Catamaran Fears

[Tropic Cat]

With my boat it depends on which jib I'm using. With my working jib, it tacks like a monohull. With my 175 genny, I have to back wind it a bit to push the bow around.

[impi]

Was out again last weekend with some experienced sailor friends of mine - on my lagoon 440 - very light winds and only the jib (genoa) out - was getting ready to tack when my friends suggested there was no way..... Smiled ..... Turned the wheel and she just went through the eye as smooth as anything. Friends were blown away !
The 440 really tacks well - doesnt want extraordinary work at it - just keep it simple and smooth and she will go through every time

[Teeto]

Our Chamberlin 44 tacks beautifully. A cutter rig means we wouldn't want to have to back the genoa anyway. Not to mention sailing efficiently at 40 degrees off the wind. Go back to our mono? No way. We've only had her for seven months and it's a one way trip from mono to cat. You'll love it.

[Kapena]

My primary indicator is weather helm. Like some posts here, my Lagoon 37 will always want to point up. I have the "master spoke" marked on the helm wheel. When this is about 135 degrees from the top then it's time to dump some sail. This occurs at different wind speeds, depending on the point of sail and the speed of the boat. On a run, the boat speed subtracts from the wind speed, pointing adds the speed of the boat.

Just a note that this is my experience, on my cat, after 60k miles. The ride comfort is best when I only have 90 degrees of weather helm. The motion of the boat changes dramatically, but surprisingly, speed isn't affected much by reefing.

[zeehag]

i squelch any fears i might have of catamarans by sailing formosa 41, errr, brick...
reading the sea and sky are most important for anyone, no matter what is being sailed--is how to save your arse at sea. wind happens. seas come with wind. in a 60 kt wind north of cabo san lucas i was able to , in my formosa, sail at 8+kts with reefed mizzen and jib......

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Clipper4730

Just don't forget to backwind your jib when tacking or you'll be sailing on the same tack the whole trip

Urban legend. That is what you do when good technique fails. In fact, it doesn't work at all on some cats (my PDQ responds very poorly to that method). I've had 4 cats or different types.

Actually, the "rule", is actually 2 rules since one doesn't fit. First, just as you tack, crack the traveler down just a foot or so, to help it get going on the new tack, and second, tack 10-20 past 90 until she is back up to speed. Then bring the traveler up and point.

The jib should be released when it breaks. It is important, however, to get it in quickly on the new tack. One of the best reasons it is wrong to back wind the jib on a larger cat is because it makes it damn hard to get the jib in quickly; if you release when it breaks and haul sharply, little winch work is needed... just like a mono.