Small Catamaran with a Family of Three? Pros/Cons?

[aqfishing]

We love our 3 cabin Leopard 40. Once she is finished chartering we plan to cruise on her. It will be more than big enough for the 3 of you. Highly recommend the owners version layout no matter what yacht you choose.

[SailingHarmonie]

It is a perversion to think that three people need a 40 foot cat to sail full time. Even a 40 foot monohull should be considered more than satisfactory.

If you are thinking you need a boat of that size, you completely missed the point of “Go small, go simple.”

If you buy the biggest boat you can afford to buy, you WILL be sucked dry by the maintenance and running costs which do NOT go down as a boat gets older and less expensive to purchase.

[aqfishing]

Have you actually spent time on a yacht? If not I suggest doing a few charters, try different size boats and see what you think could work for you. Could be money well spent in the long run!

[NevilleCat]

Make sure to read Get Real, Get Gone by Rick Page and Jasna Tuta (couple of $ on kindle)
They don't recommend cats though except perhaps Wharram designs, but they are about wringing the best bang for your buck, so in that regard with the market as it is, can see their point. Definitely worth a read.

[Fore and Aft]

Uneven_Sailor to make life easier when you move onboard you should get your boy into reading. Our kids loved being read to when young and now are happy to read for hours on wet days. Not to mention all those hours in the cockpit while on autopilot. Most of our books come from markets and op shops so it doesn't have to be expensive.
Did you know Johur Bahru in Malaysia has a Lego Land theme park and there's a marina close by? We flew there pre covid and had an amazing time.
Thom225 meant to say beasts of boats, those Pardey boats are more like little ships. I also have seen written that the Pardeys were short (Midgets according to George Buehler) so smaller boats were not such an issue. Thom225 also talks about down time onboard. But one of the advantages of a smaller boat is you can afford more shore excursions. I would rather a Benny 35 than a cat and with the price difference hire cars, stay in more marina's and be a tourist. We could have afforded a bigger boat but the sacrifices outweighed the advantages.
Cheers

[uneven_sailor]

Thanks all for your feedback and recommendations on books. Good point about using savings from a smaller boat as a means of getting out to explore more destinations…that makes sense for sure.

aqfishing - not much - I helped with a delivery that took a couple of days on a 45’ monohull and so I got a sense of things on that trip, but still need to get a lot more time out there with my family (beyond just daysailing) to really start gaining a sense of what the dynamics might look like and to learn how to live on a boat etc.

I can’t wait to start making that happen! I’m not rushing into paying for super expensive classes or charters just yet and am keeping my eyes peeled for opportunities to help crew, to help with deliveries, etc.

But we may bite the bullet and sign up for a trip or a charter in the near future depending on how things progress.

Thanks all!

[captstu]

I sailed a Gemini for years - sufficient room for a pre-teen to have a private cabin for years of growth and sailing. While there is one head, sharing isn't to difficult.

I converted the 3ed cabin into a pantry - also necessary for a growing teen.

If you are handy, you can pick up an older Gem for under $10k - with lots of sweat labor, it can serve your family for years on the water.

Much lower maintenance costs than similar sailboats - everything is designed to be owner serviced as much as possible.

Look for an outboard older boat if $$$ are an issue. The older inboard Diesel inboards use a unique outdrive system that is no longer built and hard to service-get parts.

I beached my Gem at high tide and painted the bottom once a year at low tide.

enjoy.

[SV Coronado]

You didn’t mention how far you plan to sail? If you’re mostly coastal cruising, then a smaller boat will be fine. It will also make it easier/cheaper to get into marinas for those times when you want a slip. If you plan to go offshore, then I would buy a bigger boat. A bigger boat will be safer and more comfortable in large seas, plus you can carry more spares and be self sufficient.

As far as your timing, I’m a little bit older than you, but still retired early. If you’re five to seven years out, a lot will change in that time frame. You’ll probably end up on a boat you haven’t even thought of at this point. You may have more money (or less) than you think by the time you go cruising. When I started down this path, I would have never imagined a global pandemic would come into play!! 😂

[chris.burcher]

I am enjoying this thread very much and appreciate everyone's time and comments. My wife and daughter are 1-1.5 years out and would love to feel like a 38-40' catamaran would suffice for our needs. We had been considering only 45 range for storage but also waterline.


How do all of you feel about the waterline issue with respect to stability and speed on a shorter boat versus a long one (say 38' compared to 45')? Is a 38' boat going to hobby horse so much, track so poorly, or be so slow as to be unacceptable? Would this be more or less true only on long passages? Would this render shorter boats coastal cruisers only?


Just trying to clarify things I have read, heard, or experienced that seem to be potentially conflicting.

Thanks!

[Roux]

Take the family on a week stay in the bathroom of your house. If all survive you will be ok at sea...

[otoole]

Where are you planning on doing your ASA training? I charter out of the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior. Let me know if you ever want to do some cruising with your family. My wife and I are always looking for sailing buddies.

Originally Posted by uneven_sailor

Hi All -- I'm posting on behalf of myself as well as my wife and my two-year-old son.

Current Situation: We're hoping to set off cruising in about five to seven years at our current rate of saving. Currently we're focused on taking ASA courses and accepting whatever opportunities that come our way to get onto boats and gain experience.

When we leave, I would likely be 45, she would be 43, and kiddo would be 9.

My question for the forum: Are there any folks out there who set out cruising under similar circumstances and who opted for boats that were smaller (or even quite a bit smaller) than what the norm seems to be on YouTube?

A smaller boat (e.g. Gemini, Prout Snowgoose, etc) seems appealing in many ways because it would be easier for getting started, easier to manage, to maintain, etc. However, there are obvious downsides as well: less living space, more motion while underway (and while anchored) etc.

The default option for us that I have in mind might be something like a production Lagoon/Leopard/FP of about 40-45 feet...but a smaller boat also seems appealing in a lot a lot of ways too, esp. during initial phases, since prices would be lower for buying/maintaining/repair, and I have the sense that it would be easier to operate the boat.

My primary concern with a smaller boat would just be that we'd kill each other being confined in such a small space all the time haha!

I know we are years out, but it's great to begin forming a picture with as much lead time as possible and to learn about others' experience so we don't need to learn every lesson the hard -- and expensive! -- way.

Thanks all for your time and for your thoughts!

[lo2jones]

I’ve skippered quite a few charters on catamarans. One of the most fun was with two small families on a PDQ 36. I have not sailed a Prout or Sea Wind, but they look like the same species. Galley down is the only way to go on cats under 40ft.

[Leighpilot]

We have a Woods Eclipse. 32’6”. Plenty of space for a couple and a child. The savings over buying and running a 45’ boat will be huge huge. Plus it’s easily handled. There really is no need to buy a huge boat.

[Cheechako]

You're talking a catamaran? Small would be fine for 3 people. By small I mean maybe in the 36 ft range. Seems most cats are bigger so your choices may be limited. You'll likely have 3 sleeping cabins on a cat.

I dont think the "closeness " will feel much different on 36 ft or 44 ft on a cat. You still will have separate sleeping and main salon will be similar layout.

[uneven_sailor]

Originally Posted by otoole

Where are you planning on doing your ASA training? I charter out of the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior. Let me know if you ever want to do some cruising with your family. My wife and I are always looking for sailing buddies.

Hi otoole -- very cool! We have done ASA 101/103 classes out here in LA but I didn't know that there were such great charter opportunities on the Great Lakes, that's super cool!

Let's keep in touch for sure...definitely good to have sailing friends, thanks for reaching out.

Feel free to send me a message and would be happy to chat more as well about future plans.