Catamaran vs Monohull... advantages, disadvantages?

[blubaju]

Originally Posted by AuChante

I(I imagine no one started with a cat) and liked it, and especially from folks who switched back to monohull.

Sorry, your imagination is wrong, I started sailing with a Hobie 16 (that is a beach cat) and build 2 cruising cats I only touched monos for the licensing courses.

[mstrebe]

Sailing cats are perfect fairweather boats, but they don't handle heavy seas well at all. The hulls go over waves separately and this causes the odd seamotion that can get even seasoned sailors quite seasick. Furthermore, they must be large in order to be safe: Because they don't heel, if they're caught in a wind that can lift one of the hulls, they flip. The bigger the boat, the less likely this is but this is entirely unlike monos that heel further over in heavy weather. This is why you see them almost entirely over the 40' mark, whereas monos run the gamut.

The bottom line is that all of the physics of heavy weather favor monohulls from seakeeping to wave action to wind knockdown and rotation. Even large monos can return upright on their own after being rolled, but a catamaran cannot. Cats have to have much heavier rigging to withstand the heavier possible shock-loads caused by the lack of heeling as well.

The bottom line is that while people don't like heeling (and it has its own dangers) it's vastly safer than a boat that flips suddenly.

Now, if you're never going to do any heavy weather sailing or get caught in a storm, they're great. Perfect for vacation boats where the weather is well known, and that's where you find them and how you find them used.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by mstrebe

Sailing cats are perfect fairweather boats, but they don't handle heavy seas well at all.

What a load of BS

They have raced multihulls around the world down into the southern ocean's
A couple of Australians even went for a leisurely cruise down into the Antarctic on a strip planked cedar open bridgedeck cat.(Robin Chamberlain/Terry Travers)

And then there is Ramtha
Survived unscathed from a horrific storm while monohulls sank around them.

[smj]

Originally Posted by mstrebe

Sailing cats are perfect fairweather boats, but they don't handle heavy seas well at all. The hulls go over waves separately and this causes the odd seamotion that can get even seasoned sailors quite seasick. Furthermore, they must be large in order to be safe: Because they don't heel, if they're caught in a wind that can lift one of the hulls, they flip. The bigger the boat, the less likely this is but this is entirely unlike monos that heel further over in heavy weather. This is why you see them almost entirely over the 40' mark, whereas monos run the gamut.

The bottom line is that all of the physics of heavy weather favor monohulls from seakeeping to wave action to wind knockdown and rotation. Even large monos can return upright on their own after being rolled, but a catamaran cannot. Cats have to have much heavier rigging to withstand the heavier possible shock-loads caused by the lack of heeling as well.

The bottom line is that while people don't like heeling (and it has its own dangers) it's vastly safer than a boat that flips suddenly.

Now, if you're never going to do any heavy weather sailing or get caught in a storm, they're great. Perfect for vacation boats where the weather is well known, and that's where you find them and how you find them used.

My god, this coming from someone that owns a Beneteau! You do know that eventually your keel will fall of and then you will roll over and your Beneteau will sink to the bottom?
It is a known fact that all Beneteau’s lose their keels isn it?

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by AuChante

This forum is the opposite of the truck forums I'm on. This is, of course, an opinion question and this is the correctest answer, but I'm looking for fanboy type opinions.



If money and infrastructure weren't an issue, I'd go cat hands down... after a trial of course but I'd have to find one first. Just wondering why this isn't a common thought. When I see a $100k+ monohull, I always wonder why they didn't get a cat. I find it tough to think that so many people prefer the behavior of a monohull over a single. having to judge sailing conditions by charts rather than feel is probably a bigger factor than I'm attributing though.

Maybe there is more sense in the 'truck' forum?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

What a load of BS

They have raced multihulls around the world down into the southern ocean's
A couple of Australians even went for a leisurely cruise down into the Antarctic on a strip planked cedar open bridgedeck cat.(Robin Chamberlain/Terry Travers)

And then there is Ramtha
Survived unscathed from a horrific storm while monohulls sank around them.

Hell an open bridgedeck 21ft Wharram Tiki circumnavigated from the UK, down to NZ then past Good Hope and back to the UK..

[dstraton]

I sailed monos for many years; a Van de Stadt 40’ steel boat from 1997-2005 most recently. Then in 2009 we got a Seawind 1160 catamaran.

Many of the issues have been covered repeatedly, and I don’t intend to repeat them. There are two points that I don’t think have been covered.

1) Redundancy. Cats have two of most things, so if one breaks, there is an easy Plan B. Engine. Toilet. Water. Fuel. Etc.

2) The demographics of the sailors is significantly different. Picture these stereotypes: a mono sailor is a bloke, bearded, passive-aggressive, with his phone in one hand yelling at his divorce lawyer, and a glass of rum in the other hand.

The catamaran is sailed by a couple, with the woman on the radio organising drinks on the beach with all the other cats in the anchorage.

You get a bit of a clue about different issues in life from the number of ‘detransitioners’. How many people do you know who shift BACK from cats to monos? From Mac to Windows? From an EV to an ICE car?

Not many.

[catsketcher]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

What a load of BS

They have raced multihulls around the world down into the southern ocean's
A couple of Australians even went for a leisurely cruise down into the Antarctic on a strip planked cedar open bridgedeck cat.(Robin Chamberlain/Terry Travers)

And then there is Ramtha
Survived unscathed from a horrific storm while monohulls sank around them.

I LOVE that photo. The Forbes's who owned and sailed Ramtha loved her and I met them years after they went through that storm. They were taken off because the parachute anchor had sunk and their rudders were bent. But the boat went through one of the worst storms in decades without anyone assisting. They then went to the Pacific, paid the salvage fee and lived aboard afterwards. Proof that cats can handle huge seas.

I don't get the statements that cats are not good sea boats. SOME cats are not, many charter cats are not. But that is a segment of the cat market. If someone wants to say "Charter focussed cats sail poorly to windward" I would say fine. But considering the only boats I have consistently done 15 knots to windward have been large multihulls, it is obvious that they can fly to windward and make great sea boats.

I would urge the OP not to take advice from people who have limited experience of the variation of cats. They are a wide ranging bunch and sweeping generalisations just show someone has not seen many cats close up, or know much about them.

I don't think the sentiments here are common in Australia. Here we have abundant examples of cats going fast in all directions in a seaworthy manner with commodious accomodations.

cheers

Phil

[aqfishing]

Originally Posted by AuChante

I've always been curious about the extreme lack of cats out there. It's probably due to the obvious downsides of cats... higher price tag, marina and haul-out price and availability. I'd like to hear from folks who switched to cats (I imagine no one started with a cat) and liked it, and especially from folks who switched back to monohull.


Are the above issues the main deciding factors? It seems that cats are far superior other than those. It seems that they have an incredible amount of room. Even the old Gemini cats are mansions compared to my Hunter 31, and they still fit in a regular slip. It also seems like a plus to walk about the boat rather than climb... heeling and all.

Our First yacht was a 44ft Cat. We will never switch to mono. Sailed them for fun for a day, but thats it.

[aqfishing]

Originally Posted by mstrebe

Sailing cats are perfect fairweather boats, but they don't handle heavy seas well at all. The hulls go over waves separately and this causes the odd seamotion that can get even seasoned sailors quite seasick. Furthermore, they must be large in order to be safe: Because they don't heel, if they're caught in a wind that can lift one of the hulls, they flip. The bigger the boat, the less likely this is but this is entirely unlike monos that heel further over in heavy weather. This is why you see them almost entirely over the 40' mark, whereas monos run the gamut.

The bottom line is that all of the physics of heavy weather favor monohulls from seakeeping to wave action to wind knockdown and rotation. Even large monos can return upright on their own after being rolled, but a catamaran cannot. Cats have to have much heavier rigging to withstand the heavier possible shock-loads caused by the lack of heeling as well.

The bottom line is that while people don't like heeling (and it has its own dangers) it's vastly safer than a boat that flips suddenly.

Now, if you're never going to do any heavy weather sailing or get caught in a storm, they're great. Perfect for vacation boats where the weather is well known, and that's where you find them and how you find them used.

"The hulls go over waves separately and this causes the odd seamotion"
No, that is most definitely not the case. Cats are stiffer than mono's and therefore have a shorter faster roll. You get used to it, same as you get used to a mono. I spent a lot of time on 55-60 ft steel cats commercially, then went to a big wooden Mono and was as sick as a dog!

Others have corrected your other misconceptions, better go check your keel bolts....

[chrisr]

cats certainly have a different motion, but it's not always bad

in all my years offshore racing monos i suffered from seasickness. either needed a bucket or stugeron nearby

switched to cats about 8 years ago and never felt even quesy - even cleaning the bilge or head

the owner on the otherhand is just the reverse. would often laugh at me on monos as the motion did nothing to her. now on cats sometimes get affected

as i said, the different motion affects different people differently

cheers,

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by tkalfaoglu

Many cats have an escape hatch at their bottoms.. I think that sums it up for me

Versus the escape hatches in the roof because it's going to the bottom?

Capsize vs sink is generally a silly argument.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Happ

The Gemini has a ver low Bridge Deck so it would not be very quiet or comfortable in a bigger sea. For sailing in flat water it would be OK. It is a bit more expensive as it has an Inboard / Outboard engine.

Actually in bigger seas, they have a nice ride as the whole boat goes up and over the waves.

Where they have an issue is short steep waves. If you try to go directly into 4-5ft square waves, it's horrible. Bear off a bit and it gets much better. In a following sea it's not an issue.

I'm not a fan of the diesel I/O but not a big cost impact. I prefer the outboard versions. You can get a full new drivetrain installed for $5-6k and an afternoon. (bridge deck bottom vented tanks negate the gasoline storage concerns).

[double u]

as expected the "discussion" has heated up!
It would be well if we agreed on the parameter by which we compare cats & monos!
LoA?
Displ.?
payload?
PRICE?

(& boatie, your mentioning "Cooking Fat" as an example is highly demagogic, as you well know! You would have to add where the name come from...

[double u]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

...Capsize vs sink is generally a silly argument.

agreed! one can sail the cat into one, the mono into the other- rather difficult...
(btw: discussion based upon same experience* welcome

*1rtw cat, 2&1/3 rtw mono

I am listening!