I think we settled on a Gemini, change my mind

[Gilligan8]

Originally Posted by ljones

Suggest looking for a Victory 35, a real blue water cat with excellent build quality and performance.

This looks like a nightmare for my claustrophobic wife.

[Mr B]

A few pictures of my 2003 Gemini 105MC Catamaran,
Some of them was while I was rebuilding it, Two new hulls fitted,
A full issinglass cockpit enclosure, Keeps you inside while still outside,
Roll them up or down depending on the weather,
There is a shower in the cockpit as well as in the head,
These boats are around the 90 Grand mark, USD,
From 2003, They were certified as Blue Water cruisers,
The rear two bedrooms would be claustrophobic, A double bed in each one,
I use mine as storage,
The main bedroom has a queen sized bed, with a full window above the bed and a hatch above the bed that can be opened for ventilation,

Its only disadvantage, The person on the inside has to climb over the person sleeping on the outside, But then how often do you get up during the night,


FWIW, Mine has been thru some very violent storms, One in Bass Straight a few weeks ago when I thought the mast would snap off it was that violent,
My Gemini is a very capable Blue Water Cruiser,
It crossed three oceans getting here,
Ive had mine in Four Oceans, Pacific Ocean, Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, Bass Strait,

Take you wife onto one to see if she gets Claustrophobic inside one,
They are very comfortable for two people to live full time on,

Cheers, Brian,

[ggsail42]

We have chartered a lot of boats and I will tell you that I absolutely adore the Gemini Legacy 35. The airflow through the cabin is amazing and it is very peppy when you sail it. We have chartered it from the Catamaran Company both out of Annapolis and BVI. I would buy the boat in a heartbeat. However -

Downsides I see to liveaboard:

- It does not have a lot of storage. This can be customized, of course, but we struggled with just the three of us for two weeks finding room for us, food, scuba, etc.

- You have to treat it like a monohull in terms of stability while at anchor. Keep everything tied down or you will end up with a bunch of broken dishes like I did when a power boat goes by!
- Visibility from the cockpit during bad weather is challenging.
- I wouldn't want it in heavy seas. Coastal cruising and island hoping on pleasant days is absolutely fine but a gulf stream crossing or longer; it would not be my go to boat.

[Lazerbrains]

Originally Posted by Mr B

A few pictures of my 2003 Gemini 105MC Catamaran,
Some of them was while I was rebuilding it......

Cheers, Brian,

Didn't you have to extensively rebuild both hulls?

I personally wouldn't cross an ocean in one, but to each his own.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by Lazerbrains

Didn't you have to extensively rebuild both hulls?

I personally wouldn't cross an ocean in one, but to each his own.

Yes I did, Two new hulls,

Any fibreglass hulls sitting on big rocks will poke holes in them,
Mono or Multi,

Even steel hulls will get a hole in them sitting on rocks, Whats your point,

It has nothing to do with the seaworthiness of the vessel,
I didnt buy my Gemini to sit in a Marina, Or protected waters like the ICW,

I bought it specifically to sail it on the open Ocean, And to the Kimberlys in Western Australia to be more specific about what I bought it for,
And to get there, I have to sail in Bass Strait, The Tasman Sea, Coral Sea and Arafura sea,
And on the way home, The Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean, My Gemini is quite capable of doing all that and more,

But each to their own, Have you ever even been on one, ????????

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Ive had mine in Four Oceans, Pacific Ocean, Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, Bass Strait,

That's one ocean - the Pacific; or possibly two, if you agree with either of the outdated or unratified descriptions that put the Bass Str in the Indian or Southern Ocean, respectively.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

That's one ocean - the Pacific; or possibly two, if you agree with either of the outdated or unratified descriptions that put the Bass Str in the Indian or Southern Ocean, respectively.

Obviously you cant read a map, Pacific Ocean finishes the other side of NZ,
Tasman and Southern ocean join at the end Bass Straight,

But I do like your Pedantic assumptions,

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

That's one ocean - the Pacific; or possibly two, if you agree with either of the outdated or unratified descriptions that put the Bass Str in the Indian or Southern Ocean, respectively.

Why bring geography into this discussion? Obviously the boat has seen it’s fair share of blue water. Let’s face it, all the blue water is hooked together.

[Lazerbrains]

Originally Posted by Mr B

But each to their own, Have you ever even been on one, ????????

Yes, I have actually sailed on one many times. They are lots of fun to sail. Wouldn't be even my 10th place choice for crossing oceans, however.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

Why bring geography into this discussion? Obviously the boat has seen it’s fair share of blue water. Let’s face it, all the blue water is hooked together.

Well it was intended as light-hearted pedantry, which is not uncommon in these threads, and often serves to entertain and educate. I personally thought it was an interesting aside that the description, or even existence of, the Southern Ocean is very much an open debate.

Originally Posted by Mr B

Obviously you cant read a map, Pacific Ocean finishes the other side of NZ,
Tasman and Southern ocean join at the end Bass Straight,

But I do like your Pedantic assumptions,

Since you want to be insulting then I might as well point out that you obviously can't read, full stop. You can clearly see by the names Bass STRAIGHT, Tasman SEA, Coral SEA - these are not OCEANs. The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, and New Zealand is surrounded by that ocean.

[Junglebike]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

Well it was intended as light-hearted pedantry, which is not uncommon in these threads, and often serves to entertain and educate. I personally thought it was an interesting aside that the description, or even existence of, the Southern Ocean is very much an open debate.

Since you want to be insulting then I might as well point out that you obviously can't read, full stop. You can clearly see by the names Bass STRAIGHT, Tasman SEA, Coral SEA - these are not OCEANs. The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, and New Zealand is surrounded by that ocean.

This is the sort of errant pedantry up with which I shall not put!

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

I looked at these a lot. Decided not for me.

The location of the batteries is just plain stupid. AGM's or LiFePO4 are required as dragging them out of the locker to check water is not going to happen.

Walking around a catamaran on the deck is a huge asset and the Gems have no room to get around the stays. This is important for those that have mobility issues for sure but the owner who pointed it out to me was young, fit and said it was a huge design error.

Look around at different versions. Our batteries were in the stool by the door. Very easy to lift the lid and take a look or if you needed to do something that took time, you sat on the steps and they are at a convenient level (I don't like how some are down in the port hull below the pit of dispare (the big hatch on the port side)

If you are mobility impaired, not a lot of boats are a good option. Biggest issue on the side decks is stubbing your toes. There are plenty of handholds if you go along the side deck. You have to shuffle as it's only about 6" wide but other than the toe stubbing, my size 13s did fine. In calm conditions, though usually wend over the top rather than along the side.

PS: if you go by the official count of sleeping 8...yeah that would not be comfortable. For a couple or a family with 1 or 2 small kids, it's a great fit and that allows you to convert one or both rear cabins to storage. We had an 8ft shelving unit built in the starbord hull that was great.

[Davy J]

I'll just add a few comments to this thread. The OP isn't talking about crossing oceans, but, apparently many of you just focus on that. Many of you will probably not cross any ocean at all...........

The next thing is that the OP said he has a budget of 50K. Never going to find a 105Mc or a 105M for that price unless it is a total pile of junk.

Someone mentioned storage. I have two folding bikes onboard, two full sets of scuba gear, portable generator, two propane tanks, a collapsable wagon to tow behind one of the bikes, two jerry cans for diesel, three jerry cans for water. All of that is stored in lockers and below decks, so I don't look like a floating garage sale...........

Also someone mentioned crossing the Gulf Stream...... People have done it on stand-up paddle boards. Pick your weather window.

/rant

[smj]

We have owned both a Gemini 3200 and also a 105m briefly. They are a great boat for what they are designed for which is coastal cruising and gunkholing.
They sail very well but the sailing ability drops quickly once you start to load them down.
They are very livable, very simple to maintain and the shallow draft is great.
We preferred the 3200 over the 105 because we liked the outboard vs the diesel/outdrive setup. We also preferred the dagger style rudders vs the kick up spades and the bridgedeck clearance was greater on the 3200. Honestly if I were to buy a Gemini again I would consider the 3000 as it has the best bridgedeck clearance of all 3.
They are no doubt built to a price point but seem to hold together with minor structural and cosmetic defects.

[Davy J]

Bit of thread drift, SMJ, what's the news out of Boot Key Harbor, been gone now about five days. Are they letting boats in?