3rds monohulls, and 1/3 multihulls. They are selling, and they are out there.

[weavis]

I love the design and interiors of the Lagoon. They handle well and go like stink.

I am less than enthralled with the open steering position during inclement weather. Apart from that, there is no reason to go back to a monohull.. except a Haber 34C

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4ghZTPqoHU

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Rohan

I It does seem weird that there are so many advocates of multihulls, yet comparatively so few actual multihulls around.

As pointed out already, that highly depends on your location. It is very often in the Caribe that the multi's in an anchorage outnumber the monos. Move your eyes upwards and look at the banner photo at the top of this page, for example! Go to a boatyard in the Caribe and count - the numbers of multis are staggering and nobody in the Caribe will say that they hardly see any actual multihulls around. Walk the brokerage docks in Florida. I imagine similar is true for Australia, South Africa, France, the Mediterranean areas, etc. It is isolated areas, indeed, that find themselves with few multis.

Especially in Santa Cruz. The conditions there are just too fierce and frightening for multihulls.

Mark

[StuM]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

With all the promotion of multi's that goes on, why is the number of multi's in my harbor less than 3% of the monos? The percentage of multi's who sail instead of being dock queens is even less. Maybe the sailors here know something that the armchair promoters on this forum don't.

A typical Qld marina. I count at least 20 cats in this location alone.

http://www.camcopng.com/images/mooloolaba.jpg

[captain58sailin]

I spent a month in Taz, and loved it. Sorry to say didn't get to go to sea there, but the drive around the island, well part way around the island, they got this big sheep station and they don't want you driving through, imagine that. Loved the fruit stands by the road, top of the line cherries. Hobart wooden boat festival was top notch. Did cross on the ferry, nice ride. I almost moved there. A lot like Alaska except they drive on the other side of the road, which I put the fear of God into a few locals when I forgot which side of the road I was supposed to be on. Beautiful Huon pine boats.

[Factor]

Its your inexperience showing now.

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Your offshore inexperience is showing--have you ever had to deal with getting an MPS down singlehanded in the middle of the night in a 35 knot squall? When you are not at your best, having averaged about 2 hours sleep for the last 4 days (read Rebel Heart's comments on sleep deprivation)?? What is your wife/GF going to do when you get pulled overboard by the damn thing?

I have dealt with that scenario a few times offshore, where BTW its much easier tan coastal simply because I have way more room. Free tutorial for you, release tack line MPS wraps round back of main, pull down sock, drop all on big wide foredeck. Or just pull down sock. But not likely I would have the biggest MPS up in middle of night unless I had good reason to believe it would be benign.

Since you won't believe a monohuller, here is a quote from a multihuller on CF

I will believe a monohuller, no problem at all. Someone who doesn't know what they are talking about - whole nother matter.

"[I]Re: Is a screecher worth it?
Having both a 90sqm screecher and a 155sqm ASYI, I find the main determinant as to what I use, is the number of crew. Certainly sailing short handed (me and one novice), it's always the screecher, even deep down wind, when I relocate the tack to the just inside the windward bow/cross beam junction where it flys well even behind the full main. With a useful assistant, as well as the prospect of a reasonable time on a given tack (30 min or more) I'll use the ASYI for optimal performance and style. Obviously the sails don't fully overlap in wind angle performance with the screecher being significantly better at 70-90 TWA and the ASYI at 140-160 TWA range. If I could only have one, I'd look at the likely crew composition. You need two strong able bodied people to handle the ASYI (one on the sheets/halyards/winches and the strongest on the tramp hauling the sock up or down with down generally being the problem), potentially three if you get caught with 25+kts (two forward).

You may need two strong crew on that boat, you don't on mine. And in any event I have a couple of different sized MPS sails, I buy old used ones from smaller boats for overnight use or high wind use, same as I reef almost every night just to be sure.

Now as to why you would want to partially furl the screecher, maybe it would better than running bare poles or trying to unfurl the jib without taking the screecher down and making a great tangled mess aloft. But I'm seeing that the continuous line furlers won't hold the loads, so maybe you should just run under bare poles until daylight

Why would you have a great tangled mess aloft? If the Screecher is out, turn down wind, apparent drops , furl screecher, drop on big wide foredeck into bag clipped to tramps, roll out jib.

I am not sure how any of this is relevant to the topic. I am also not sure why you assume I have no offshore experience, I am also not sure why you are getting so wound up.