Australia to Asia - Boat Selection Help

[MartinJ]

Good day all,
Im fresh to these forums and have been reading non stop!! I have searched through the forums for information that has helped a great deal however all questions are unique when it comes to boat selection due to peoples intentions of use etc So im asking for some advice regarding catamaran selection for the following journey I would just like a few styles/ideas/lessons learnt and suggestions when it comes to selection
of a seaworthy cat that is up to the task in mind We will eventually be consulting with a broker and getting a full assesment done on any cat that make it through the selection process I would not like to begin this without some knowledge from an intelligent community first.

We are looking for a cat that will be comfortable for two guys to go sailing from brisbane up through the asian islands to bali then through to thailand. In the future we will be looking at sailing to new caledonia, fiji, cook islands, polynesia and eventually USA. If we must buy a boat for the thailand trip and coastal australia trip so be it but if we could get a cat within our budget that could take us to all these places in the right conditions at right time of year with a bit of luck that would be great.

I have gone for several cruises with family to the whitsundays on yachts and a cat, needless to say i loved the lifestyle the catamaran allowed and would love to undertake such an adventure.

Our budget for the cat alone is up to $120'000 with $30'000 for incidentals whilst under sail. Size wise we probably wouldnt want to go any less than 30foot but that also depends on what you guys have to say. Myself and my best mate will be sailing. We have next to no experience when it comes to sailing on deep ocean passages but there is only one way to learn.. To get familiar with the boat we will be sailing up and down the eastern seaboard of australia and make adjustments to and to familiarise ourselves with the lifestyle and boat. Also doing competent crewman training and various courses that will help. We also have an old salt who has agreed to teach us over the course of the year to get our skills and confidence up.

One boat that has stuck out is the 1990 crowther 10metre cat any good/bad info i cant seem to find much based upon personal experience. What are peoples experience with smaller cats on ocean passages. Is our goal unachievable under the budget we have set?

Thanks for your time

[Laidback]

Originally Posted by MartinJ

Good day all,


One boat that has stuck out is the 1990 crowther 10metre cat any good/bad info i cant seem to find much based upon personal experience.

)

Martin, welcome to our multihull forums, need a little more info on the specific 10 m - 32'6" (1990 Crowther) catamaran .
As you know many were /are built from plans from all sorts of materials.
Your budget may allow a bigger choice ???
Richard

[cat man do]

Heres a good boat and already there

Mark Pescott Multihulls : Summersalt for sale

Expect to do a lot more motoring up that part of the world though

[MartinJ]

sorry one thing i tend to do is generalise almost every question i ask. Ill post a link of one of the ones for sale. CROWTHER CATAMARAN boat details - BoatPoint Australia

[Laidback]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Heres a good boat and already there

Mark Pescott Multihulls : Summersalt for sale

Expect to do a lot more motoring up that part of the world though

Thats a very good recommendation, And actually good sailing winds at twice a day !! Ask Mark, sailed against hin the Andaman Sea

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by MartinJ

sorry one thing i tend to do is generalise almost every question i ask. Ill post a link of one of the ones for sale. CROWTHER CATAMARAN boat details - BoatPoint Australia

MY GOD !!!

This doesn't look very slippery at all now does it?

[cdennyb]

is that one of those "transformer" things?

[MartinJ]

haha yes would be the opposite of slippery. something tells me that a sanding, painting and antifouling would be in order.. but would a boat like that be capable?

[Factor]

There is a windspeed on boat point/Yacht hub for 99K, I think its a boat called Touchpaper, top boat well built. If you are in Brisbane, talk to Geoff Cruse about any Crowther, he built most of them and knows all of them.

[solarbri]

Originally Posted by cat man do

MY GOD !!!

This doesn't look very slippery at all now does it?

Is that aberration supposed to be a rudder and some sort of saildrive together???

[MartinJ]

thanks factor! i will check it out and get in touch with Geoff. I should point out that i was using that boat as an example to address the question of wether these cats (if its in good condition) would be able to comfortably make the passage and if anyone had personal experience in them or a similar design
The lump of metal on the bottom of the boat does not add to the charm of the boat haha

[cat man do]

I dont think this is one of cruisies going by how the front beam is attached
All of cruisies have the alloy beam (mast section not pipe) glassed into the hulls

Looks like a production set of hulls that I believe were getting done in the early 80's, so poly/glass more than likely, unlike the Foam Kevlar Epoxy sandwich that cruisie used.

My opinion is:
1) Yes, the boat is up for the job
2) If it is a poly glass build, it will probably be fairly heavy (on those hulls) so payload will be reduced
3) It seems to be way to much money for what it is, especially with that lump of bodgy looking lump of speed sapping metal on the bottom


This is a better looking thing but again, I doubt its one of Geoffs

http://www.boatsonline.com.au/boats-...s.php?de=38224

this is closer to the money, but is balsa core

http://yachthub.com/index.html?page=....html?de=29378

Heres another that has had the mods, if you could have jagged it for less

http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats-fo...2%204294885005

And another for the right sort of money
http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats-fo...aspx?R=8407489

[Laidback]

The link boat did not say anything about the rigging - the engine/s - no pictures of it under sail or of the cockpit - fairly grubby! and probably home built.
Keep on looking!

[beau]

I agree with Cat Man Do expect to do a lot of motoring, so make sure the motors are of a decent size/reliability and you have plenty of fuel capacity.
A friend of mine got caught in that area with not enough fuel and NO wind. They started to run out of fresh water, things got serious.
He saw an airline fly over and called them on his VHF radio. The airline Qantas, relayed the message to an Australian navy vessel in the area. They met up and filled his water tank">fresh water tank with a 100mm hose.

You will probably get a decent plywood or earlier fiberglass design catamaran for that price that was built for racing. However you will have to make some changes for cruising, probably replacing the motors with something decent.
Don't discount petrol outboards, sure you will need to carry more fuel but the cost and weight differential is enormous.
I am planning the same trip in a 40 ft Aluminium Trimaran with basic sails and 2x 90 hp outboards. Only 1 outboard running at 3500 rpm give me a 9 knot cruising speed.

[beau]

A couple more comments.

Any sails will do, remember you are cruising and cruisers only sail downwind.
Also there is no rough weather if you do not have a schedule.
Sit and wait until the weather is right for you and your boat.
A friend of mine and his wife just spent 3 weeks in Cooktown waiting for the right weather window.
One other point, if your boat can motor at 200 miles a day you can avoid cyclones.
You are not in a hurry but you do need to move, and once into Indonesia/Malaysia/ Phillipines most days will have little or NO wind.
You choice of a multihull is excellent as there are many reefs etc, but in todays market multihulls cost more.