Mast Height on Cats (ICW)

[Jeannius]

I did the ICW in a Privilege 435. Thought the mast height was 62ft but it turned out it was 64ft. Lost the vhf, masthead lights and bent the wind instruments in the Dismal Swamp Canal. I think we got caught up on something hanging underneath the bridge as we passed under the first half of a dual carriageway bridge without problem but caught the second.


We then got all the way to St Augustine without further problem but we did make sure we timed the tides carefully and went outside at Morehead City where the tidal range is small and there are a lot of bridges.

[2Hulls]

Originally Posted by Mark0808

Do the larger cats require that much sail area to perform?

Simply, yes. Larger cats are generally meant for long range voyaging - not worried about east coast US bridge heights.

The break point on cat lengths for mast heights to be ICW friendly is right around 42 feet, plus or minus a bit. Don't be swayed by a boat with a mast height of 63 to 64 feet because you'll need to time the tides and not have any antennas further up. Besides, the fishing is way better off shore........

Dave

[SVNeko]

Originally Posted by StuM

There's a good spreadsheet here:
http://www.largecatamaransforsale.co...e-numbers.xlsx

which gives dimensions of a lot of cats. I see many there under 65 ft.

Where did this spreadsheet come from?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[colemj]

I don't understand the surprise at mast height for catamarans. Most similarly sized monohulls also have similarly sized masts. I just googled Beneteau 45 and see that it has a 67' mast height, for example.

Mark

[StuM]

Originally Posted by SVNeko

Where did this spreadsheet come from?

I'd guess there people created it for the boats they are listing:

Large Catamarans For Sale- Best Resource | Finding Large Catamarans for Sale

"Please open the Excel Spreadsheet "Catamaran Comparisons" prepared by broker Gary Fretz to give buyers more information in making comparisons between different catamaran builders and models."