Cruising Catamaran Questions

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by StuM

Jim's not a moderator. Ann is - hopefully he will report it to her.

(Incidentally, I got told off for calling another member a troll - apparently we're not supposed to do that).

So is Jim getting a slap from Ann about now?

[Palarran]

I just don't understand after all these years why members are not sanctioned and the posts deleted when such an obvious infraction happens.

[Jim Cate]

Make a decision Jim, because enough is enough.

OK, I have decided that I am not a moderator, nor do I play one on TV.

As a rule following CFer I do not discuss moderation publicly. I especially do not criticize moderation or moderators, and not just because Ann would whack me with a winch handle.

Perhaps others should consider this practice.

Jim

[meirriba]

Originally Posted by MrAntigone

Do catamarans heave-to as easily as monohulls?

Is downwind the fastest point of sail for a cruising cat? For monohulls, upwind legs seem fastest but I suspected this would differ for large cats - ?


Thanks.

Usually broad reaching is the fastest point of sail for any boat.
Usually no boat likes to sail directly downwind, even under symmetrical spinnaker you will have better VMG if sailing some degrees up from DDW. There are exceptions to this rule but few, e.g. Sonar open deck yacht (Paralympic racing boat) with poled out jib will be fastest DDW.

A Cat will Heave to but not easily. First of all, you need to pay attention to the fact that the ratio of main to genoa is usually different than in a mono (usually the main to jib ratio is higher on a cat) so to achieve balance you need to free the main more than on a cat than on a mono. Second issue is the absence of a keel on a cat (unless the specific cat has dagger-boards). The keel on a mono will lessen leeway, but normal cat will be dragged sideways when hove to.

[Privilege]

I've never tried heaving to on my cat. I have a permanent inner forestay so presumably I wont be able to back-wind my jib anyway, so back-winding the main is my only option. It's on my list of things to try along with my para-anchor and my boom brake!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Privilege

I've never tried heaving to on my cat. I have a permanent inner forestay so presumably I wont be able to back-wind my jib anyway, so back-winding the main is my only option. It's on my list of things to try along with my para-anchor and my boom brake!

Inner forestay shouldn't prevent you from backwinding jib, but it could cuase more chafe. Ive hove to on cutter rigs many times.

[Cyrus Safdari]

Some cats have daggerboards some don't. Makes a difference

[billknny]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Just went for a little sail today on a mono in 12-14 knots of wind, fairly flat seas. With 26 people on board it was a bit overloaded, but upwind speed was 9+ knots, with VMG of 7. Downwind, 12-13 knots with vmg 10. A nice sunny day and the decks stayed dry.

It is not possible to sail downwind in 12 to 14 knots of wind and move at 12 to 13 knots. That makes your apparent wind...

Let me see...
12 minus 12....
ZERO!

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by billknny

It is not possible to sail downwind in 12 to 14 knots of wind and move at 12 to 13 knots. That makes your apparent wind...

Let me see...
12 minus 12....
ZERO!

It can be done. In a hot air balloon.

Our fastest point of sail is something close to a beam reach.

The fastest point of sail for a monohull would be when it is sinking in deep water. Apparently the Titanic reached over 50 mph. Heavy displacement keelboats could probably go down even faster.

[donradcliffe]

Its a learning experience to sail a fast boat off the wind. You are moving faster than the true wind speed so there is a point at which the sails luff when you head into the wind, and the sails also luff when you head more off the wind. Things really get fun in a dirt or ice boat or foiling cat when you are going over twice the wind speed and you look in front of you for gusts to overtake.