Catamarans and seasickness

[unbusted67]

I’m curious to know if people who own cats experience seasickness to the same degree as on monos? The slow roll is what gets me and it seems like with a more stable beamy platform that might not be so bad? True or false?

[caradow]

Interesting question.
I am certainly no expert however I have owned various monohulls and one cat that I have sailed offshore. I have never been seasick leading to actual vomiting on either but certainly have felt nausea at times on both. I would think sea conditions and not hull type are more important but maybe some of the more knowledgeable members here will give their opinions. Maybe an exception to my thinking would be sailing some monohull types that role when going DDW.

[chrisr]

interesting question...

without doubt the motion between cats & monos is completely different. cat's may not roll or heel but they have a jerky bouncy motion all of their own

we have extensive experience owning & racing monos up to 60'. on such i would usually feel 'quessy' for the first 2-3 days of a passage. the owner on the otherhand never felt the slightest problem...could stand on her head in the bilge fixing the plumbing (if i could have convinced her to do this !)

we are now on our second cat and situation is reversed. i never ever feel unwell in the least, whereas the owner can sometimes get a twinge

guess it all depends on how you are put together n what input produces what result

cheers,

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

I’m curious to know if people who own cats experience seasickness to the same degree as on monos? The slow roll is what gets me and it seems like with a more stable beamy platform that might not be so bad? True or false?

Much less seasickness for me.

The slow roll is also what makes me feel queasy.

I liken a catamaran to riding in a car. It’s a jerky, bumpy motion instead of a rolling motion and that pretty much eliminates any seasickness for me.

[malbert73]

It’s interesting. I am sure I could (and someday will) acclimate to the jerkier cat motion but I got queasy on an inshore day sail on an Atlantic 57 and don’t often get seasick on my monohull even offshore. The rolling doesn’t bother me as much as pitching upwind does if I go below. I think I will charter a cat before ever considering and make sure to sail in some big breeze and waves to make sure I can live with it

[rslifkin]

It really depends on the person. In general, someone who is used to planing powerboats (faster, sharper motions) will likely do better on a cat. Others do better with the slow motion of a mono. And some are sensitive to heeling, others not so much.

Depending on the boat and its roll period, I have to be a little more careful on a monohull sailboat vs pretty much any other boat. The smooth rolling motion, especially going downwind will sometimes get to me if I'm focusing on something on the boat too much, although heeling is a non-issue and I do just fine beating upwind (despite having grown up as a powerboater).

Interestingly, at the dock, my boss's Pacific Seacraft 34 and my boat have very similar roll periods (both are very close to 3 seconds). Both are monos, one sail, one power. Mine lacks the weight up top and down low due to the lack of keel and mast, but it's a significantly heavier boat overall and with a wider beam and hard chines). However, the roll on mine is a bit less comfortable, but also less nauseating to most people, particularly when working on something below, as it's more of a "roll quickly, slow down and stop, roll back". On the PSC 34, the motion is more of a slow, steady roll up to the end where it gently stops and reverses. The motion is smoother, which I (and some others) have a harder time dealing with.

[ThereAndBack]

It is true what they say about every person being different.

I will say this though. I used to make 100% sure my guests that would visit my monohull had taken sea sickness meds the night before and the morning of a visit. On my catamaran, it is just a suggestion and only a suggestion.

[caradow]

Wow different opinions...would have never guessed

[Joli]

I don't get sick on any boat. My wife on the other hand gets very sick on cats when the breeze is forward of the beam and lumpy. It's the corkscrew motion that gets her. We own and passage a 61' mono but have sailed on cats up to 65'.

[Factor]

The whole Cats make me seasick/don't make me seasick thing is up there on a par with Cats can't go to windward and similar broad generalisations. Different hull shapes and designs will have different motions, gee who would have thought that a fat hull heavy boat with big hull rocker will hobby horse more than a slim light long minimal rocker design, or that a boat with mast aft will behave differently to a boat with mast central.

[mglonnro]

Originally Posted by Factor

The whole Cats make me seasick/don't make me seasick thing is up there on a par with Cats can't go to windward and similar broad generalisations. Different hull shapes and designs will have different motions, gee who would have thought that a fat hull heavy boat with big hull rocker will hobby horse more than a slim light long minimal rocker design, or that a boat with mast aft will behave differently to a boat with mast central.

So, maybe a constructive discussion could be: which kind of cats/constructions seem to correlate with less seasickness?

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by Factor

The whole Cats make me seasick/don't make me seasick thing is up there on a par with Cats can't go to windward and similar broad generalisations. Different hull shapes and designs will have different motions, gee who would have thought that a fat hull heavy boat with big hull rocker will hobby horse more than a slim light long minimal rocker design, or that a boat with mast aft will behave differently to a boat with mast central.

Ok, I think you are trying to suggest folks be as specific as possible about their experience and what kind of boat? No generalizations - everyone is different and different boats have different motions

I think it’s worth anyone buying boats get as many data points as possible. To restate my experience- I got pretty queasy on a high performance cruising cat (A57) in 15 kts and mild/moderate Chesapeake Bay chop. I attribute that to the rapid cycles of acceleration/deceleration and sharp motion. I’m sure I could acclimate to it if someone gifted me the boat- but clearly I’m more used to the slower smoother motion of my mono in similar and more severe conditions.