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Old 04-07-2019, 04:57   #31
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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Originally Posted by LeeV View Post
Center your wheel (rudders), and lock or tie it in place. Do not touch.
Put one engine in forward and the other in reverse (equal amounts depending on wind and currents). She’ll spin within her beam.

Yep, that's easy.


Doing Cpt Marks trick of circling a buoy keeping your bows pointing to it is a whole different ballgame. You need to use rudder as well to "crab walk" at the same time as you are spinning.



Before trying that, start off by crab walking while pointing in a fixed direction. Apply hard helm towards the engine in forward and you walk sideways towards the engine in reverse (At least that works if your rudders are behind your props )
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Old 04-07-2019, 09:19   #32
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

thats worth a try , could be useful
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Old 05-07-2019, 01:26   #33
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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Before trying that, start off by crab walking while pointing in a fixed direction. Apply hard helm towards the engine in forward and you walk sideways towards the engine in reverse (At least that works if your rudders are behind your props )

I see - will have to have a practice
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Old 05-07-2019, 02:37   #34
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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Yep, that's easy.


Doing Cpt Marks trick of circling a buoy keeping your bows pointing to it is a whole different ballgame. You need to use rudder as well to "crab walk" at the same time as you are spinning.



Before trying that, start off by crab walking while pointing in a fixed direction. Apply hard helm towards the engine in forward and you walk sideways towards the engine in reverse (At least that works if your rudders are behind your props )
You can also crab directly sideways...a handy skill when you need to parallel park in a tight spot.
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Old 05-07-2019, 13:41   #35
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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You can also crab directly sideways...a handy skill when you need to parallel park in a tight spot.
While that is not really all that hard to do I had a bad experience with it. For some reason I still can't understand I let a friend drive my boat; a Seawind. We were rafting up to his C31. I was very slow in crab walking so he took the wheel and controls and zipped right in.

Problem was while I was shifting into neutral between forward and reverse my friend was just going directly from forward to reverse with no pause in neutral. Once the rafting was over and I was heading back to my ball, naturally after the wind had picked up to 20 knots I noticed one prop was not spinning. The rubber fitting which has now replaced sheer pins had been damaged so the prop would not spin. Not something that can't be easily fixed, not to mention that I carry a couple of spare props.

But if you are too aggressive in shifting from forward to reverse and back constantly while crab walking you can damage something in the drive train and lose a prop; maybe just when you need it most.
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Old 05-07-2019, 14:07   #36
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

Piping in on ease of sailing. I have experience in heavy cruising sailboats and lighter fin keels.(don't get me started on why anyone would want to GO FASTER GO FASTER ON A BOAT DRIVEN BY THE WIND.)And Cats/Tris.
I like to balance the sails so she tracks true without making the "Otto" work too hard.
Cruising keels yes/fins; don't walk to the other side of the boat without significant heel change which changes sail trim.
Multi-huills invariably have the mast too far back to trim easily. You end up relying on the jib for most of the power and the main for steering. Not the optimal design for long crossings.
If you are a fair weather sailor the multi-hulls provide a much better platform for relaxation. I just find them to be annoying trying to trim properly but I am also an old stinkpot boater and do LOVE the twin screws.
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Old 05-07-2019, 14:17   #37
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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Piping in on ease of sailing. I have experience in heavy cruising sailboats and lighter fin keels.(don't get me started on why anyone would want to GO FASTER GO FASTER ON A BOAT DRIVEN BY THE WIND.)And Cats/Tris.

I like to balance the sails so she tracks true without making the "Otto" work too hard.

Cruising keels yes/fins; don't walk to the other side of the boat without significant heel change which changes sail trim.

Multi-huills invariably have the mast too far back to trim easily. You end up relying on the jib for most of the power and the main for steering. Not the optimal design for long crossings.

If you are a fair weather sailor the multi-hulls provide a much better platform for relaxation. I just find them to be annoying trying to trim properly but I am also an old stinkpot boater and do LOVE the twin screws.
True, multis are harder to balance...or ever balance as well as some monos. I think it is mostly due to multiple hulls working thru the water.

My previous mono would balance so well I could just put light friction on the wheel brake and walk away for minutes with no auto pilot. Not gonna happen on a cat.
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Old 06-07-2019, 01:57   #38
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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My previous mono would balance so well I could just put light friction on the wheel brake and walk away for minutes with no auto pilot. Not gonna happen on a cat.
This is design dependant on a cat just as on a mono. For example a Wharram cat or similar with long slim deep V hulls will track like it's on rails and you can often walk away from the helm for minutes at a time.

This makes life easy for the windvane self steering too.
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Old 06-07-2019, 03:01   #39
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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This is design dependant on a cat just as on a mono. For example a Wharram cat or similar with long slim deep V hulls will track like it's on rails and you can often walk away from the helm for minutes at a time.

This makes life easy for the windvane self steering too.
Maybe so on a Wharram, but by far the exception in my experience (and Ive sailed a LOT of different cats). I have sailed Wharrams, but never tried to balance one.
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Old 06-07-2019, 07:40   #40
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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True, multis are harder to balance...or ever balance as well as some monos. I think it is mostly due to multiple hulls working thru the water.

My previous mono would balance so well I could just put light friction on the wheel brake and walk away for minutes with no auto pilot. Not gonna happen on a cat.


More than once I have forgotten to turn on the auto pilot on my Seawind before I go below to take a dump. If not for having to dodge lobster pots I could go hours with out touching the wheel. Of course this is after spending a few minutes adjusting not just the sheets but the traveler as well.

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Old 07-07-2019, 21:19   #41
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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More than once I have forgotten to turn on the auto pilot on my Seawind before I go below to take a dump. If not for having to dodge lobster pots I could go hours with out touching the wheel. Of course this is after spending a few minutes adjusting not just the sheets but the traveler as well.
So very true, I have sailed the 1000Xl for over 1.5 hours with out turning on autopilot or touching the helm, minor sheet adjustments were enough. I did over 40 minutes without touching anything. It was a challenge to see how long I could do it. And the upside is if you do it, when you do turn autopilot on, it does almost no work. On a well designed boat, if you cant balance it - its you - not the boat.
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Old 08-07-2019, 02:13   #42
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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So very true, I have sailed the 1000Xl for over 1.5 hours with out turning on autopilot or touching the helm, minor sheet adjustments were enough. I did over 40 minutes without touching anything. It was a challenge to see how long I could do it. And the upside is if you do it, when you do turn autopilot on, it does almost no work. On a well designed boat, if you cant balance it - its you - not the boat.
Ive been aboard SeaWinds, but yet to sail one...will have to give it a try when I do.
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Old 08-07-2019, 06:50   #43
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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I dunno, there are an awful lot of wide open spaces with no hand holds on most modern cats vs a good old traditional monohull with plenty of close quarters hand holds out on the fore deck. Sure makes a difference in my sense of security going forward in rough weather.
Yeah but the majority of those wide open spaces, if you manage to fall...you land on the deck.

But really with the deck staying pretty much level you are less likely to fall in the first place rather than climbing along a deck canted at 30 degrees. The reason you see fewer handholds is they are generally not needed as much.

Side note: If you get a cat with boards, they pivot quite nicely around the board...just like a fin keel but with twin engine or even a single pivoting outboard, the cat has better slow speed control.
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Old 08-07-2019, 06:59   #44
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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I will admit, docking a cat can make the skipper look cool until a engine coughs. Then it is pucker factor.
I have put a cat within inches fore and aft of other vessels. Places I could never get a monohull into with out dock hands and hands on deck. But when that engine dies, the people come out to watch the fool banging his boat around the marina.
Both times, fuel filter.
All of should be humbled by our boats.
Show me a mono owner who's happy having the engine cough out inches from other vessels in a tight marina.
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Old 08-07-2019, 07:22   #45
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Re: Advantages and disadvantages of cats for solo sailing

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So very true, I have sailed the 1000Xl for over 1.5 hours with out turning on autopilot or touching the helm, minor sheet adjustments were enough. I did over 40 minutes without touching anything. It was a challenge to see how long I could do it. And the upside is if you do it, when you do turn autopilot on, it does almost no work. On a well designed boat, if you cant balance it - its you - not the boat.
Agree "On a well designed boat, if you cant balance it - its you - not the boat."
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