Mono vs Multi Hull (Marina Fees)

[Homeward13]

Hey there,

My wife is a Nurse Practitioner, she will need to work six months out of the year to give our family six months on the water per year (living on savings). We are planning on doing the liveaboard thing all year round though. We are a young family (30 somethings) with two young children (1 and 6).

We are planning on having her do the "travel nursing" deal on the mainland US (Florida probably). Heading to the carib during the time off... On the hook in the carib and at the marina while she works.

Under these circumstances would you recommend a multi or mono hull design?

My main concern is the cost at the marina would go up dramatically during the six months sitting (and refitting) in a multi compared to a mono (of the same-ish length) at a marina . Other than this one issue I really see our family in a multi.

I should also mention that whatever boat we end up going with I will mainly be sailing the boat singlehandedly... Suggestions?

[boatman61]

Lagoon 380 owners version.. easy to solo.. roomy enough for kids with a safe cockpit area.. comfortable on the hook so in the long run could be worth the extra cost for haul outs.
And they sail well.
That would be my choice in your situation if I had the dosh.

[JPA Cate]

Having the dosh is the crucial element here. Two hulls + twice the price of one. for a given length. Even longer monos will probably not give you the comfort at anchor in open roadsteads that a catamaran could. Your choice...it is between doing this now, with less dosh, or later, with more. No one can make that choice for you.

It's probably not worth much, but I am a confirmed old monohullist, and part of that preference is because my body doesn't like the jerky motion of cats. Monos have a more lumbering motion, and some people's bodies don't like that, either. The best thing really would be to try and go with some other people on similar size mono and cat, and then decide, it's hard to know in advance.

You wouldn't expect the motion of a trimaran to bother someone, either, but we knew some people who had to quit cruising because their tri's motion kept the wife seasick the whole time, and even sometimes at anchor. No one wants to live forever being seasick the majority of the time, and tris and cats may be better for the majority of people--I don't know for sure--but there are some for whom monos' motion is better.

Ann

[RaymondR]

Charter one of each for a few days and see which one you prefer.

[boatman1]

Homeward13, the original poster, was asking about the comparative costs of dockage in marinas of monohulls vs multis of the same length. I don't know the answer, as I'm a monohull owner, but I'd be interested to learn the difference. I expect that dockage for the multihull could quite well be the cost of two monohulls.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by boatman1

Homeward13, the original poster, was asking about the comparative costs of dockage in marinas of monohulls vs multis of the same length. I don't know the answer, as I'm a monohull owner, but I'd be interested to learn the difference. I expect that dockage for the multihull could quite well be the cost of two monohulls.

It European marinas its usually 1.5.. and in a few its the same.

[DotDun]

I have never been charged more for my cat, the prices for mono vs. cat have been the same in the marinas I have visited in E. Mexico, S. Florida, Bahamas.

I have been told no room for a cat as all the cat-capable slips were full when there were slips available for monos.

[xhogpilot]

I have a lagoon 440 and have had it at docks in Panama, Ft Lauderdale, and Bahamas. Although we’ve been on the hook 95% of the time in the Bahamas, the cost seems to depend on the marina and the time of year.

I’ve paid 1.5 or more the cost because I was taking up enough of the slip that another boat couldn’t dock alongside me. Other times I’ve been on the end of a t dock and given the same explanation although I wasn’t taking an extra slip from them. Several here in the Bahamas haven’t charged extra. And I have found it worthwhile to at least try to negotiate a better than quoted rate. Sometimes this has worked to my surprise.

[thinwater]

I have consistently found very cheap dock space by exploiting a multihull difference; shallow draft. Often there is a bulkhead no one else can use. But you have to do the leg work and negotiate.

And don't think equal length. The cat will be shorter, reducing the difference.

Between the two, I'm pretty sure a cat has been been cheaper for me.

[JPA Cate]

Sometimes there are developments with docks at homes/apartments, that if they don't have a boat, they will rent their dock to you.... Those would probably cost close to as much as a marina, but without the extra amenities, but you might be able to work something out.

Thinwater's concept of exploiting the virtue of shallow draft seems worth exploring, as well.

[44'cruisingcat]

It would probably be best to contact marinas in the areas you wish to stay and ask them.

Pricing policy seems to vary. You see people in the US saying they don't get charged extra, people in the Mediterranean saying they've had to pay for two berths...

In Australia cats usually are charged about 30 - 40% extra over monos for the same size berth.

Bear in mind that to get equivalent living space a mono would need to be longer, so the difference in berthing costs would be less.

[roverhi]

The biggest problem with dockage for a Multi is finding an end tie or slip that will accomadate it.

[Elie]

In general, in Europe at least, the marina cost is based on the total surface(max beam x max length). It cost of square foot is the only one applyed . So a Cat will cost much more.

[Tortuga's Lie]

The other consideration with catamarans is finding a haulout facility to handle the extra beam with a cat. I know here on the Chesapeake, it might be 1-in-5 marinas that can haul a cat, if that. They may also charge more for power washing/yard storage.
I just help deliver a 44 foot cat from the Bahamas into Beaufort N.C. and found the jerky motion as well as the wave slap (sounds like a sledge hammer) to be unsettling, not to the point of seasickness but unpleasant.

[smj]

In 25 years of cat ownership we have never been charged more than a monohull for dockage. This is gulf coast and east coast of the US.