Places only a monohull can go?

[Ranshiro]

So my original plan was in about two years get a catamaran and sail the world full time. However for various reasons I am now leaning towards a monohull. When my partner heard this she said "Great now we can go on the French canals!" Which I didn't know was a thing. But looking it up, seems it can be done with the right monohull.

This got me thinking, what other places are there around the world that a monohull can go or get to that a catamaran can't? Ideally I'd want to get to as many of them as possible and make the most of having a monohull.

[Chotu]

The bottom of the ocean?

Ok, don't kill me. It's a joke. Ha ha

The canals can be done on a lot of European cats from days gone by. Prouts, Catalac, Solaris, modern Gemini. It's the beam that's the issue.

I'd say unfortunately, it's the Catamaran that will get into more places because shallow water is the main issue near shore.

Edit: Many marinas can't take cats

[belizesailor]

Narrow slips, narrow lifts, over land transport, ocean bottoms [emoji6], Okachobee Water Way (cant heel a cat to get under the bridge), some yacht clubs [emoji6], other countries with narrow canals like England.

https://youtu.be/WGAzt-8minI

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huddersfield_Narrow_Canal

[B23iL23]

Upwind?

[belizesailor]

Ha! Missed that one! [emoji6]

[thomm225]

It's more than just about where they cannot go.

If you want a home to park on the water, get a catamaran.

If you want a true sailing experience and plan to actually sail, get a monohull. (and yes there is heel and the wine glasses and cheese will fall off the table if not put away)

Most cruising cats have sail plans way out of proportion and just appear to be slow before you even start as compared to the racing Beach Cats I sailed and others like the Corsairs

[Mr B]

Out of curiosity, I looked up the depths of the English and French canal systems,
Your ok with most depths between 1.5M and 1.8 Metres,
But how often do they dredge the canals, ??????

Your limitation is height and widths,
You wont go far with a mast up, Mono or Cat,
Widths thru the locks are very limited as well,

[woodyapex]

England ship canals potentially are that depth . But the locks and bridges would restrict a lot of sail boats . Even with the mast down .

[Edward Bairstow]

French canals have been done in Wayfarers, from the Atlantic to the Med. (see Peter Clutterbuck’s “The Sea Takes No Prisoners”). Lower the mast in the tabernacle, and then row, tow, or motor. Two hardy sailors can camp in the cockpit; the rest of us might use our schooldays French and try to get a room at a canal-side inn.

[mglonnro]

Here are some:

https://distantshores.ca/boatblog_fi...nch-canals.php

[Fore and Aft]

How about cheap boatyards and marina berths? Ranshiro pick up your phone and compare haul out costs and marina berth costs between a 40 foot cat and 40 foot monohull.
Cheers

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

How about cheap boatyards and marina berths? Ranshiro pick up your phone and compare haul out costs and marina berth costs between a 40 foot cat and 40 foot monohull.
Cheers

Haulout at most boat yards is same price, depending on the yard laydays may be a little higher. Most 32-36' cat will fit where any mono will and have more room then a 44 mono, and can go a Great many places then most monos.

[Benz]

St. Ours and Richelieu canals; lots of the smaller harbors in Newfoundland (finding open dockspace is often a challenge).

[hpeer]

Not that it’s high on your list anyway but anyplace with ice, cats and ice don’t mix. Monohulls with a single prop protected by the hull/keel are best. Two prop monks that leave the props not protected are not as good. Cats would be like ice scoops.

Some folks have done some limited high latitude work in cats but it’s rare.

[Paul Howard]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Not that it’s high on your list anyway but anyplace with ice, cats and ice don’t mix. Monohulls with a single prop protected by the hull/keel are best. Two prop monks that leave the props not protected are not as good. Cats would be like ice scoops.

Some folks have done some limited high latitude work in cats but it’s rare.

I have sailed our Manta catamaran through many canals: ICW, Caledonia canal (Scotland), Great Lakes, in and out through the locks at Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires, Argentina, etc.
I have sailed the high latitudes, to Labrador, across Iceberg Alley to Iceland, across the Arctic Circle, south and around Cape Horn, through the Beagle Channel and into many ice choked anchorages among the glaciers along there. We avoided being damaged by ice in Alaska among the glaciers there by keeping a good watch and noting wind direction.
Any boat can get crushed in the ice, cat or mono. Any boat can run over ice and have their prop damaged, though by keeping a good watch and slowly nudging aside small chunks, the props (ours were saildrives with Maxprops) were never damaged in North Atlantic, North Pacific nor South Atlantic and Pacific ice.

A well built, well outfitted catamaran sailed with good seamanship can go anywhere a monohull can, and the crew be more comfortable, too, whether at anchor or at sea. We have had monohull sailors come over to our boat in rolly anchorages just to get a break from hanging on constantly in their rolly monohulls.
Docking was rarely a problem, the only places we were charged extra for our beam (21ft) was in Portugal and Spain.