Dean 365 Catamaran Performance ?

[markw]

A few Facts!

The Dean 365 is built like a tank although it is just as ugly as the Woods designs!If you are not in a hurry or worried about looks you will battle to get a better yacht for the money.

Here actually In South Africa the Dean is considered a bullet proof Sea boat ,definatley NOT a party boat....party boats are pretty!I have recently worked on a Beautifull looking 50ft Lagoon and a Dean 365 and If I had to take my family to sea it would be in the Dean.

I have sailed 2 Dean 33's and a 365,none rate high on my list of sailing highlights and we never broke any speed records but I never had to use an engine to tack even in 5 knots and especially in 10 -15kts!Yes they do slam,perhaps even more than some cats in this class but I have never seen one break,delaminate or end up up side down ... perhaps Mr Woods comments are because he wishes he had been sailing a Dean rather than his Eclipse off the Mexican coast!!~....so the build quality thing confuses me?

Regarding the number of posts,Sorry this is my first....the last 35 yrs I have been sailing ,almost every day....I worry more about the virtual sailors or has beens with too many posts!

[redtwin]

Hi, I notice no mention of Prouts here. After having owned 2 prouts I cant help but feel that Peter Dean must have been inspired by Prouts in the early days. The Dean 365 and Comber look so much like the Prouts and have the Prout rig for sure. These rigs require a certain technique to tack with. I prefer the Prout look though. The 365 looks like a modified Prout Snowgoose. Either way both seem to be very well built. Remember all cats slam in certain conditions. In large swells I would rather be in a Prout (or Dean), where the boat sticks closer to water and sort of barges or sledges down the waves. No danger of going over. Cats with very high free boards are too high, stability factor would be reduced.

[Pat Ross]

Farley, I have tried to send you the information you requested 3 times on the DEAN 365. Unfortunately for whatever reason your business server has bounced all my emails. Please send me an email address such as a yahoo or gmail address and I will be able to send the information to you.

Regards,

Pat Ross

[twiga]

Hi,
we just puchased a Dean 365 in South africa after sailing long years in the Med. The sails are in a poor condition. Is there anyboy around with fitting second hand sail esp. a genua?
We plan a total refit. What are the "soft spots" we have to look after?
The engines are Volvo Penta Saildrives, build in 1995, 20 Hp each, 3 Zylinders. We think abou changing from the 3 blade stiff propellers to folding ones. do you have some of these or opinions, suggestions?
We want to liveaboard and do worldwide cruising, so the ship needs some more equipment,
addidional solar panels, windgenerator, mechanical windvane, watermaker, short wave communication and....
Do You have advice, hardware, good adresses in the surrounding of Cape Town???
We´d be very thankful for any kind of help.
Peter and Helga
http://www.twiganauten.com

[krissteyn]

A few years on - I have just been offered a "365" and found these posts whilst researching...
Any more comments out there ...

We are planning a Med based boat that will probably cross the Atlantic at least once and be a home for a year for a couple with a 10 year old (active) boy.

[windsongsv]

Originally Posted by krissteyn

A few years on - I have just been offered a "365" and found these posts whilst researching...
Any more comments out there ...

We are planning a Med based boat that will probably cross the Atlantic at least once and be a home for a year for a couple with a 10 year old (active) boy.

My wife and I have spent a total of 9 years living on a 365, we find them comfortable , so much room for a 36ft, you will enjoy it, we have also sailed over 25,000 nm, and enjoyed every minute, a great boat, would buy another tomorrow if I could.

[krissteyn]

@ Windsong (and any others)

thanx for update - any tips on what to look for when I survey the boat - ie known "extra-carefull-maintenance" items ? A few of the boats I have been sailing have their quirks and I now know what to look for - but the Deans , I dont know (yet)

Am curious how much off-shore weather was in your 9 years , how does she handle a following sea and a "on the nose" short chop ? How bad is the "slamming" ?

Thanx Kris

[quirimbas]

is windsong ex-Barry yacht, i would like to say that this debate is old but valid in that dean owners seem to have some kind of religious thing about their yachts, i remember in Richards bay that they moored next to each other and formed a separate group amongst resident yachtowners,... then i was shocked to see how little freeboard a dean365 had when i saw it moored next to my catalac10m which seemed to have very high freeboard compared. please respect Mr Woods and others dean owners

[quirimbas]

correction i meant bridgedeck clearance not freeboard sorry

[krissteyn]

Yes , still valid postings...

Was curious myself about the cameraderie of the dean sailors...
What I have discerned is that the bridge clearance , for some peculiar reason doesnt have such a "slam" as expected , but appears , (to dean owners) to be an acceptable "motion". I had a bad sea running on a voyager 50 and the slam was severe - I suspect the limited time between the hulls and bridge making contact limited the impact also - and I suspect the bridgedeck is so often in contact , that the motion is "normal" .

However , although I have still to buy the Dean 365 I am seeking, I have had little contact with catalac owners who know the 365 well.... So any input greatfully received - I have located a Catalac 12 for "reasonable money" altho the engines are tired and it needs some TLC.

Kris

[Canibul]

I just stumbled across this old resurrected thread this morning, and I have to say it's been a highlight of the internet portion of my morning. Several reasons.

For starters, I thought something famiar about the logo, boat desc. and name of the OP. Looking at her profile photo, I realized that these good folks have been guests in our home, and helped me fix an electrical problem. They were stuck here a month while having a damaged keel replaced at the boatyard we can see from the patio. Some of the cruisers who have said hello to us on the VHF while passing through. We keep in touch still.

Then I read with interest Mr. Woods' response and comments. Just as I was forming my own opinions about the relative weights of other opinions and their sources, Mr. Daugherty performed another of his remarkably accurate observations well before I ever found this thread.

Mr. Woods most certainly is an authority on cruising catamaran design, whether one agrees with his priorities or not. A big comfy boat does not always equal a rugged and safe boat. Witness the Titanic, as one example. A solid chunk of timber can easily sail every sea condition that ever existed, for years, and circle the planet with minor scuffs and barnacles the only effects. So, where do you fall on that scale between a cypress 4x4 and a luxury trimaran with a sauna, tennis court and skeet shooting..pick a point and then look for a designer who agrees with you. That's YOUR favorite boat and best choice for you. It might not be everyone's. Gunboats are not particularly noted for their plush and spacious interiors, but I bet you want one, don't you. Seating be damned. It's all about priorities, once everyone meets the safety standards.

I am also sensing a possible pool of militant die-hard Dean 365 fans. We see that same loyalty in a number of designs. It speaks well of the boat, for a segment of the cruisers. Try to find one on the used boat market. Pretty nice demand for a dated design. We see the same thing with Land Rover Defender vehicles.

Which brings me around to our specific interests in this thread, of course. We are closing in on "the boat" we want to cruise on half the year, going forward. That 30-36 ft range looks good to us, from our limited draft standpoint. We're constantly evaluating anything either side of the Gemini, but keep coming back to it.

[niel12]

Originally Posted by Woods Designs

I would avoid it personally.

Poor build quality, appallling sailing performance and lots of bridgedeck slam.

The only boat I have sailed (with a yachting magazine reporter also on board) where the owners assumed that you had to start the engines to tack. We refused to do that, but it was a struggle to get the head round, even in 15 knots of wind and flat water.

I have been to the yard and watched them build the 365

It was always considered a "party boat" in S Africa, noty a real seagoing boat


Sorry to disappoint you but hope this helps

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

Woods Designs Sailing Catamarans

Pity... Richard, never expect this attitude from you ... Jealousy makes you nasty!

[windsongsv]

Originally Posted by niel12

Pity... Richard, never expect this attitude from you ... Jealousy makes you nasty!

I am tired of reading the crap about 365's from armchair critics, I can speak as a so called "expert", I have logged 65K in ocean miles, mainly in multihulls, who gives a stuff about how a cat can tack, or if it is a bit noisy, as an ocean sailor, what I care about is the sea worthiness of a boat, I have sailed the South Atlantic twice in a 365, once to Florida the other to Australia, no matter what the weather, the 365 handle it, my wife, who is a non sailor has crossed the South Atlantic twice and the Pacific once, she would never step on another boat, other than a 365 to undertake such a trip. On one of our journeys we travelled in convoy with a woods 30ft cateraman, on at least 3 occasions it had to be rescued, and towed to port, so much for a Woods. I worked for 2 years as a delivery skipper, delivering new Lagoon catamarans from France to the Caribbean, USA etc, if you want a scary experience, try sailing a Lagoon 380 across the North Atantic, one of my friends lost his life when a Lagoon 380 flipped near Bermuda. There cannot be another boat offering such value for money and safety than a Dean 365.

[niel12]

Originally Posted by windsongsv

I am tired of reading the crap about 365's from armchair critics, I can speak as a so called "expert", I have logged 65K in ocean miles, mainly in multihulls, who gives a stuff about how a cat can tack, or if it is a bit noisy, as an ocean sailor, what I care about is the sea worthiness of a boat, I have sailed the South Atlantic twice in a 365, once to Florida the other to Australia, no matter what the weather, the 365 handle it, my wife, who is a non sailor has crossed the South Atlantic twice and the Pacific once, she would never step on another boat, other than a 365 to undertake such a trip. On one of our journeys we travelled in convoy with a woods 30ft cateraman, on at least 3 occasions it had to be rescued, and towed to port, so much for a Woods. I worked for 2 years as a delivery skipper, delivering new Lagoon catamarans from France to the Caribbean, USA etc, if you want a scary experience, try sailing a Lagoon 380 across the North Atantic, one of my friends lost his life when a Lagoon 380 flipped near Bermuda. There cannot be another boat offering such value for money and safety than a Dean 365.

AMEN to that!!!

[kingnuggie]

well i have a latter dean 40 aero and am happy but have sailed and lived on a 365.
they are ugly , heavy, slow and just fantastic cruising boats.
The bridgedeck is low but that makes the interior amazing as there is a tiny step down into the hulls from the saloon. The cockpit is fantastic and safe and they are overbuilt like you would not believe.
at the moment they are cheap as chips and provide people like me with an affordable, strong, cheap to run cruising home.
You cant compare a 80,000 dollar dean 365 with a 500000 buck chris white design.