Questions about Sailing

[jsauls1]

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post these questions but here goes. I have been a power boat man all of my life , never sailed , but my wife and i just recently returned from St John where we sailed on a catamaran and we have fallen in love with the life style , i'm ready to sell my power boat and purchase a multihull ,without making this post to long can one teach himself to sail , what are the more reliable cats , i really like the Lagoon 440. At this point i'm like a sponge and trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible , any help or advice would be helpful. Thanks

[DRS]

Look at some of the charter companies and see if they offer a cruise and learn package. You will likely find some that offer them on a cat. Learn to sail and test drive a boat all while on a weeks vacation. Seems like a good plan to me.

[boatman61]

Hi... Welcome to CF.
440 is a bit big to start on... the 380 owners version should be ample big enough for a couple with two doubles for guests in the port hull..
The sails etc are much more manageable for newbies.. then in a coupla years trade in and move up.. its a lot harder work than a power boat..

[delmarrey]

If your thinking of buying a Cat or even a trimaran, you best gets some on the water training first. Those wide beam sailboats can get knocked down and never come up. So I'd suggest getting some good experience with a pro multihull sailor before taking on a big multihull.

If you start out on the smaller boats (e.g. Hobies) and crash a few times you'll under stand better what to watch out for. And gusts will be the worst of it. They can catch you off guard and over you go. The big heavy cruisers are not so tender but one still needs to stay alert. A lot of money can be lost in such a small mistake. Where as the monohulls can take some errors and still be sailable.

[Dulcesuenos]

On the other hand be extremely careful if you decide to get a monohull they dont go downwind very well and broach very very easy and then get flipped.over and sure theyll come back up unless.your windows get stoved.in or you lose a hatchboard. Then well you sink but that almost never happens. Also its pretty fun being jacklined in and flipping a mono you always stay right there in the cockpit....

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by jsauls1

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post these questions but here goes. I have been a power boat man all of my life , never sailed , but my wife and i just recently returned from St John where we sailed on a catamaran and we have fallen in love with the life style , i'm ready to sell my power boat and purchase a multihull ,without making this post to long can one teach himself to s are the more reliable cats , i really like the Lagoon 440. At this point i'm like a sponge and trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible , any help or advice would be helpful. Thanks

The most reliable cat is one the owner has maintained diligently. Anything on any boat can break. Sailing a cat is great. You can teach yourself but getting instruction is very valuable. Asa courses etc aren't bad. Id reccomend get a small less expensive boat, have some fun and learn the ropes then move up once you know what you want in a boat. They are all compromises

[Sand crab]

Cats aren't like cars when it comes to reliability ratings. Mostly the boat builder just builds the structure, rudders and some built in furniture, All the other stuff is from other suppliers. Just about all the builders have had issues with osmosis, blisters and delamination. The few builders that haven't had as many problems in this area are Privilege, Seawind, Manta, Maine Cat, and Outremer in no particular order. Lagoon and FP have had a number of issues but they have also built the most boats by far, over 2100 cats each. Lagoon built about 700 380s alone. The 440 is also extremely popular and was recently replaced by the also popular 450.

What you really want is a well maintained boat. Like the other posters said.

[smj]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

If your thinking of buying a Cat or even a trimaran, you best gets some on the water training first. Those wide beam sailboats can get knocked down and never come up. So I'd suggest getting some good experience with a pro multihull sailor before taking on a big multihull. If you start out on the smaller boats (e.g. Hobies) and crash a few times you'll under stand better what to watch out for. And gusts will be the worst of it. They can catch you off guard and over you go. The big heavy cruisers are not so tender but one still needs to stay alert. A lot of money can be lost in such a small mistake. Where as the monohulls can take some errors and still be sailable.

One of these days we will outgrow ignorant posts like this.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by smj

One of these days we will outgrow ignorant posts like this.

Disprove any of it!

[smj]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Disprove any of it!

Sure, and chicken little could fall out of the sky and hit you on the head at anytime but does that mean we need to wear hard hats at all times! Yes multis have flipped at about the same rate that monos have sunk. Why do you even come on the multihull thread to spread your venom?

[delmarrey]

Why do you guys bounce off the bulkheads anytime someone mentions multihulls and start a pissing contest. I happen to like them. Did I say anything that was untrue?

I use to sail Hobies off the beaches of Mission Bay in the good ole dazes. I just can't justify the cost of a big one.

[44'cruisingcat]

Del, it would take a SERIOUS gust of wind to knock down the majority of production cat's. Like the kind of gust most of us will never see in a lifetime.

Compared to most production cat's, ours is extremely light, with a very high SA/Disp ratio, yet we've seen close to 40 knots TWS under full sail, and not looked like lifting a hull.

There are hundreds of chartered cat's sailing all over the world, day in, day out, many in the hands of very inexperienced, even incompetent charterers, and yet disasters are very rare.

It would be a good idea for a complete novice to get some sailing instruction before heading out to sea in ANY large sailboat, simply to learn about the safety aspects of handling sheetropes, anchor chains, winches, windlasses, and so on. Much more likely to lose a finger than to hurt the boat.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by jsauls1

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post these questions but here goes. I have been a power boat man all of my life , never sailed , but my wife and i just recently returned from St John where we sailed on a catamaran and we have fallen in love with the life style , i'm ready to sell my power boat and purchase a multihull ,without making this post to long can one teach himself to sail , what are the more reliable cats , i really like the Lagoon 440. At this point i'm like a sponge and trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible , any help or advice would be helpful. Thanks

You probably could teach yourself to sail, but it would be much faster, safer and probably cheaper to get some lessons at first.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

You probably could teach yourself to sail, but it would be much faster, safer and probably cheaper to get some lessons at first.

And that's the point I'm trying to get across.

It takes a higher skill level to sail multi's. So you'all should be complimented for the skills in sailing. I've been sailing for 35+ years and would still take an experienced skipper along on my first few voyages, if I were to buy a larger Cat. The small ones were hormonal.

Any amateur can sail a mono once he gets wind in the sail.

[44'cruisingcat]

Don't know about a higher skill level. You just have to get used to the scenery approaching much faster! Some things are definitely easier in a cat. Making a coffee for instance. Then drinking it. Going forward. Walking around. Standing up. Sleeping. Eating.

I could go on. And on....