Catamaran or Trimaran

[snort]

Is that the catamaran in the photo you're interested in? Holy windage!, Batman. What make is that?

[ChristianneCS]

Hello, we just bought a Catamaran Catalac 9 m (29 f 3 inch) last december and she is very very roamy. We love our ''Let's do it!''! The Catalac are well known to be safe and many owners have travelled with their family. Here you can find all kind of informations about those specefic cat at Catalac, An Affordable Cruising Catamaran . Good luck!

[Dreamsailoring]

So after much debate and finacial cost we have had to decide agaist a catamaran or a timaran.
Make me sea sick just thinking about it.
So we did decide on a monohull. We want to build. I feel will help us understand every part of the boat plus we get what we want and where we want it. Building well help us save money so we can concentrate on putting money aside to make a cruise. For personal reasons we cannot leave for 5 to 7 years anyway, (Kids to young to be safe on water)
We are looking at alot of designs that it is really overwhelming.
Just a new quesation. How small is to small for ocean cruising for a family of 5? I really like plans with a center cockpit and a rear berthing. Any help would be great.
Thank you very much.

[Factor]

You probably need to ask the question in the mono area. More expertise there I would think. Personally if I was going mono, it would probably be a biggish steel ketch or schooner. But that isnt ever gunna happen.

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by Dreamsailoring

So after much debate and finacial cost we have had to decide agaist a catamaran or a timaran.
Make me sea sick just thinking about it.
So we did decide on a monohull. We want to build. I feel will help us understand every part of the boat plus we get what we want and where we want it. Building well help us save money so we can concentrate on putting money aside to make a cruise. For personal reasons we cannot leave for 5 to 7 years anyway, (Kids to young to be safe on water)
We are looking at alot of designs that it is really overwhelming.
Just a new quesation. How small is to small for ocean cruising for a family of 5? I really like plans with a center cockpit and a rear berthing. Any help would be great.
Thank you very much.

This is not a good choice for 95% of people! Building a boat will be much, much more expensive and you are unlikely to ever finish. Post again on the monohull side and people will help set you straight

[Pipeline]

Once you go multi...you can never go back.

[Sabbatical II]

Well, since the OP has changed his mind, I hope no one will mind a little diversion from the original question. For those of you who have sailed both cat and tri, what the differences in sailing terms? I have never really seen a tri close up so its all new to me.

[Factor]

Greg - no easy answer, there are Monos (think your boat) and there are Monos (think Farr 40) there are Tri's think Corsair 36 and there are tris (norman Cross 36) and there are cats, Lagoon 500 and Outremer 51.

But all things being equal (which they never are) Tris reputedly "feel" more like a mono, can't say that I agree with that, but many people say it, They heel a bit, and have a more mono like motion (again I cant say I can feel that - but many claim to), also all things being equal, a tri will be quicker than a cat, usually.

There are cats with a block of flats on hulls and there are comfortable cats that sail well. Same with tris. Tris are almost all custom builds and these days can be had quite cheap. I sailed (and sold) a Cross 38 a few months back that was cheap as chips and had just done a five year cruise across the pacific and was ready to go again, there would have been no better value boat around at the time, lovely thing and sailed along making 7-10 knots almost everywhere. Cats tend to be dearer than Tris.

If I had lots of money (which i don't), I would have trouble choosing a Chris White Atlantic 57 cat or a Chris White Hammerhead 54 Tri. In fact if you can get a hold of Chris White's book "The Cruising Multihull" many of these issues are explored with far greater elucidation than I can manage.

[Pipeline]

I read many of these questions from folks who have never sailed, or have sailed little. These new sailors need to start crewing at their local yacht club or with friends. After a year or two, I think they will know enough to ask the right questions.

Now, re Sabbatical's question...a modern, fast, trimaran - which I own - and which I prefer over a cat for several reasons, sails like a monohull. It lays to its anchor, like a monohull. Down below, it usually looks like a monohull, but it costs more than a monohull (three hulls!). Need an end-tie, usually (my boat is 62' x 45'), where cats can wedge into a wide regular slip. You usually need to get to 40'-45' before there is a good amount of room below. A modern trimaran is really a monohull with training wheels...but sails twice as fast. A trimaran moves out, and can be sailed hard.

Most modern cats today are really power boats with auxiliary sails. Over-powered with sliding glass doors, several heads, etc. The layout is entirely different than a mono or tri. Much more roomy and "spacious", let's say. I'm not a big fan of cats, though I have raced many small, fast ones over the years. I rather, however, own a cat than a monohull. Aloha...

[manawa]

Hi all, for what it's worth, with the price of trimarans at the moment particularly if you're based in the US, I would BUY not build. With regard the tri v cat discussion, I'm the lucky owner of the cross 38 that Factor sold to my wife and I. It is a great boat and we thank him for support and love for the design. Comfortable, safe and fast. I'm talking tasman sea, bass strait and southern ocean sailing, we live in tasmania, the boat is great. Happily motors at 7kn is any cond and sails at 12 to 13 sweetly. A much nicer motion than a similar sized cat. You have a family? A 30' to 33 cat is pretty small. Determined to build? Look at the Easy Cats. Anyway, good luck.