Would I be crazy to cross oceans on a 32' LWL, 11' beam catamaran?

[Don C L]

Not to take anything away from the accomplishment, or the boat involved, at all, but going to Hawaii from California isn't quite the same as crossing the Pacific

[picklesandjesse]

Especially the last bit !!!

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Not to take anything away from the accomplishment, or the boat involved, at all, but going to Hawaii from California isn't quite the same as crossing the Pacific[emoji2]

Point taken, and agree. I should have written different.

[Mr B]

With out sails, Yes,
What happens when your electrics fail, Can you fix them in the middle of an ocean,
If you cant, Your in big trouble, There are no Yacht shops out there,

My Cat has been across the Pacific, From San Diego, USA, to Hawai, Fiji, Tonga, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Bundaberg, Australia, Around the islands a few times,

Its 34 foot long and 14 feet wide,

But it does have sails,
My Plan B was driving it home on the diesel at 7 knots, Island hopping, I also carried 750 Nmiles of diesel on board,
Thats if I couldnt sail it, But I do have 50 years of motor boat experience,
And I can repair any thing, Or make do with what I have on board,

Cheers, Brian,

[Bluebeard]

Dustman,

I do hope that you have got the message by now, the only way is to sail.
Research that, buy a dinghy and learn the basics.

It can be done, many years ago I met a young Danish guy called Jonah, we were both in a boatyard in Devon repairing our boats.
He had a 24ft Wharram, that he had just sailed down from Denmark and some of the internal structure needed repair.
He sailed to the Azores with his lady who bailed out there, absolutely terrified. He went on solo across the Atlantic and the last I heard of him he was in New York.

The alternative is an old monohull, there are plenty of old ocean worthy boats going cheap as they are no longer fashionable.

Be good or be carefull

[Scaramanga F25]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

More research needed!!! It is waves not wind that will capsizes boats. Removing the mast and sails reduces roll moment and therefore INCREASES the capsize risk. Even a hurricane won't bow a sailboat over

Obviously, you have never been hurricane damage.

[turtleofdart]

My friend crossed the biscay and atlantic in a 28ft cat and the speeds he reached scared him to death. I would suggest you get a lot more experience sailing and motoring on other peopl'es boats before committing to any ocean crossing. My preference is a monohull with a moderate rig and moderate displacement, plenty ability to carry supplies is important. when you get across an ocean you will not find the same facilities on the other side to repair or replace electric motors...etc etc. For safe passage making several forms of propulsion are important.... proven technology works in harsh environments.... sailing is king! for safety, economy and comfort. when you are afloat you are completely dependent on your own means and wits for everything you need and i mean EVERYTHING! get some experience on boats that cross oceans regularly!

[turtleofdart]

Originally Posted by turtleofdart

My friend crossed the biscay and atlantic in a 28ft cat and the speeds he reached scared him to death. I would suggest you get a lot more experience sailing and motoring on other peopl'es boats before committing to any ocean crossing. My preference is a monohull with a moderate rig and moderate displacement, plenty ability to carry supplies is important. when you get across an ocean you will not find the same facilities on the other side to repair or replace electric motors...etc etc. For safe passage making several forms of propulsion are important.... proven technology works in harsh environments.... sailing is king! for safety, economy and comfort. when you are afloat you are completely dependent on your own means and wits for everything you need and i mean EVERYTHING! get some experience on boats that cross oceans regularly!

my monohull is 28ft long and 11ft wide! she is made of steel and slow. and is rigged bermudan cutter. technology is as simple as possible. she fills me with confidence

[jalmberg]

Fly to NZ and rent a boat

[CaptRehab]

My friend who classified “small craft” as anything that did not have a casino aboard, would say the idea is nuts🤪. Ancient Polynesians would not see a problem with the idea.

[fritzthecat]

Originally Posted by dustman

This would be an ultralight(<1000#), minimalist, powered catamaran. Slender hulls with semicircular cross section and fine entry/exit, hull draft 4" to 5", 30" bridgedeck clearance, comparatively low windage with very small aerodynamic cabin, relatively low center of gravity.

Hi, I crossed 1991 the Atlantic between Europe and Barbados, 21 days in a Prouts Quest 31 x 14' and we had no problems- You have to be choosing carefully the season and the weather forecast.... it depends on the quality of your craft and yourself

[jag39]

Originally Posted by dustman

This would be an ultralight(<1000#), minimalist, powered catamaran. Slender hulls with semicircular cross section and fine entry/exit, hull draft 4" to 5", 30" bridgedeck clearance, comparatively low windage with very small aerodynamic cabin, relatively low center of gravity.

Depends. Oceans have been crossed on Hobie Cat, also on Wharram 21' cats. Also on kayaks, surfboards, 3 foot monohulls and rafts, to name a few. Crazy, guess not to the people that do it. Someone else would say your crazy to cross on anything smaller than the Queen Mary.

[Sailor-Gene]

Hi Dustman, after reviewing your notes on your sailing resume, you should take care of all your affairs and buy lots of life insurance for you and your sail-mate before you leave. Others have done it but not all showed up at destination
Let's talk about safety... you will need to carry a life raft, sea anchor/drogue, , survival food and water for a month in life raft, Ships stores in addition to survival, food & water for 3 times the estimated trip time, long range communications , we preferred SSB (marine & Ham), GPS navigation (with backup(s) we preferred linked to laptop. And of course USCG required stuff.

We retired in 1998 and purchased a new Manta 40' sail cat in Florida. We tricked it out with all the goodies for comfortable live-aboard cruising (and raised the waterline a few inches) with dreams of Tahiti and beyond.

After two years in the Caribbean, it became apparent that there was a lot to see and absorb in the W Caribbean. SO we sold our life raft and drogue, and continued to enjoy our side of the world in cat comfort. God created Air Planes to go to FAR distant places in comfort!!

[keyway]

Dustbin
For a little inspiration go to
Crosstheatlantic.com. I have never seen anything like this. Make sure to watch the video shot from the USCG chopper,

[Ike]

Dreams are a wonderful thing. They are even more wonderful, if you can accomplish them and live to tell someone about it.

I am a retired Coast Guardsman. I have traveled the oceans, not crossed (except from Cal. to Hawaii, but have been in the North Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific and even a little bit of the Bering Sea and Labrador Straits. This was of course in a 327 foot ship. But I have been out there in smaller stuff. I would echo most of the advice you have been given. These people know whereof they speak. The ones who don't are the ones the Coast Guard has to lift off their boats (oddly enough the boat usually survives just fine) or direct someone else to rescue them. You cannot begin to imagine what it is like at sea until you've done it. I have seen everything from flat calm to hurricanes (3 of them) and they scared me spitless. Thank God (I mean that literally) I was on a ship specifically built to weather storms like that. As some one said on this thread you can't imagine the power of wind and wave. I've seen it rip steel ladders off the superstructure and stove in 1/2 inch steel plate and tear away a lifeboat. Anyway,

The mention of Steve Callahan is a case in point. (Stephan Callahan's book Adrift. ) I know him and have read his books. He was an experienced sailor. But the unexpected can happen. Fortunately he was fairly well prepared. Read Adrift! You will learn a lot.

Listen to these people. Take their advice to heart. Get a boat that will survive despite you. See my comment above. Often the boats are found months later drifting along just fine by themselves. It's the people that are the most in peril. I've lost count of the number of times a CG Helo has lifted someone off a boat at sea, and the boat survived just fine.

Last but not least, if you do this, buy an EPIRB, a Marine radio, a good self inflating liferaft, and when you figure out how much food, water, fuel etc you need, double it. as someone else said 100 days is not unreasonable. Last but not least, before you go, tell someone you trust, someone who loves you and will miss you when you do not arrive, or go silent, what you are doing, your sail plan, a good description of you and you boat, what equipment you have and when you plan to arrive at your destination. It is far easier for the Coast Guard (or anyone else) to find you if things go bad.