Characteristics of a Circumnavigating Cat

[D&D]

Originally Posted by georgetheleo

bearing off at least 25 deg the speed icreases a lot.

the same may be said about heading upwind too, of course. We only asked because you indicated you "never" sail dead downwind. For us, the speed gain heading upwind is more dramatic as we travel very well (SOG >60% TWS...up to approx hull speed 8-9kn) downwind, including 'dead' downwind, and only gain speed as the wind moves toward the beam reach.

Back to the upwind, we point ~40AWA...and can move much quicker at 45AWA or greater. We gather, from your earlier post, that you 'beat' comfortably at ~25AWA?!?

[D&D]

Originally Posted by georgetheleo

All women everywhere are jealous of their husbands boat-no exceptions ( few women will admit this)

Perhaps it's not an exception, but the Admiral here is as 'fully invested' in the boat as the Captain...and hence it's not the "husband's boat"...and there is no jealousy

Just a thought for those of you out searching then...make it a team effort, in every way!

[geoleo]

It would take a old AMerica Cup boat to beat 25deg AWA-- my boat beats pretty well in stiffer winds -more like 35 deg AWA in 18knots wind-of course its still sliding to leeward a bit say 10 more degrees---so it 'tacks' through 70 degrees with this wind but actually only makes 90 degrees SOG--- but its making decent speed probably hull speed which is 7.35 knots if the waves are not too high. Now falling off to a reach in this 18 knots of wind (=20mph) and easing the sails the boat jumps above hull speed and accelerates to ablout 12-13 knots. fun! I havent had it out in higher winds but Id probably reef at over 20 knots. a prior owner said he had it going 15 knots and that was with the old main-I now have a T-top. My boat has a interesting history haveing crossed the Atlantic twice (came back to USA via Brazil.)and cruised the entire Great Lakes. Original owner was a modern Viking-boat was sparsley equippted but had a Cap Horn Windvane!! Boats original name was "JO DO BIER" in Norwegian which translates to "WHERES THE BEER"

[geoleo]

PS-my boat is built of epoxy,cedar strip hulls and okume plywood -its very strong no observed flexing and weighs 8000 lbs

[geoleo]

PSS headstay stays as tight as you want it

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by D&D

Perhaps it's not an exception, but the Admiral here is as 'fully invested' in the boat as the Captain...and hence it's not the "husband's boat"...and there is no jealousy

Just a thought for those of you out searching then...make it a team effort, in every way!

Just wanted to let you know that I think the L440 is a heck of a boaty-probably ideal for world cruising--notwithstanding my earlier comments about some items that may be in some of them...

[donradcliffe]

[QUOTE=44'cruisingcat;920243
We're preparing for a 1000nm passage with 4 adults on board, we have almost all the gear we'll carry already aboard. A bit more food and maybe a few jerrycans of fuel is about all the extra stuff we'll need. We have the anchoring gear safety gear, sea anchor etc etc.. But on a close reach we can still sail at very close to windspeed - on just the main and jib.

Be sure to give us the details of your passage when you complete it--what kind of winds and seas you experienced and why it took you more or less than 100 hours to get there...

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by tamif27

Ever heard of the Gunboat? It would take a crack crew, but I'd bet on that horse

The Gunboat 66 did the 2011 Caribbean 600 in 2 days and 9 hours, for an average of a tad over 10 knots with a crack crew in full race mode. What you'd need to average over 20 is a big bigger boat, like Groupama 3.

[D&D]

Originally Posted by georgetheleo

Boats original name was "JO DO BIER" in Norwegian which translates to "WHERES THE BEER"

LOVE IT!!!

[downunder]

Originally Posted by georgetheleo

Just wanted to let you know that I think the L440 is a heck of a boaty-probably ideal for world cruising--notwithstanding my earlier comments about some items that may be in some of them...

[Flightpaul]

New to here, but have the same situation as SS2009. I have read the whole thread! and found it very interesting and informative. I am lucky in a way to have a friend (with wife and 2 young kids) 2.5 years into a passage, now been in the south Pacific for over a year! We exchange e-mail on a regular basis... He went though the same process to get the right boat. The boat is a Catana 431 called 'Pacific Bliss' find it in mailasail to read their story.<br>His main advice... bigger is better (if you can afford it). If you are a real sailor, you have 2 choices, Catana or Outremer (we are both 18 sailors)...The later may not please the girlfriend so much!<br>I want to thank SS2009 for starting this thread...the process you went through and your recent comments upon your return. These all point me the way I was thinking from over 2 years ago, so I know I am on the right track. Thank you to all others here also, great comments and questions.<br>

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Flightpaul

New to here, but have the same situation as SS2009. I have read the whole thread! and found it very interesting and informative. I am lucky in a way to have a friend (with wife and 2 young kids) 2.5 years into a passage, now been in the south Pacific for over a year! We exchange e-mail on a regular basis... He went though the same process to get the right boat. The boat is a Catana 431 called 'Pacific Bliss' find it in mailasail to read their story.<br>His main advice... bigger is better (if you can afford it). If you are a real sailor, you have 2 choices, Catana or Outremer (we are both 18 sailors)...The later may not please the girlfriend so much!<br>I want to thank SS2009 for starting this thread...the process you went through and your recent comments upon your return. These all point me the way I was thinking from over 2 years ago, so I know I am on the right track. Thank you to all others here also, great comments and questions.<br>

Welcome aboard. As to the comment in bold, agree on the Outremer, but honestly large later Catanas are no better than many other makes and worse than some. Dont get me wrong - not a bad boat just not the boat they once were. You want something European in the mid 40s , my pick would be a Freydis.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Factor

Welcome aboard. As to the comment in bold, agree on the Outremer, but honestly large later Catanas are no better than many other makes and worse than some. Dont get me wrong - not a bad boat just not the boat they once were. You want something European in the mid 40s , my pick would be a Freydis.

Couldn't agree more.

[D&D]

Originally Posted by Flightpaul

If you are a real sailor...

Welcome abaord Flightpaul. We hope your search leads to the best vessel for you.

We are always a bit puzzled by the 'real sailor' expression. Is there some sort of un-real sailor? Images spring to mind here of yachts motoring along with the sails down when there's good wind; that situation we agree might be described as NOT real sailing, although of course one never knows what's going on unless one's on board (e.g. a serious rig problem on its way to repair perhaps?) in which case those on board might still be 'real sailors' after all!

We are also surprised at the suggestion that only one or two particular types of vessels are suited to 'real' sailors. Unless real sailors are some easily identifiable pool of people with the same interests and priorities -- Are they?!? Surely not! -- then it seems any vessel with a sail might suit a real sailor, with the particular type of vessel suiting the particular preferences for that particular sailor.

We suspect that the expression 'real sailors' is often used to refer to sailors in pursuit of speed. If that is the case here, then we respectfully disagree. Our CatNirvana is not a built-for-speed machine, although she comfortably maintains average speeds consistent with her hull length and across all conditions...and she regularly overtakes other vessels under sail. CatNirvana is probably more built-for-comfort (which is our preference!) BUT -- Let's not forget our thread here! -- she is most certainly a very capable "Circumnavigating Cat"...and she suits our particular sailing and cruising needs.

In any event when we are underway, in nearly every situation the sails are up and the engines are off. So we like to think of ourselves (and also the many other fellow sea-travellers we meet on a wide variety of sailing vessels) as real sailors. We happily admit that there are vessels quicker than CatNirvana, but we suggest it is simply wrong to say those on board are any more (or less!) 'real sailors'.

[Flightpaul]

Thank you guys for the welcome.
D&D, thanks for comments, but off topic.
I should have said, that we are dinghy sailors and therefore windward performance is important. This has been proven by my friend in the S.Pacific, when he wants to get to an Atoll (and there is wind). This is important, as you cannot just plug in to get power or fuel up with diesel... there is not any!
Dinghy sailors (large), going to windward is important. These are what my comments are about.
I have done around 3k miles racing offshore and cruising(all mono) and when you need to go to windward, you want the best performance.
I am sure your boat is very comfortable and you enjoy it (that's the main thing).
Thank you, smj and Factor, I did not know about this boat! Looks almost ideal. Price might be to high for me and little on the market at mo.
I have enjoyed (most of the time) reading the comments here and has given me another good insight into buying a cat for circumnav, this is all valuable info.