I don't have anything against monomarans - I've sailed lots of voyages in monomarans, I'm just saying that a life raft makes more sense in a boat that can sink than it does in a boat that can't. I'm not relying on just the balsa
core to prevent sinking, either. I'm adding almost a ton of
polyurethane floatation foam to the boat.
The
danger of fire at sea is quite real, and I have posted about it at length. The boat I am building is being made with that in mind, with the encouragement of the USCG, as it will be rated to carry paying passengers. I am using fire retardant resin in the boat's construction, the engines are
diesel, the
engine rooms will have automatic fire extinguishing systems, we will have an
engine driven fire
pump and fire hose system, the
galley stove will have
stainless steel under and around it. I think I'll also put intumescent
paint in the engine rooms. The
galley and water
heating equipment are located on the bridgedeck, and the boat's
interior is like a
Wharram, with each entrance into the hulls being outdoors on the bridgedeck, so no
propane can sink into the bilges. There are also many watertight bulkheads which would serve as fire stops.
It is always safer to stay with the boat if it hasn't actually sunk, so with a
multihull, I think the best survival strategy is to make it possible to stay with the boat no matter what.