Maine Cat 38

[Junglebike]

Originally Posted by Sparx

I hope I am not to late to the party. We own a Maine Cat 38, as Mark mentioned. We sail the US East coast and Bahamas. Home port is on the Chesapeake.

Our catamaran selection journey started out exactly where you are, with the Seawind 1190 and Maine Cat both on the top of our list. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about either brand.

Thanks for this post - excellent. I've long been an admirer of both of these brands.

For those with either model & outboards, I'm curious about the outboards for those times when you've got to use them. How's the noise and vibration versus inboard diesels? Here in San Diego we often have to motor for 10hrs+ against the Pacific swell to get to the islands, as our winds are only reliable in the afternoon.

[mattyc]

I would recommend looking for a Shuttle worth Tek 35 catamaran. Similar to Maine Cat. I've helped to deliver one from New England to Florida ( offshore) a few times. Great sailing boat. I believe there is one sale Maine called Socia. It used be stored at Front Street in Belfast .

[smj]

Originally Posted by mattyc

I would recommend looking for a Shuttle worth Tek 35 catamaran. Similar to Maine Cat. I've helped to deliver one from New England to Florida ( offshore) a few times. Great sailing boat. I believe there is one sale Maine called Socia. It used be stored at Front Street in Belfast .

Also a Tek 35 advertised under the for sale forum here. I’m guessing most are 20-30 years old now, but great designs

[malabarmcgyver]

I appreciate all the responses to my post. It is greatly appreciated. The Admiral pointed out that I forgot at least one very important question: How do your wives like the MC38?!?

[Sparx]

Originally Posted by Junglebike

Thanks for this post - excellent. I've long been an admirer of both of these brands.

For those with either model & outboards, I'm curious about the outboards for those times when you've got to use them. How's the noise and vibration versus inboard diesels? Here in San Diego we often have to motor for 10hrs+ against the Pacific swell to get to the islands, as our winds are only reliable in the afternoon.

In situations where there is not enough wind to sail, the Maine Cat moves well with modest engine rpm, which keeps the outboard noise down. The Maine Cat also sails well in light winds where many other boats can only motor.

I recently did a delivery of a 40 foot catamaran in which my bunk was directly above one of the diesels. I cannot say this was better than the noise from the outboards on the Maine Cat.

[WRoss]

I've owned a Maine Cat 41 for five years, having previously owned two monohulls and chartered MANY other cats. THE distinguishing feature of Maine Cats is the totally protected bridgedeck and I can't overemphasize how absolutely fantastic this is.

You're never sitting out there fully exposed to the sun, wind, cold or water (be it rain or wave splash) as with many other cats (i.e. - Seawind 1190). Yet, with the large forward opening windows you can let in as much breeze as you like.

You have a full 360 view at all times. All other cats only provide you with a partial view and even the view from the Seawind is obstructed forward by major visual blocks.

When at the helm you are right there in company of the crew for socializing and or assistance. On other cats, such as those with a 'fly bridge' you're separated from the crew.

If you're operating on autopilot you can make yourself comfortable in a number of locations within the super large cockpit and still maintain full visibility.

Personally, I'm really glad to have the larger Maine Cat 41 because of the additional room, but obviously this is a more expensive boat.

I've sailed my boat thousands of miles solo which is easily accomplished w/o having to leave the cockpit because of the arrangement of the lines.

I could go on and on about the benefits of Maine Cats, but you get the idea.

Frankly, I can't understand why other manufacturers have not produced cats with this same center cockpit on the bridgedeck layout.

My two cents.

Ross

[malabarmcgyver]

Thanks Ross! We are very excited with the positive responses. We hope to get aboard the MC38 this year and upon a confirming survey, we plan to place an order late next year.

[Zed2]

How much are MC38 and 1160 these days?

[MacD1]

I own MC 38 hull #2, formerly s/v Allelu, now s/v Vivace. We keep her in Narragansett Bay, RI. A bit late to this thread, but a few comments: we get good performance from the twin 15HP outboards, about 6.5 kt at ~ 3300 RPM with roughly 1 gph of fuel consumption.

Under sail, the performance is good. On a trip to Block Island recently, we were doing 8 - 9 knots close hauled in about 15 knots of breeze with a single reef in the main. Her favorite point of sail is a reach, and we can often get close to windspeed on that point of sail. Dead downwind isn't her favorite, and it can be better to "tack" downwind to get better VMG. Dead downwind would likely be different/better with a spinnaker, but I don't have one to test that out with.

She can be a little sensitive when sailing very close to the wind in that the light weight hull and big main relative to the self-tacking jib means it's easy to get stuck in irons. If you're decisive about your tacks, this isn't a big deal, but it can be helpful to come off the wind a bit before tacking to build up some speed in order to get through the tack. In general, the biggest difference a MC 38 has to a monohull, or even some other cats is that because she doesn't weigh much, you don't have much inertia/momentum. She accelerates fast and stops fast. So when tacking, or dealing with a cross breeze in a marina, for example, she rewards a captain who is decisive, and can make things tricky if you aren't.

I like having the performance precisely because I'm doing a bunch of relaxed daysails and cruises with my wife and two small kids. I don't need to sail her hard, and we'll still get to where we're going with time to spare. And, when we get there I'll have a happy crew with me because it's been an easy-going trip. As my wife says "I'm always racing during the week when I'm at work, I don't need that during my weekend".

Visibility from the cockpit is great. I'm always doing everything single handed because my kids are young and my wife, who is learning fast, didn't previously know how to sail before we got the boat last year, and is also often running around after the kids. The only routine tasks that are significantly easier with two people are hoisting the main (only because I'm too lazy to drop my lazy jacks when I do it, so having someone up there to make sure the ends of the mainsail battens don't get stuck in them is helpful), anchoring (because I don't have a remote), picking up a mooring and docking. As far as docking goes, the enclosed cockpit and forward helm, which is awesome, does mean it takes a little time to get from the helm to a dock line, particularly a dock line on the bow. Same applies to picking up a mooring. Happily for me, my wife is now an expert at lines and fenders.

She's also surprisingly good in heavy weather, not that I seek that out. I've had her at 18 knots surfing downwind in 35 - 40 knots offshore with just the self-tacking jib up. She was very well behaved under those conditions. On that same trip, a line of storms came through and, while we were hove to waiting for them to pass, the wind gauge read 102 knots at one point, and was consistently above 80 knots. I'm not sure I believe the gauge entirely, but it was certainly very very windy for about 30 minutes. We were safe and dry in shorts and t-shirts in the cockpit during that whole episode.

No A/C on Vivace, so can't speak to that. We do have a couple of propane heaters that work well. My main issue with the boat is that I can't figure out a good place to mount my dinghy outboard on the rail (or elsewhere) during rougher passages. Any other MC 38 folks who have a thought about that, I'm all ears.

-Mac

[Sparx]

Mac, Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on owning Vivace. Incidently, we love Narragansett Bay and usually stop there when transiting the area.

Your comments regarding Maine Cat boat handling are similar to my experience.

Regarding the lazy jacks...raising the main sail got easier when I shortened the aft jack lines. It is embarrassing how long it took me to figure this out.

After some trial and error I ran a line from the davit, through a pool noodle under the tube of the rib, and then to the center push pit stantion. Tightened up this line keeps the dinghy from swaying while in the davits. With this rig we are comfortable leaving the outboard on the dinghy in most situations. We have traveled thousands of off shore miles this way.

[MacD1]

Brent,

Thanks for the good wishes and the good thoughts. We have a similar rig to prevent our dinghy from swinging in the davits, so it sounds like we're thinking alike as far as that goes.

I'll have to take a closer look at the lazy jacks with an eye to shortening them up/moving them forward.

Let me know when you're headed up to RI. Be great to connect in person.

-Mac

[malabarmcgyver]

I finally got to sail on a Maine Cat 38 and OMG it was awesome! It totally determined my choice between the Seawind 1190 and the Maine Cat 38. It was around 20kt winds and the boat was doing 12kts even with the engines down. The way that the boat just accelerated when the sails filled was so exhilarating. We were warned that the utilitarian design would be too sparse for us and that it was "roughing it" but I, and more importantly, and my wife loved the way the boat was designed. Have a great weekend everyone!

[Rorke Miller]

Originally Posted by malabarmcgyver

I finally got to sail on a Maine Cat 38 and OMG it was awesome! It totally determined my choice between the Seawind 1190 and the Maine Cat 38.

Were you down in the Keys? I have seen a 38 on the docks and met the new company owner. I hope the new project is a success.

[malabarmcgyver]

Yes, it was in the Keys. I have met Jim Oren, the new MC builder, several times - Great guy.

[patmo141]

Originally Posted by malabarmcgyver

I finally got to sail on a Maine Cat 38 and OMG it was awesome! It totally determined my choice between the Seawind 1190 and the Maine Cat 38. It was around 20kt winds and the boat was doing 12kts even with the engines down. The way that the boat just accelerated when the sails filled was so exhilarating. We were warned that the utilitarian design would be too sparse for us and that it was "roughing it" but I, and more importantly, and my wife loved the way the boat was designed. Have a great weekend everyone!

Where did you get a ride? There’s hull #1 for sale in Florida right now listed on the multihull company. Or are you aiming to get a fresh build from gulf shore cats?