Sunshade for Catamarans

[scarlet]

Do any of you have a large Sunshade covering your catamaran? They are fabric, and look like a big arched tent. I know most catamarans have a bimini, which shades the cockpit, etc... but I've seen big fabric sunshades that you hoist up on your stays. They shade the front of the cat. By having one, it can lower the temperature on the deck significantly, which also keeps the interior of the boat cooler. And helps direct wind through the hatches, and you can also keep the hatches open when it rains because they are under cover (if the rain isn't bad). I've seen them for monohulls.. but never for catamarans.

If you have one on your boat.. can you show me a photo?

[Thalas]

Here's one on a Saona 47. La Vagabonde uses one on their new cat. Elayna even mentions the manufacturer in the video. They look easy enough to rig yourself, though if you want them to be able to handle wind, I'd recommend reinforcing the grommets.

[tuskie]

Here's a pic of "big" front shade on our Lagoon 400.

It's made from Sunbrella with shock cord at attachment points. Works well in calm conditions but is good for 3 kts boat speed in windy weather.

If we made it again, in hindsight we would use a mesh material instead of canvas to reduce the wind effect. We can't leave it in place if we think the wind will exceed 15kts. Canvas was used as the shade was thought to be useful as a rain catcher. In practice this has rarely worked; it takes too long to erect and so I'm wet and the rain has stopped by the time its in place. If not, the accompanying wind flaps the rain water off the shade before it can be collected.

A smaller awning attached to cabin roof front allows us to leave front saloon hatches open in rain and also provides some shade. We use this awning much more than the big one.

[belizesailor]

Scarlet, your description sounds like an existing commercial product. Are you interested in that specific product or sun awnings in general?

[rcscoggin]

Chatted with SV GreatCircle (has a youtube vlog) as I had seen them on his boat and thought his install was nifty. He uses https://nesling.nl/gallery/coolfit-shades53

R

[owenrms]

I saw a Leopard 46 that used this successfully.

https://www.amazon.com/Cool-Area-Ove...de%2Bsail&th=1

[scarlet]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Scarlet, your description sounds like an existing commercial product. Are you interested in that specific product or sun awnings in general?

I've seen the Shade Tree ones for Monohulls.. they are neat.. they have graphite arches (like you use on tents) that raise them up and help hold their shape. I'm wondering with those in monohulls if they have the wind issues that some have mentioned above. If you did use an arched one, I would think it would work like a wind sock, or wind tunnel... not sure, though..

[Barra]

This is what we had on our last cat below.

1. mesh material a must - lets the breeze pass. Leave it up in 20 knots no problems.

Still cuts out 80 to 90% of the heat. cabin temp on hot days has dropped from 33C to 25C after rolling it out.

2. mount it off the boom - ours rolled up into a sunbrella sleeve fixed to the boom on a slider that took max 2 mins to roll out and bungee to lifelines.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Barra

This is what we had on our last cat below.

1. mesh material a must - lets the breeze pass. Leave it up in 20 knots no problems.

Still cuts out 80 to 90% of the heat. cabin temp on hot days has dropped from 33C to 25C after rolling it out.

2. mount it off the boom - ours rolled up into a sunbrella sleeve fixed to the boom on a slider that took max 2 mins to roll out and bungee to lifelines.

Very similar set up on my boat, just rolls up next to boom.

[Otter]

What about that?

Multi Awning | Multihull Forward Awning | ATN Sailing Equipment