Weight distribution

[tms]

I read a post where the owner of a Catamaran said they put as much weight aft as possible for performance reasons, especially things like water makers and generators.

I would have thought having more weight balanced between fore and aft would be better, or more weight in the very center.

What is the best weight distribution on a Catamaran? And does it really make that much of a difference?

[44'cruisingcat]

Generally you try to keep the weight as central and as low as possible.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Centralized is almost never a bad call. And they may have said what they did about putting weight aft since the sterns of boats, multihulls especially, have a lot more buoyancy in their aft sections than they do up forward. So that weight forward affects trim disproportionately more.

Also, if you're going to be doing a lot of sailing downwind, particularly with seas from astern, then you want to keep weight out of the bows so that they don't depress much. Including when sliding down the faces of large waves.

[Skeezix]

And of course it matters what portion of this weight you can move is compared to the weight of the boat. Smaller and lighter boat, the same stuff will make more difference. If your boat has a design waterline painted on the hull, watching it in calm water should be a good guide. I've seen boats with quite a mismatch between the angle of the painted waterline and the angle of the accumulated muck and thought wtf.

When you consider folks that have pulled a dead engine out and replaced it by hanging an outboard on the tail, the amount of weight you are talking about is likely a lot less.

[Skeezix]

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2249290

In a thread about multis in rough seas, a good post about weight distribution strategies.

[thinwater]

Why would you assume the factory distribution was wrong?

Tail dragging is also slow.

Best, don't add weight.