Looking for more Catamaran experience

[Kalle Wirsch]

Hi folks, I was hoping I could find a cat owner anywhere between Monterey, CA and Richmond, CA who would let us (couple) join them on a catamaran sail (an hour, a day, anything would work).

We both have our 104 certification, but want to get more exposure to catamarans. Cannot post under crew bc we’re not experienced with cats…

Happy to trade favor for money or help (Babysitting, homeschooling advice (we have 4 kids), German lessons, engineering design/repair, boat cleaning, , or whatever you can think of).

Feel free to also write directly to us with any advice and tips.

[NaClyDog]

Where does it say you need experience on cats to post in the crew positions section?

[Kalle Wirsch]

my man said the same thing, but what good is a crew member that … can’t reliably help. No? Please correct me if I’m wrong…

[NaClyDog]

Put your name out there and be honest about qualifications / lack of qualifications. Let the boat owner / captain decide.

[Tupaia]

Put your names out there, cards on yacht club and boat yard notice boards.

Also contact delivery skippers and brokers as they often have a pool of "free" crew experienced or otherwise.

You might have to do a few monohull trips to build a reputation for reliability but if you stress multihulls you will get those as well.

[Paul Howard]

Contact multihull clubs and organizations, like the SF Bay Area Multihull Association. Racing, Cruising, lots of trimarans and catamarans.

[EXTangen]

You guys ROCK! I plan on looking for catamaran experience soon, and threads like this probably help lots of new folks! Stay healthy, and have a great day!

[Kalle Wirsch]

Lots of good ideas. Thanks guys!

[Kalle Wirsch]

One more thing EXtangen - we’re planing on chartering a cat from modern sailing in Sf in the near future. Would you be interested in pitching in - we could all learn, spend less, and have enough hands to charter safely.

[SailorKelly68]

Hi Kalle
WE are experienced catamaran and monohull Instructors, currently not in your area, but we help new sailors build confidence on catamarans and show them the cruising lifestyle on a cat. Please message me if you want more information. We are Caribbean based, currently in Roatan, but moving to Panama in the next month. If you want an offshore adventure... there is still one cabin available. if you want a shore based easier time, we could assist you after September in Panama.
Warm Regards,
Kelly
NautiKel Adventures.
crew @

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Kalle Wirsch

[emoji3] my man said the same thing, but what good is a crew member that … can’t reliably help. No? Please correct me if I’m wrong…

Ok, you're wrong! [emoji6]

It is not uncommon for boats to take on inexperienced crew. Inexperienced crew can still stand watch (with a little training), pull a line, help clean, help repair, help lift, help cook...

Also, no one was born experienced, we all learned somehow...owners may take you on to essentially "pay it back".

Sailors are generally pretty social so find out where they hang out near you, show up, and make some friends...eventually someone wil offer to take you sailing.

And re "no experience", while you may have no experience outside of training, you do have training. To complete 104 you first had to complete 101 and 103. So youve got the basics. At this poing your basic sailing skills should be OK and, from 104, you should know something about living aboard a boat and boat systems. So...dont sell yourself short. Lots of crew get taken on who know a lot less than you do!

With this training and a little coaching on the specific boat you CAN "reliably help"! Catamarans are not THAT different.

There is also 114, which is catamaran specific.

Bottom line: your training is relevant, just get out there and meet sailors. And yes, post as crew!