how big of a catamaran do we need?

[gbanker]

"How big a catamaran do we need" seems to have been corrupted to "How small a catamaran can we get away with?".
We figured that we needed a 50' catamaran to be comfortable, not feel like we were camping etc., of course we now have a 57' trawler for the two of us. YMMV

[smj]

[QUOTE="gbanker;1449183"]"How big a catamaran do we need" seems to have been corrupted to "How small a catamaran can we get away with?".
We figured that we needed a 50' catamaran to be comfortable, not feel like we were camping etc., of course we now have a 57' trawler for the two of us. YMMV[/QUOTE

Definitely isn't one boat to please all. . No couple needs a 50' catamaran but that may be what they prefer. We don't need a 35' catamaran but that is what we prefer. We don't feel as if we are camping or that we went small because we could get away with it. We've owned cats between 31' and 43' and found that for us the mid to upper 30'ers suit us.

[svrevelations]

Originally Posted by Revelations

As suggested by others, buy the biggest catamaran your money can buy. You will then have to be careful of the weight you add to the boat. Although you might now only consider sailing the Caribbean, this can later change and you will want a suitable boat for this. But for what you now want to do, I think a 35 to 40 foot catamaran will be suitable. Some designs have more space and load capacity than others - so check the details carefully.

Seems like my previous post requires more qualifying than one would take for granted, so here goes;

Find catamarans that you like,
Find the best quality catamarans for your money,
Find blue water cruising catamarans and not a cattlemarans,
Find catamarans that you feel comfortable with,
Find catamarans that you feel is safe,
Find catamarans that can accommodate all your weight requirements,
Then - buy the biggest catamaran of this selection.

Catamarans afford you more space than mono hulls but much less load carrying capacity. Therefor, the issue on catamarans is not lack of space, rather it is a limitation on the weight you should load. Start reading postings here from old salts about anchors, anchor chains, equipment, spares, batteries, provisions, sails, engines, water tanks, diesel tanks, life raft, dinghy, toys, personal effects, etc. Then prepare your own list of equipment and requirements - finally, do the weight calculations. Communicate with some prominent yacht designers and discuss your weight requirements and look at the load specifications of catamarans you are considering to buy. You will then find that most smaller catamarans simply do not have sufficient load carrying capacity for all your stuff. Having done all of this, the logic for a bigger catamaran will make perfect sense.

For your immediate requirements, I would say that a 35 - 40' catamaran sounds about right. But should you later expand your requirements, then a 45 - 50' catamaran properly rigged for single handed sailing would be more suitable. You might not need all the space and load carrying capacity right now but the chances are that you will need it as you grow into your boat. Most of the cruising catamarans around today are overloaded and this adversely affects the sailing performance. Due to this overloading, some of them are real dogs to sail. However, as rightfully mentioned, bigger catamaran's initial cost and it's upkeep do cost substantially more.

Our boat is 50' and it's for me and my wife only. It is perfectly rigged for single handed sailing and any one of us can handle the entire yacht from the helm. We have the odd visitors for about 4 weeks a year and although it is a big yacht, it is fully occupied, we enjoy every bit of space and are within the specified load carrying capacity.

Good luck with your plans.

[Canibul]

You're going to get into all kinds of discussions with people who will end it up by telling you that Boat X is faster than the one you're looking at. Remember, you're not buying a boat to race. Think safety. The differences in boat speeds rarely mean anything in the end. Those with the narrow hulled, fast boats will load them up with the same stuff you put on the nice fat comfy hulls. And it will slow them down to your speed. And it really doesn't matter much if someone gets there an hour before you do. They'll spend that hour, and more, repairing rigging and equipment that breaks more often under the strain of a fast sailing boat. And I have to laugh when I see these online arguments about someone's boat being two knots faster. Wow! The difference between a fast walk, and a faster walk. For one day and a night, maybe. Then you spend a week on the hook and guess which boat is more comfy to live on? The fast one? Nope. The dog.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Canibul

You're going to get into all kinds of discussions with people who will end it up by telling you that Boat X is faster than the one you're looking at. Remember, you're not buying a boat to race. Think safety. The differences in boat speeds rarely mean anything in the end. Those with the narrow hulled, fast boats will load them up with the same stuff you put on the nice fat comfy hulls. And it will slow them down to your speed. And it really doesn't matter much if someone gets there an hour before you do. They'll spend that hour, and more, repairing rigging and equipment that breaks more often under the strain of a fast sailing boat. And I have to laugh when I see these online arguments about someone's boat being two knots faster. Wow! The difference between a fast walk, and a faster walk. For one day and a night, maybe. Then you spend a week on the hook and guess which boat is more comfy to live on? The fast one? Nope. The dog.

And this would explain your mind set for buying your 12m Catalac. Your choice for your boat is great.....for you. Don't get me wrong, I like the Catalacs and think they are great boats, just not great for me.
Just because you don't mind motoring rather than sailing does that mean everyone should feel the same? I won't get into it but the reasoning you have in your posts is WAY flawed.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Canibul

You're going to get into all kinds of discussions with people who will end it up by telling you that Boat X is faster than the one you're looking at. Remember, you're not buying a boat to race. Think safety. The differences in boat speeds rarely mean anything in the end. Those with the narrow hulled, fast boats will load them up with the same stuff you put on the nice fat comfy hulls. And it will slow them down to your speed. And it really doesn't matter much if someone gets there an hour before you do. They'll spend that hour, and more, repairing rigging and equipment that breaks more often under the strain of a fast sailing boat. And I have to laugh when I see these online arguments about someone's boat being two knots faster. Wow! The difference between a fast walk, and a faster walk. For one day and a night, maybe. Then you spend a week on the hook and guess which boat is more comfy to live on? The fast one? Nope. The dog.

I don't agree with much of this. We carry plenty of gear, but we still sail faster than heavier boats. Even ones carrying far less stuff than we do.

We don't break gear. Because we're light, we're easily driven so loads on sails, rig and gear are actually LESS than on a heavier boat.

And getting there an hour or two earlier can be the difference between arriving in daylight or darkness, reaching the bar crossing at high tide or too late, dodging the afternoon thunderstorm or not...

And on longer passages the difference can be days, not hours.

I've seen no evidence that suggests a heavier boat is more comfortable at anchor. What advantage would an inch thick chopped strand layup have over a stronger and lighter cored unidirectional glass construction?

However, I have seen evidence to the contrary - being light means we'll often lie to the wind in tide affected anchorages, while heavier boats can lie across the wind and waves, or often sail in circles around their anchors.

[Cotemar]

The Original Post was asking about how big of a cat. Not how fast should the cat be.

[roetter]

How big a cat can two people handle comfortably? Maybe that is the question?

We are on a 45-footer with electric winches. No problems handling it. I would not go bigger, because of haul out options. 40-footers are easier to find haul outs for.

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by roetter

How big a cat can two people handle comfortably? Maybe that is the question?

We are on a 45-footer with electric winches. No problems handling it. I would not go bigger, because of haul out options. 40-footers are easier to find haul outs for.

The general consensus seems to be that a cruising couple can handle a properly outfitted 50 footer. Some cruisers may be able to handle bigger, but over 50 feet usually needs crew.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by roetter

How big a cat can two people handle comfortably? Maybe that is the question?

We are on a 45-footer with electric winches. No problems handling it. I would not go bigger, because of haul out options. 40-footers are easier to find haul outs for.

While there is some relation between the length of a cat and the beam I have seen cats under 35 feet in length with a 20 foot beam while some older cats over 40 feet have a beam less than 20 feet.

A cat with a foot more beam may add more in living space and load capacity than a cat with a foot more in length.

[reefhunter]

Narrow hulls - faster, a little bouncy at anchor
Wide hulls - slower, more comfort at anchor

Add daggerboards - Catana, Crowther, Outremer - faster upwind sailing. Unless you manuever them up/down frequently - they may get stuck in position - expensive repairs. Happens when you keep them down and barnacles attach.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by reefhunter

Narrow hulls - faster, a little bouncy at anchor
Wide hulls - slower, more comfort at anchor

Add daggerboards - Catana, Crowther, Outremer - faster upwind sailing. Unless you manuever them up/down frequently - they may get stuck in position - expensive repairs. Happens when you keep them down and barnacles attach.

Nope.

[valhalla360]

If your first priority is speed, you need a big performance oriented cat.

If your first priority is cruising, I would suggest a seaworth catamaran that has load carrying and comfort as a priority.

We are in the smallest boat that you can be comfortable in. For as least one poster, that is a 52' trawler. We are fine in a 34' cat.

[reefhunter]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Nope.

Nope what?

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Nope.

Really nope?

How's this - I'll make it easier to understand

narrow = faster, wetter,
wider = more load, slower