Near Bellingham, Wa Cat Owners

[Mithrinder]

Hello,

We are hoping to take the plunge and eventually be owners of ~38' Cat. We are a family of 4 and would really like to talk with other owners of any Cats in this area. Feel free to pm us we are willing to drive to Seattle/Vancouver if necessary to see you and your boat. We are trying to get first hand information on floor plans and anything else you can convey. We have done some chartering but we would really prefer to talk to people who have had their boats for awhile and can tell us what they like, don't like, never thought of and anything else!

Mith

[delmarrey]

Not many Cat's up in this area! And I don't think there is any one on this forum. I think I've only seen maybe 10 different Cat's in the Puget Sound. Three are here on the hard in my marina. But they are not the typical Cats. If a Cat goes up for sale it usually gets taken fairly soon.

There are lots of Tri's though.

You might want to talk to these guys in Ballard Oops! They've moved to Bainbridge Is. Multihulls Northwest - Seattle, Washington

[Islander]

A few more than ten up here I think! Try contacting these guys, should be able to help.

Northwest Multihull Association

I think there's a Gemini on charter up your way, a bit smaller than you're looking for but would give a flavor of the genre.

Cheers.

[Intentional Drifter]

Welcome to CF, Mithrinder --

There are 2 Geminis, a Lagoon 38, and a Manta 42 at San Juan Sailing in Bellingham. San Juan Island Sailing Charter San Juan Yacht Charters San Juan Islands Sailing School BareBoat Charters Pacific Northwest Sailing

I don't know about the Geminis, but I've been on both the Lagoon (O'BenAnnas) and the Manta (Ninja), which is for sale, by the way. O'BenAnnas is available for bareboat charter. Ninja is a crewed charter. The owner/captain does training and is a heckuva nice guy. If he's in port, he would quite likely be willing to talk with you and, if he's available, would probably be willing to take you out for a day sail/brief charter (for a price, of course -- even a day sail does incur expense and time).

There's a Fountaine Pajot 35 at Windworks Sailing in Seattle that is available for day sail charter, as well as overnights. It is a pretty basic model and isn't in great shape (the last time I saw her, which was a couple of years ago, the sails were in bad need of replacement).

If you could give a bit more information, I could probably give you a bit more specific feedback. Are you looking for day sails? Brief cruises? Blue water? Liveaboard? PacNW, or elsewhere? Family of four -- younger kids or teenagers? And, of course, budget.

There are a couple of family liveaboards on cats on the Forum -- schoonerdog immediately comes to mind.

As you likely already know, any boat is a series of compromises and your happiness with a specific boat will depend upon which compromises you make that work for you. For example, a classic one is galley up versus galley down. Galley up keeps the cook more in the social action, as well as the view and (usually, but not always) convenience to the cockpit. However, galleys up usually have less storage/counter space and it is easier to get tossed around when the seas get up. They also cost you space in the salon. Galleys down on the other hand, keep the mess out of the salon, usually have much more storage/counter space, and (we found) are safer in seas, because you can grab on to stuff to keep yourself stable. You also usually get more space in the salon, too. Really, though, it usually comes down to personal preference.

Another classic compromise in cats of this size (36 to mid-40's) is bridgedeck/windage. The higher bridgedeck cats will usually have less slapping (but don't believe it if someone tells you a specific cat in this size range never slaps -- just not true), but this again depends on whether there are underdeck appendages sticking out. This typically comes at the cost of higher windage, which makes close quarters maneuvering in a breeze more difficult, as well as compromises in sailing performance. The Lagoons and Fountaine Pajots with the large, vertical salons result in significant windage, and they won't point as high, as a result. Lower bridgedecks (usually found in the S. African cats) typically result in more slapping. This might be an issue, depending on the shape of the bridgedeck and whether the hulls were designed to have the wakes meet behind the boat. Flatter surfaces = more slapping; curved surfaces = less slapping that is less intrusive. The advantage is usually less windage, which results in easier maneuverability and better sailing performance.

To illustrate, we buddy-boated with a Lagoon 410 off and on for several months in a variety of conditions, both island hopping and off shore. We have a St. Francis 44. The 410 has higher bridgedeck clearance and a higher salon with a couple inches more headroom (which is nice to have, no doubt about it). The St. F has lower clearance, but lower windage. Waterline length of the two boats is almost the same, though I think the St. F might have an extra 6 to 8 inches. Interior space is about the same, though with quite different layouts. We were consistently, in almost all conditions and points of sail, 1 to 2 knots faster. Under power, although our engines are 27 hp and the 410's are 40's, we were more efficient and could keep up with them using 1 engine when they were using both. We also carry twice as much fuel in our tanks, so the stops for fill ups were much less often and we simply used less, too. But, the 410 is more tolerant of weight and has those vertical windows, which bring other advantages. Plus, they are nice boats. (So are the St. F's.)

There's a lot more to figure out, too. But, you're in a good place to ask your questions. Using the search feature will also get you a lot, too.

Just be forewarned -- as with most sailing forums, you will find some people who seem to be quite anti-multihull, and others that are anti-monohull. At times, it seems to take on an almost religious fervor. Silly, really.

Figure out what you want, find the best fit, and enjoy!

ID

[DRS]

Mith. I am part owner of lagoon 380 in Vancouver. Recently aquired the boat but feel free to PM me if you wish

[Mithrinder]

delmarrey - Thanks for the info

Islander - Thanks much for that association.

Intentional Drifter - Thanks for all that info! a few comments. Have chartered the gemini. We were considering to charter the lagoon next year but we are kinda on the fence on that, we do not like a raised galley and for us the larger bridgedeck is not needed as the tallest of us is 5'9, also I would want the heads at the front.

We are a family of 4 on a 4 year plan but depending on timing it might be earlier. If 2 years then 3 will be on boat otherwise just 2 (both kids will be off in college). My wife and I want to circumnavigate but we plan to stay along the west coast here for the first year.


DRS - Sent you a pm!

[George Wade]

'Stray Cat' nosed into Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, yesterday afternoon. Not finding what she wanted she drifted back out: at one point apparently getting lined up ready for a race with the ferry; and there was almost enough breeze for her to have won.

If she comes near you Mithrinder, it would be worth a visit, though I don't know when that will be ? After the Alaska season probably.

[kevinmac]

I have a Maine Cat 30 currently in Puget Sound, was on charter with San Juan Sailing before, but money became a problem for me so I had to take her out.

Feel free to PM if you like.

Kevin