Hard Work Cat

[George Wade]

Originally Posted by neelie

Agreed that the Gemini is a light cat and that its built to a price, but it still remains the best bang for your buck and it is capable of ocean crossings...
Talbot : Are you aware of any Gemini's which have broken up in storms?
I'm interested because I have been recommending this boat to quite a few friends on tight budgets. I'll stop doing so if there is actually any hard data to substantiate the allegation that they are death traps on the ocean.

Death traps are just as likely to be in the mind. Spend some of the cash saved by buying a Gemini and get good weather forecasting systems; including your own weather eye. Very few people seem to like serving an apprenticeship any more. That would save millions over time in knowing how to buy gear and how to ease the ship through storms.

[radon]

Originally Posted by neelie

Talbot : Are you aware of any Gemini's which have broken up in storms?
I'm interested because I have been recommending this boat to quite a few friends on tight budgets. I'll stop doing so if there is actually any hard data to substantiate the allegation that they are death traps on the ocean.

Sorry to pipe in here, but have a look at what the Gemini owner's manual says:

"
In
fact, the Gemini 105Mc is CE certified for trans-
ocean use. However, Gemini is not built specifically
for offshore racing or around the world cruising. If an
owner wants to cruise offshore extensively, then the
recommendation is to take a standard Gemini and
thoroughly test her, and then reinforce the parts
that seemed inadequate during the testing. It must
also be remembered that a boat cannot be suitable
for all conditions. An around-the-world boat will be a
disaster in the light airs of the Chesapeake Bay; she
will have too short a mast and too heavy a sail. An
around the world boat will have few hatches for
safety. This boat will be unbearably hot in the some-
times windless conditions of the Chesapeake Bay. "


www.gemcats.net/static/Gemini_Owners_Manual_105Mc.pdf

[neelie]

I hate to sound like a broken record or a Gemini apologist - I am neither. But the quote from the Owners Manual is as much a legal disclaimer as it is anything else. It is a US based company and they don't want that same woman who sued McDonalds for millions because she spilled hot coffee on her thighs buying a Gemini.

We live in an insanely litigious society. There are disclaimers on every single thing we buy and use. The warnings on TV at the end of the Viagra ads, have me in stitches. (4 hours?, Sheesh!..I'd put myself on a reality show, were I to be so lucky )

"Bang for buck" was the basis for my recommendation in my first post, never "Aghulas Current Storm Chaser". Its no expedition boat but it is capable of ocean crossings in fair weather - people have done it. On balance, the Gemini is a reasonable and affordable starter to cruising catamarans. My thesis is that its better to get on the water sooner rather than later, an affordable boat is key to this.

The ideal/perfect boat can come later after one has decided what one's priorities are. There are people on their 4th and 5th boat still in search of this elusive creature - "The Perfect Boat".

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by neelie

"Bang for buck" was the basis for my recommendation in my first post, never "Aghulas Current Storm Chaser". Its no expedition boat but it is capable of ocean crossings in fair weather - people have done it. On balance, the Gemini is a reasonable and affordable starter to cruising catamarans.

If this thread was about a reasonable coastal starter cat - you would be right on the money, and I would have supported your post.

However, this thread is supposed to be about a "hard work cat"

[radon]

Originally Posted by neelie

I hate to sound like a broken record or a Gemini apologist - I am neither. But the quote from the Owners Manual is as much a legal disclaimer as it is anything else. It is a US based company and they don't want that same woman who sued McDonalds for millions because she spilled hot coffee on her thighs buying a Gemini.

We live in an insanely litigious society. There are disclaimers on every single thing we buy and use. The warnings on TV at the end of the Viagra ads, have me in stitches. (4 hours?, Sheesh!..I'd put myself on a reality show, were I to be so lucky )

The owner's' manual for my catamaran makes no such declarations. It's designed as a bluewater cat and I didn't "reinforce the parts
that seemed inadequate during the testing" before I went cruising.

I wouldn't call it a legal declaration, it's a warning to would be circumnavigators who are considering using this boat. As a coastal cruiser, no problem.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by neelie

I hate to sound like a broken record or a Gemini apologist - I am neither.

Umm..have you ever been on one of these boats?

For whatever you think it's worth.....

Geminis can be a good Florida/Bahamas boat. They are popular, fast, and if you search on this forum there's already been a lot said about them. No need to go into it here. As for stiffness... no, the newer molds feel the same as the old ones to me.

If you're looking for a new boat and your budget is less than $200K, Gemini is your only option.

Is it a "Hard work boat"? No, and was never intended to be.

Google older boats to find what you are asking for. PDQ (LRC), Fountaine-Pajot (Maldives 32), Prout or Catalac. All are out of production boats, all have models in your size range and all will cross Oceans. All are a "Hard work boat" but all are older boats.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Tropic Cat

Umm..have you ever been on one of these boats?

For whatever you think it's worth.....

Geminis can be a good Florida/Bahamas boat. They are popular, fast, and if you search on this forum there's already been a lot said about them. No need to go into it here. As for stiffness... no, the newer molds feel the same as the old ones to me.

If you're looking for a new boat and your budget is less than $200K, Gemini is your only option.

Is it a "Hard work boat"? No, and was never intended to be.

Google older boats to find what you are asking for. PDQ (LRC), Fountaine-Pajot (Maldives 32), Prout or Catalac. All are out of production boats, all have models in your size range and all will cross Oceans. All are a "Hard work boat" but all are older boats.

That is the whole answer on one post.