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Old 18-08-2020, 05:29   #16
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

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Originally Posted by Yihang View Post

But I think to be comfortable anything like a 38 foot lagoon is more than enough.

A 40 foot lagoon is HUGE. Have a look at one at the docks.
At the docks is where they will spend a lot of their time.

Waterline and light air sailing ability is everything but as a liveaboard a 40ft anything is small if wanting any sort of autonomy, load carrying ability, comfort and performance

We built and cruised a 34 ft cat for many years, got well into building a 50fter as a full time cruiser and realised it would be borderline at best and then changed tack.
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Old 18-08-2020, 05:41   #17
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

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At the docks is where they will spend a lot of their time.

Waterline and light air sailing ability is everything but as a liveaboard a 40ft anything is small if wanting any sort of autonomy, load carrying ability, comfort and performance

We built and cruised a 34 ft cat for many years, got well into building a 50fter as a full time cruiser and realised it would be borderline at best and then changed tack.

Basically it’s a matter of opinion. You need a 60’ trawler to take care of your needs and others are just as happy on an older Pearson Triton 28 monohull. There is no one boat or a minimum size needed for comfort.
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Old 18-08-2020, 05:46   #18
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

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So fast compared to other L400’s
i only worry about performance for passage. Not competing. However, we have travelled faster than many cats even considerably larger, including couple seawinds upwind as one lives on water and observes.

this could be for many reasons, so i do not consider we are faster or slower and i do not care.

but if one chooses to have 5 star equipment on boat will be slow on 40 ft. If one lifestyle does not require that many goodies, this will save on weight & aerodynamics and $$$ and maintenance time and is real performance plus. Thing about L 400 is that has lots of space and is relatively smal boat and is easy to fill it up and make it TOO heavy.
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Old 18-08-2020, 05:58   #19
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

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i only worry about performance for passage. Not competing. However, we have travelled faster than many cats even considerably larger, including couple seawinds upwind as one lives on water and observes.



this could be for many reasons, so i do not consider we are faster or slower and i do not care.



but if one chooses to have 5 star equipment on boat will be slow on 40 ft. If one lifestyle does not require that many goodies, this will save on weight & aerodynamics and $$$ and maintenance time and is real performance plus. Thing about L 400 is that has lots of space and is relatively smal boat and is easy to fill it up and make it TOO heavy.


I agree 100%
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Old 18-08-2020, 06:07   #20
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pirate Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

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many questions heh...

look at waterline. One can see up to 20 cm difference in height comparing same boats, ie L 400. that is lots of performance difference and bridgedeck banging.

Then Folding props, watermaker, new sails, clean hulls, better trim etc.

you get the idea.

But you have a 1.21m draft minimum, compared to the L380 at 1.15m so theoretically you'd be no faster than a 380.. the 0.47m LWL gain is negated by the resistance over that larger area.
To my memory the L380 is not really a slammer and its owner Monte who moved to a L400 compared them as pretty similar performers.
L380 upwind sail..829sqft
L400 upwind sail..904sqft
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Old 18-08-2020, 06:23   #21
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

Hi,

I dreamed about cruising across oceans from when I was seventeen and moved aboard a 38' LWL catamaran at fifty-two. It all starts with the imagination.

We sailed the east coast from Baltimore to Trinidad for three years learning how the two of us could safely sail and cruise our specific boat. Then it was through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific.

Go for it! You'll have more fun and adventure than you can possibly imagine.
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Old 18-08-2020, 06:27   #22
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

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But you have a 1.21m draft minimum, compared to the L380 at 1.15m so theoretically you'd be no faster than a 380.. the 0.47m LWL gain is negated by the resistance over that larger area.
To my memory the L380 is not really a slammer and its owner Monte who moved to a L400 compared them as pretty similar performers.
L380 upwind sail..829sqft
L400 upwind sail..904sqft
not sure about 38 performance, but sail area of L 400 is understated by factory for whatever reason. Jib is 35m2 and not 28m2 as stated in specs. I know this as incidence people told me when purchasing replacement sails. I also measured myself as one really wonders why factory would understate sail area, but it is true. Maybe to sell more L45 instead of L 400?

Compared to L 38:
L 400 has nacelle and i found this is very important in heavy seas. The other thing is L 400 is extremely stiff boat. No moving shrouds with full sail in 25 kn beam reaching.This has some positive influence on performance.
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Old 18-08-2020, 10:18   #23
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

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Hey everybody, just a daydreaming landblubber here that never sailed a day in his life. I've no concrete plan to buy a cat in the near future so this question is purely hypothetical. Would a 40 cat of one of the big 3 be able to sail wherever I want? Or a 42 is better? Or 45? Do a few feet really make a big difference? The idea of sailing around the world with my girlfriend is really romantic, with enough experience is it possible to sail just with 2 people on board? Thank you and I know the question may be stupid and naive, but the quarantine makes me daydreaming!
Have a good day everybody
Have a look outside the big three. There are many boutique builders that make excellent blue water cruisers in relatively the same price range as the big three (and they tend to be a lot stronger) I'm assuming you're looking at used boats (getting a good surveyor will be job one). The current trend for all builders is to make cats in excess of 50' so anything in the 38' range will be second hand.
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Old 18-08-2020, 10:58   #24
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

The Prout Snowgoose is 35 and north of 150 of them are known to have circumnavigated.
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Old 18-08-2020, 11:11   #25
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Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

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The Prout Snowgoose is 35 and north of 150 of them are known to have circumnavigated.


And I’m guessing there were way more Snowgoose 37’s built and more circumnavigated.
The Prout had the reputation of more safely sailed bluewater miles than any other production sailboat, and the vast amount of Prouts are under 40’.
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Old 18-08-2020, 11:30   #26
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pirate Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

Prouts are essentially downwind boats thus perfect for the E-W circumnavigation.. anything fore of the beam and they slam.. even downwind in certain sea's.
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Old 18-08-2020, 12:26   #27
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

I would say comfort is the most important than speed. The two aren't necessarily mutally exclusive. Seldom are winds light in typical cruising outside of the Med where moving days they won't be light anyway.

The Caribbean is gusting mostly 25 knts every day. Today is little respite where I am due to the storm up north. The trades are supposed to only kick in proper around November and strengthen in Jan, but have been blowing steadily between 16-25 knts all summer.

I've had reports of the Pacific being rough from two boats (one a 50' cat) that left Panama for the Marquesas just over a month ago.

So in my opinion, be comfortable first, fast second.

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Prouts are essentially downwind boats thus perfect for the E-W circumnavigation.. anything fore of the beam and they slam.. even downwind in certain sea's.
Downwind or flat water for Prouts. At least for fair weather sailors like me. Surfing at 16knts down 3-4m ocean swells was nothing, going into 1-1.5m chop about 3 seconds apart with half sized waves at 1.5 seconds and even slowing to 2-3 knts is madly uncomfortable; and if try to push it will break things.

At other times, when in the lee of the land so the water is calm, but the winds are still good, 7-8 knts or more can be fun on day sails.

Would not be my choice for sailing around the world
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Old 18-08-2020, 13:39   #28
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

Hi Anything that looks like a Dick Newick Dick Newick Boat Designs, complete list* or a Nigel Irens
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Old 18-08-2020, 14:23   #29
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

I guess a play on the old saying is appropriate here: "If you have to ask how much, you can't afford it." Or in this case. "If you have to ask, don't do it."
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Old 18-08-2020, 15:29   #30
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Re: Is a 40 cat enough to sail oceans?

A "CAT" is just right for a mill pond.
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