Grainger G430

[stefan.adelbert]

Our goal is to find a catamaran to use as a live-aboard family cruiser for a family of 4, capable of serious blue-ocean passage making. We're trying to balance value, comfort and performance.



I'm going to be looking at a Grainger G430 which seems to tick all the boxes. Although, I'm uncertain about the sailing performance. It has mini fin keels instead of dagger boards, but looks like it has narrow hulls, high bridge clearance and is fairly light (7250kg). Could someone please comment on what sailing performance could be expected from a Grainger G430?


If anyone has access to study plans for a Grainger G430 (build year ~2002) or cabin/deck layout diagrams, please let me know.



Also, is anyone aware of boat builders Peter & Donna Wilkinson?

[jdazey]

Looks like a nice boat. It would tick a lot of our boxes as well.


Dagger boards were on our list when we were shopping. The boat we bought has LAR keels, and we haven't really missed the dagger boards. Slim, easily driven hulls and low windage help mitigate the few degrees of pointing ability and reduced wetted surface. Keep her light and the Grainger should perform nicely.

[fxykty]

With any performance catamaran take a look at the designed load capacity - basically the difference between light ship (basically the empty shell with all the basic gear and half full tanks, but empty lockers, no genset, no solar panels, no dinghy, no water maker, no code zero, etc) and the maximum displacement. Generally the load capacity is designed to be about 1/2 the lightship displacement.

Then have a think about how you want to fit out your boat, what kind of toys you want to carry, how much provisions, tools, spares and cruising comforts (paper books!) you feel you will need to live aboard and have the life you envisage.

Often, going through this exercise results in either accepting the (relative) austerity of living within a smaller performance cat’s load limitations, choosing a higher-volume lower performance cat that has a higher load capacity, or, if budget allows, getting a longer performance cat with its relatively larger load capacity.

There was a Delos video a few years ago when they interviewed a couple cruising in a Catana 43. One thing that stood out was their extreme weight consciousness - no paper books, water rationing to keep their tanks less full, limiting new things onto the boat with the removal of old things, etc. That couple ended up getting a much larger performance catamaran so that they wouldn’t have to worry about weight so much. YMMV

[NevilleCat]

You could always contact Tony Grainger through his website. It's an older design now but still a goodie.