Cruising a small catamaran

[brak]

While I am sure this topic was discussed way more then once, it's not in the top thread list - so how about I bring it up here.

I have pretty good experience with monohulls, so I know what to expect there. I am considering a somewhat extended family cruise, with kids, though - and an idea of a small catamaran started to look mighty interesting, something about 30ft long, that is still a small and manageable vessel but supposedly provides more stability and space (that others might need more than myself, I am happiest when snugly fit in a quarterberth

So far pluses of small cats are:
- shallow draft (good for variety of East Coast waters)
- often an outboard engine, this is both pro and con - pro because they are easier to maintain and replace
- stable platform
- space

Minuses are:
- Potentially not as safe in heavy weather - or is it? (I know it supposed to be hard to turn one of those "turtle" but who knows, they have those floats on top of a mast for a reason )
- Wide, might be hard to find docking (though at 30' length, may be not as wide)
- Does not go to weather
- Engine - con because they might not be as powerful, gasoline engines don't like slow going (and outboard diesel is a weird beast), and they tend to have weak alternators. Plus I remember my days with outboard on previous boat - in any sea, the damn thing would be out of the water half the time, choking on air and dying.

So, what would be pros and, especially, con-s that I might be missing?

[sailingdog]

Brak-

Two books I'd highy recommend you read are Chris White's The Cruising Multihull and Thomas Firth Jones's Multihull Voyaging.

Several small catamarans that might be good choices for you are:

Gemini 105Mc
TomCat 30
Heavenly Twins
MaineCat 30
Catalac 8M


Many cruising catamarans and trimarans are very seaworthy and perfectly safe in heavy weather.

The Gemini 105Mc, the TomCat 30, and the Heavenly Twins 26 are all only 14' wide or so, and will generally fit in a slip that would accommodate a 40' monohull. The Catalac 8m and MaineCat 30 are 18' wide IIRC, and will have a problem in most smaller slips.

Some cats go to weather just fine... others do not. Trimarans generally do better going to windward. However, trimarans have generally less space than a monohull of equal LOA, where as catamarans have more space than a monohull of same LOA.

The Catalac 8M, Geminis, and many other catamarans have internal diesel engines.

Most of the cats I've mentioned have a three-cabin layout and a decent salon.

The Gemini, Catalac 8M and Heavenly Twins have made ocean crossings on fairly regular basis.

If you have any specific questions on multihulls, let me know.

[brak]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

If you have any specific questions on multihulls, let me know.

Thanks, that was quite useful!

There are a few older Iroquois cats for sale, and they look nice enough - but then there are all those stories about them being too narrow for the length and prone to capsize (which would very much negate any benefit for a family cruise).
How much truth is to these stories and are they worth exploring at all?

As far as engine goes, personally, after dealing with inboard diesels for a while, I wouldn't mind taking a break and living with an outboard, with whatever shortcomings it has That said, outboard on a monohull looks pretty lame, but on a cat they somehow seem more in place

[brak]

BTW, thanks for the pointer for Heavenly Twins - they do look mighty interesting. However, the closest one for sale is in BVI. I wonder what it would take in beurocracy and taxes to import it into US.

[sailingdog]

Make sure if you get an outboard, that it is a four-stroke, rather than a two-stroke. Fueling it is much simpler and it is quieter, less smelly, and more fuel efficient than a two-stroke.

There is some Iroquois specific information in the Jones book, and I'll see if I can dig it up later today. I've never sailed on one, but haven't heard anything specific about them being capsize prone. Most of the multihull capsizes that you read about are either racing related or due to human error. A well-designed multihull is very difficult to capsize.

[brak]

Thanks, I'd appreciate any info you can find on those.

I had a 2 stroke engine before on my Beneteau 235 - it was definitely not something I'd like to live with again

[brak]

Hey, sailingdog - anything in that book on Iroquois cats?

[sailingdog]

Sorry brak... been busy down at the marina... will check when I get home tonight.

[Paysay]

I chartered a 30 ft catamaran for a long spring weekend on the Chesapeake with a crew of 4 other guys from work. There were a few things I learned:
1. An overloaded catamaran sails like a bath tub.
2. A low bridge deck will pound in a chop.
3. Motor to weather.

There were other pros and cons, but these surfaced without much thought.

[sailingdog]

Paysay-

Generally, any overloaded multihull is going to perform like crap... They're fairly weight sensitive.

The low bridge deck pounding is a problem, and even worse if you've overloaded the boat

Some multihulls, both tris and cats go to weather just fine...others almost not at all. Stars & Stripes ran circles around a monohull about twice its length both upwind and down IIRC.

Your comments would be more helpful if you said what kind of catamaran you chartered. Was it the MaineCat 30 or the TomCat 30??