Input from Maine Cat 41 Owners, Please

[Sand crab]

I started this on another recent thread regarding headroom which the MC 41 absolutely excels at but being normal sized is not that big of an issue to me. However I still place this boat at the top of my very short list. So, can any owners or sailors of this boat give me any particulars. What I have gathered so far is:
1. It should point better than most because of the daggerboards
2. It's not exceptionally light but then neither are Catanas. Would the performance be somewhat equal?
3. What is the highest sustained speed without surfing and what was the heading?
4. What is a good average daily mileage?
5. There is only one for sale at the moment and it looks like the strataglass enclosure is getting cloudy. Has anyone ever replaced this and what did it cost and did it include the mosquito netting and zippers?
6. How is the motion.
7. Ever measure that bridgedeck clearance?
8. Everyone seems to love the open bridgedeck design. I've read about the bubble effect. Are there any other negatives.
9. Has anyone really been in the bad stuff with this boat and would you circumnavigate?
10 Anything else? Good or bad.

Thanx everybody. BOB

[Ortolan]

Bob,

I can answer some of your questions, but we've only owned our MC41 for 1 1/2 years. Unfortunately, we've mostly been working on her last summer & this summer, but we did cruise 4,600 miles between November & April, from CT to & around FL.

1. Pointing is not great, but not bad either - about 32 - 35 degrees.
2. Not sure about weight compared to the Catana, but definately on the light side of cruising cats.
3 & 4. Others (such as Mike & Susan on TabbyCat) will be able to answer better on sustained speed & distance. We've "only" had ours to 12 knots, but that was not sustained - I can tell you she leaves a rooster tail about 2' tall!
5. The Strataglass is certainly an issue keeping clean (especially in polluted parts of the country). No idea on replacement cost, but we have improved the design of ours with Velcro flaps to better keep rain, bugs & spray out.
6. Motion is great - although a 50' cat would ride better.
7. Don't recall the official bridgedeck clearance, but about 32" (real life). Depends on what part of the bridgedeck you measure to. Have only had 2 or 3 bridgedeck "slams" in 4,600 miles.
8. The open bridgedeck can be hot, but we installed a Textilene sun shade on a track outside of the Strataglass, which can be used on either side - makes a huge difference! The big plus is when you're cruising in cold weather - once the sun makes it's appearance, the cockpit gets toasty warm. Sometimes feel guilty - sailing past other sailboats in T-shirts & lounging in the cockpit while they are bundled up in foulies!
9. No bad stuff - yet, but the worst so far is 4' short chop on the Chesapeake which can drive spray into the cockpit.
10. Thinking quickly - one good: The dinghy set-up on the chocks. One bad: The Pope sails that come standard (most owners will agree).

Hopefully others will chime in, but feel free to ask any other questions!

[cchesley]

1) There's pointing and there's leeway. My MC points 'ok', I can sail at 35 degrees apparent but it's noticeably slower than a more 'comfy' 40-42 degrees apparent. But I can often pass to windward of some cruisers but not a deep draft racer type.
2) Never sailed with/on/against a Catana but I'm betting it's better. Not having a genoa hurts the MC in some situations but then, I didn't want a genoa, part of the reason I bought a MC
3/4) Here in the PNW, NO speed is sustained for very long. Did a nice beam/broad reach this summer in 18-22 knots of wind, single reef, running steadily in the 9-11 knot range (without any light sails)
5)Strataglass is okay but I replaced mine this year with a bonded acrylic from Rainier Industries. So far, so good, clarity is fantastic.
6)Motion? It's a cat, so the term is 'lively' going to windward in a blow. But it sure beats doing it a 4kts and 35 degrees of heel.
7) Clearance is as advertised. Have had a few wave slaps but they're not the shuddering thump that you 'feel' throughout the boat. I experienced that on another, larger cat and my wife and I looked at each other with big, round-eyed, "that's a new one' look.
8)I have no idea how the enclosure would work out in practice in the tropics... but... pls note several things. I have chartered a MC in the Bahamas, and when it was windy, we needed to keep the forward windows in place and only permit a corner to be open for the ventilation. It's easily controllable that way. (our new acrylic windows have been designed to permit a controllable amount of air through) The key with these is that the hardtop keeps out the sun's rays and the breeze blowing through is therefore 'cooler' than it would be if you just sat in the sun and in the wind. A breeze in the shade is much cooler. We, too, use a screen type fabric to keep out direct sunshine, it really makes a difference! Replacement cost for the enclosure with the fancy, high end bonded fabric bumped 5 figgers!
9) I'd take the boat anywhere but Cape Horn... and that only on principle for a cat this size. It's way better than a monohull of similar size in terms of comfort but probably not nearly as luxurious as a Lagoon or Catana... ya wanna sail or sit in plush when you're in your bathing suit?
10)Convenient stowage is an issue. The space forward can be a magnet and that's bad. However, folks seem to manage with much smaller boats and much less stowage space so it's doable. If you must pack a lot of stuff, get a bigger boat, no matter whether mono or multi.