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Good multihull brands in our price range?

4K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  sailingdog 
#1 · (Edited)
OK... we're avid monohull sailors and have always shied away from multihulls. I haven't liked their looks and I'm a traditionalist. However, the more and more that my wife and I talk about our planned 2009 cruise with our family, the more we realize that a multihull might be a better choice. You can't beat the interior (or exterior) comfort, and our daughter is not in love with heeling so the sail-flat concept is kind of interesting.

We've been looking mostly at Passport's, Tayana's, Cabo's, Bristol's and other similar monohulls. We've capped our budget at $780k, including fit-out.

If I was to look at multihulls, what brands should I look at? We're going to take a look at a few in Annapolis, and will probably look at chartering one in the BVI's this winter for a week - just to see what they are like. Price range for a multihull would be the same as that of a mono - $780k, including fit-out. We need at least 3 cabins, plus diesel heat, air conditioning, generator, good instruments, etc., so all of those costs have to be factored in. Here is our monohull wishlist - I'm sure the multihull would be similar - http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27419

Thanks!
 
#3 ·
For that kind of money, hands down, it would have to be a Chris White Designs Atlantic Series catamaran, either an A48 or A55. The A42 might be an option but the aft deck on the A48/A55 adds a lot of desirable living space.

Start here:

http://www.chriswhitedesigns.com/

Another possibility is the Gunboat catamarans.
 
#7 ·
Chris White is the designer. His designs have been built in a number of locations. Most of the recent Atlantic Series cats have been built at a plant in South Africa. I have seen a few of these only on the exterior in various anchorages -- but what I saw was impressive.

However, the most recent A57 (a slightly stretched version of the A55) was built at Aquidneck Custom Boats in Bristol, RI. I have only seen of this boat what is posted at Chris' website (http://www.chriswhitedesigns.com/atlantic57/index.php), so cannot comment except to say that the design, layout, and performance reports are impressive. I would expect the quality to be well above the typical production catamaran.

Note on the Atlantic-series catamarans, that the cockpit is forward of the main salon. I think this is a highly desirable feature if you plan to sail rather than motor cruise. I have been aboard most of the major production catamarans at the boat shows and find with rare exception that the steering and sail trimming arrangements verge on ridiculous.

If you need more info, you can call or e-mail Chris White directly. He is a great resource on mulithulls and is generous with his knowledge, which is a good thing because you have now exhausted mine.
 
#8 ·
I'd second the Chris White designs... quite beautiful. You also might want to check out Multihull Demo Days. LINK

You can arrange to sail on a few different ones there.
 
#10 ·
Also... you will probably want to stay away from Charter Catamarans... If you're wondering why I say this... google Bumfuzzle. :D
 
#11 ·
We have a 2.5 hour car ride to our boat on Friday evening and 2.5 hour ride back on Sunday evening. We started reading out loud as a family activity at the beginning and are now up to July of 2006 :) We know all about CharterCats...
 
#12 ·
You might also want to look at Gunboat 48 catamarans, designed by Melvin & Morelli. There is a good video of a Gunboat catamaran at www.safaricharter.com
 
#14 ·
Eventually, we'll be the majority of boats.... ;)
 
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