who's buying the cats?

[henryv]

I started following the yachtworld catamaran ads a couple years ago in advance of buying my own cat early last year. During the time I was shopping it seemed there was no urgency as boats stayed on the listings for many months before selling.
I still check the listings regularily just to see what is happening and have noted that in the last few months boats have been selling fast and lists are greatly shortened. I am curious as to what is driving the sudden jump in sales activity. Could it be replacement boats for those destroyed by hurricanes? are mono sales up as well or are more people switching to two hulls?
Just curious.....

[Talbot]

It is a well known fact that the majority of people who decry catamarans have no experience in them, and that the incidence of cat owners who switch back to half boats is exceedingly small, whereas those who see the light (normally immediately after their first expeience of upright sailing!) are increasing in number.

[g-man]

Hey there. I guess I'm one of the people buying used Cats from Internet listings. Bought a 1994 37' FP Antigua in October last year located in Virgin Gorda BVI's. I'm a novice sailor planning to go cruising in the Caribbean this year. Me and my wife are in the process of selling all our belongings and moving aboard the boat in May this year. There were several reasons for me personally to choose a cat over a mono but the following 4 come close to mind. 1.)Living space aboard, especially having a roomy cockpit since we love to entertain. 2.)Galley up on deck level. 3.)The security of having twin diesels in case of engine failure. 4.)Shallow draft, being able to anchor where Mono's dear not tread. I think we got a decent boat for the buck, Cats tend to be expensive, and one is hard pressed to find a used one under 130K in any condition.
This particulat boat came out of the Bambou charter fleet in Martinique in 1999 and was purchased by a lawyer from Illinois who used it as a Condo in the Caribbean, flying down 2 times a year or so, sailing to Anegada and doing some fishing. When it got listed for sale, it was at the time the only Catamaran for under a 100k and the description wasn't impressive at all. Listing had no picture but the price agreed with my budget so we went down to the islands to check it out, had a professional survey done and ended up buying it as a result since the survey/seatrial proved it to be a solid boat in need of some TLC. I am new to this forum but I hope this post is of interest to some of you. If you see a Fountaine Pajot Catamaran on the water named Shangri-La, chances are that will be G-Man and Lola, two cats of great vintage taking a break (hopefully a long one) from the corporate boredom.
P.S. Let me know if you would like me to share my planned upgrades and the calculated costs for the boat and I'll be happy to do so.
See ya on the water soon.
Gylfi.

[ssullivan]

It's almost spring in the Northern Hemisphere. That might be part of it.