Lost Cat! Small Pocket Cruiser Catamarans

[Boatfreak]

Possibly Endeavourcat 30, fits the bill but nothing unusual about the steps as far as I can see and not a great performer.

Endeavourcat 30 Used Catamaran - Chickadee

[Boatfreak]

That Catnano looks good. If you wanted a good sailor, an FP Maldives is a good choice. Headroom in the hulls is good. In the saloon it is a bit limited but I am 5'10" and had mine for 17 years without trouble. My friend who is 6' also found his OK. There is a lift up section over the galley which is great for headroom and ventilation. The beam is more than you were looking for at 5.35m or 17'5" but you can do the many of the French canals. We did the Canal d' Midi from the Med to the Atlantic but though many other routes will go part way that is the only through route it will fit.

[SailngInTX]

There was a post here about a Rayvin 30 (I think) could that be the "lost cat"?

I liked lots of things about it (I've been looking at the same Cats)

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/200...in-30-3621193/

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Boatfreak

Possibly Endeavourcat 30, fits the bill but nothing unusual about the steps as far as I can see and not a great performer.

Endeavourcat 30 Used Catamaran - Chickadee

Forgot about those.

The 30 is more common but the 34 or 36 is massive inside, just not a lot of them built.

Think of them like a jeep, ugly as sin, they aren't a sports car but very practical if you go off road.

One other note from comparing our Gemini to our Catalac: We had the Gemini first and never understood the desire for galley up. Then we got the Catalac. In the Gemini even at 5ft, Tammy could easily look over the seat backs from down in the hulls and be part of things. On the Catalac, she was hidden down below. So consider the depth of the floor on the bridge deck vs in the hulls. On a lot of the smaller cats, galley up, isn't as critical.

[thinwater]

Your desires are likely mutually exclusive. Crossing oceans with a beam of less than 5 meters is not really recommended. Yes, Tony Smith crossed the Atlantic in a Gemini 105Mc, and he swore he would never do it again. I've sailed my PDQ 32/34 a good bit in waves (16' beam).

• Headroom on bridge deck means either a slider (PDQ), too little bridge deck under clearance, or massive windage. You can't hide the height in a boat that size. There is no trick.
• Galley up. Really, this is not a positive feature in a cat this small. There isn't enough space. Galley down is really nice, you just pass the food up and you are out of the flow of trafic (the main problem when you are cooking). There is also less motion (sway) with the galley down).
• Chart table. Nobody actually uses them much anymore (you use a chart plotter). It becomes a work table, and out of the way is better. Route planning is done around the salon table, which is better for that.
• Forward outboards is a big plus. You can actually motor in rough water. But it makes engine maintenance a major PITA (can't reach anything without pulling the motors).

I really liked the seaworthiness of the PDQ, and if I was getting another I might make the same choice again. But the salon is not for tall people (the rest of the boat has pretty good headroom). It does have exceptional bridge deck clearance for this class, which I really liked going to weather or close reaching.

[django37]

All the English built cats before 2000 up to the Snowgoose 37, were built so narrow, that they could pass through the French canals. But the FP Maldive 32 is too beamy. I had one of my Havkat 27 with a beam of 5,25 m passing, but the owner had to cut the rubbing strake - so 5.20 m is absolute max beam.
So Aristocat - called Gemini in the US; Catalacs 8, 9, 10 m; Sailcrafts Iroquois 30, the 32 and 35; all Prouts up to 37 will do.

[rmlarson1098]

Originally Posted by OhioDreamers

Hi all. Been lurking awhile. We're in Ohio planning a new chapter in our lives and are considering purchasing a small live aboard catamaran for extended excursions in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway to Lake Champlain, some East Coast travel, then maybe ship it over to EU to do the French Canals before settling in Italy (dual citizen here). We have some "requirements" that we are trying to keep and two of those are a beam of 5m (16ft or less) and headroom for someone who's 6'3" (me).

The cats we've been considering are all smaller and our running list looks something like this:

SmartCat 280
PDQ 32
TomCat 970
BroadBlue 345
Voiliers Piana 9m
Snell's Easy 32
and, if it comes to it, the various DIY options by Woods and Waller (Woods are excellent designs although slightly too beamy but the Waller 880 will fit down the dutch and french canal systems).

On a recent internet search we came across a thread (it may or may not have been here) started by another small cruising cat searcher that mentioned a brand/design that was unknown to us. When we looked into it, we were astonished at how it ticked off not only our main two criteria, but a whole host of other preferences on our wish list: galley up, aft berth, slightly wider gunwales, outboard boxes, forward facing chart table...it was an impressive package! We had both been leaning towards a TomCat, but this option filled in just a couple more boxes while staying in the same price range.

Trouble is, for the life of us we can't remember what it was called, and although I swore I bookmarked it, I clearly didn't. I spent literally an entire day going through two weeks of browser history but to no avail.

So, I'm reaching out to the fine folks here on cruisersforum to see if anyone can help us find our "lost cat". It had a beam to length ratio of (I believe) more than 50%, and the steps leading down into the hulls had an interesting rotation towards the berth to save space, kinda like dutch stairs. I think the stern had a tiny trampoline, but it may have been solid. Looked like a recent build (I didn't see anything on the used cat sites that matched).

If anyone can help us figure this out, we'd be grateful for your assistance!

Heavenly Twins?
Surprised that you don't have Prout on your list.

[Cpt Mark]

Have you looked at an Island Packet Yachts, Packet Cat 35? I ow one. Standing headroom for you throughout. Wider side decks for safer, easier movement fore/aft. Twin diesels in engine rooms that are large enough to move around in and almost stand up in. (When I showed my boat to my yacht club every guy said the same thing when they saw my engine rooms. F*ck you Mark) lol.

Built for offshore and very well built. Galley up and good size as well. It has a third 1/3 hull up forward. The design of this splits the wave when you crash into it so the bridgedeck doesn't slam into the wave and prevents the cat from tripping over the big waves. Provides a ton of storage room and a great lounge deck.

35' long. 15' wide.

[Cheechako]

If you can find a well kept or rebuilt older TPI built Lagoon 37 they are very good.
https://www.vivaboats.com/lagoon-tpi...ilboats/308915

[Tupaia]

Russel Brown modified a Gougeon Bros. G32 called G-Wiz


https://www.epoxyworks.com/index.php...tamaran-g-wiz/

[Tupaia]

There was also a 4 hulled 28ft Quadcat built circa 2000 not sure if they are still being built.

[Gadagirl]

Maybe this?

www.usayachtexport.com/smartcat/

Seems to have more beam than you want but it's swiped some designs from TomCat and Seawind.

[girnybairn]

Why not look for a Catfisher 28 .You can stand up in main saloon I have had one for 17 years and sailed it from 2003 in Sardinia to Antalya Turkey and back to `Greece in the Dodecanese islands where she is now . I do know about hobby horsing but my boat has flat fins protruding horizontally from the sterns designed to reduce that effect . . Came down Mesina straight with 25 knots on nose only making one knot . took hours , bumpy up front but hardly noticed in large stern cockpit With strict control on route , weather and distance from shore have able to cope with remaining effects of washing machine scenario of cross wave reflections from head lands . Was quite exiting bouncing around near a protruding rock with waves from all directions and was consoled by adjacent rowing boat with woman standing up with fishing rod and bobbing up and down side to side and still standing up . In Karlovasi harbour off Samos 35 knot wind changed to east and fetch blew through bottleneck entrance and created washing machine effect and stern to was tricky walking off boat along gang plank up and down and side to side and to and fro . in med it can get quite bumpy

[OhioDreamers]

SailingInTexas I like that Rayvin 30 also. Been checking that one for sale out as well. But yes, the beam is more than we were considering. I’ve looked for layouts but haven’t found anything detailed enough to confirm the Rayvin has the “Dutch staircase” solution for hull access. I do like the wider gunwales though. My shoes are size 12s and my left foot is a still a little tender from a long ago car wreck so the extra width is a plus. Appreciate you weighing in.

[OhioDreamers]

Cheechako I’m unfamiliar with most of the Lagoon series simply due their size. Lagoon 37 isn’t the “lost cat” but I’ll check it out on your recommendation.