[jimgo]

I've been reading about catamarans, and been aboard a few at the boat shows, but I've never been aboard one to actually SAIL. I've read that they are different beasts than a mono, and I'd be really curious to go for a ride on one some time. Would anyone in the Philadelphia, PA/NJ shore area, or in the Orange County, CA area with a larger (30+' cat) be willing to take me along for a ride some time?

Sorry, I know this is kind of an off-the-wall request, but I'm just very curious about them. I don't expect to be able to afford one any time soon, but still, it would be interesting to contrast the ride against our Allmand.

 

[Multihullgirl]

You might want to try the query here

Multihulls4us Forums

 

[capt vimes]

You might follow multihullgirls advice, as i did...

What i learned from that short detour:
If you want to sail, buy a mono! (That is even the advice from the multihullers!)
If you want to get from bay to bay, buy a stinkpotter or a catamaran...
Your choice!

 

[smj]

You might follow multihullgirls advice, as i did...

What i learned from that short detour:
If you want to sail, buy a mono! (That is even the advice from the multihullers!)
If you want to get from bay to bay, buy a stinkpotter or a catamaran...
Your choice!

I'm sorry but that was a worthless post. How much multi sailing experience do you have? There are so many different monos and multis, you can't classify all of them as being good or bad.

 

[FSMike]

----
If you want to sail, buy a mono! (That is even the advice from the multihullers!)
----

Not all of them.

 

[Stumble]

Certainly not my advice. If you want to get somewhere quick get a trimaran, if you want to get there in comfort get a catamaran. If you want to sail slow get a monohull. as an owner of all three at one point in time or the other, I actually prefer the tri for sailing pleasure.

 

[Multihullgirl]

jimgo

The closest I know to you would be The Multihull Source in Wareham Mass. Yes, they're brokers, but they're nice guys

pdqaltair of this list is in the Chesapeake, no?

 

[TropicCat]

You might follow multihullgirls advice, as i did...

What i learned from that short detour:
If you want to sail, buy a mono! (That is even the advice from the multihullers!)
If you want to get from bay to bay, buy a stinkpotter or a catamaran...
Your choice!

Whoa....

When they are young, everyone should start in a monohull. When it matters, there's no beating a catamaran as I have met damn few women who look forward to spending the weekend walking on walls of a monohull at a 30 degree angle. The ladies want to relax and enjoy themselves. The only thing that beats a catamaran for boat comfort, is a bigger catamaran.

Once you own a catamaran, it's really tough going back.

 

[Multihullgirl]

When they are young, everyone should start in a monohull

why?

 

[TropicCat]

why?

easier to find, trailer and cheaper to buy

 

[capta]

If you are seriously thinking about getting a cat, then rent one at Christmas in the VI and sail in Christmas winds. A few days in calm weather, in calm waters will not give you any idea of what being on a cat is like. Most cats are indeed roomarans, and not able to sail very well, but there are a few that can sail reasonably well. But the motion on a cat is much different than a monohull, and to many, the ride is quite unenjoyable. Even at anchor, when they are supposed to be more stable than a mono, the short sharp movement of a cat can be much worse than the slow roll of a mono.
But don't take my word for it, or that of anyone else. If you are seriously considering buying a cat, then spend the money and rent or charter one, putting it through it's paces and be certain you don't buy a boat you can't live with.

 

[smj]

If you are seriously thinking about getting a cat, then rent one at Christmas in the VI and sail in Christmas winds. A few days in calm weather, in calm waters will not give you any idea of what being on a cat is like. Most cats are indeed roomarans, and not able to sail very well, but there are a few that can sail reasonably well. But the motion on a cat is much different than a monohull, and to many, the ride is quite unenjoyable. Even at anchor, when they are supposed to be more stable than a mono, the short sharp movement of a cat can be much worse than the slow roll of a mono.
But don't take my word for it, or that of anyone else. If you are seriously considering buying a cat, then spend the money and rent or charter one, putting it through it's paces and be certain you don't buy a boat you can't live with.

Most cats are roomarans and will sail as well or better than your common roomaran monohull. There are a few that can sail exceptionally well, just as there are a few monos that can sail exceptionally well. The main reason we went from mono to multi was the motion at anchor. The slow pendulum motion of the mono was disturbing enough sailing downwind, but to have to put up with that motion at anchor? Hell no! This message was brought to you by a die hard multi convert!

 

[chucklesR]

Jim,
You missed your chance by 1.5 years when I traded from my gemini to my Irwin.
Frankly, we did it for motion comfort, the Gemini 105 just being a tad to bouncy for our taste, and it was going to problemagic (intentional mis-spell) to get any performance out of her when loaded as a liveaboard.

Motion is different on a cat, waves on the beam get 'em rocking in a way a mono just wont's do (each hull rising on a different wave) waves on either quarter can get them cork screwing etc. It's different, the timing is different and without a keel to use mass over motion it can set up harmonics that get twisty.

Sailing on a cat is slightly different. You reef for the gust, not the true wind. The reason is on a mono a gust just pushes the boat over for a bit, on a cat it stresses the rig (can speed you up) because the rig can not shrug it off by heeling.
Downwind is usually done off the wind a tad bit more - you are going for speed over ground and velocity made good to course/waypoint. Same thing upwind. My Gemini could hold 35 degrees off the wind, and sail it like a slug, or I could fall of 6-7 degrees and scream along.
A golden rule of thumb for sail trim is (as I know it) "if in doubt let out" on a catamaran, the rule is "fall off to get there".

Here's the real bottom line, I enjoy(ed) sailing on catamarans, alone I felt safer with a steady deck, with family and friends, well I can fit them all in with comfortable seating and even the newbies didn't have to grip something with white knuckles.

Every boat has it's compromises, that means they do something not so well, and something very well.
For me the glass is half full.