At The Risk of Starting WWlll

[Razoo]

Ok, so , I've spent a few years now with a monohull and would like to spend a few years with a catamaran. Problem is people with catamarans 30 feet and over think they are worth their weight in gold. I would like to come across an older catamaran like a Gemini 3000 or Prout Ranger in the $15,000 to $20,000 price range


So far, the only difference I can realistically speak of between the monohull and the catamaran is the price. Sure would like to change that someday.

[44'cruisingcat]

That's basically market forces at work.

There are many more monohulls than there are buyers, so the smaller or less desirable ones have to sell on price.

Demand for cat's is a bit greater compared to supply, so prices reflect this.

[atlroofman]

Originally Posted by 4music3

My gut tells me a mono is more seaworthy if it gets really nasty but I assume that gets less true as technology improves.

Maybe you cat people can help me understand what happens on a cat at night when you get surprised by wind that is far to strong for the sail aria you have up as I know what happens on a mono and its not a big deal.

I have heard a cat sailor say in those conditions he pointed almost directly in to the wind and rode it out at 1 knot in speed till wind died down a bit.

[Razoo]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

That's basically market forces at work.

There are many more monohulls than there are buyers, so the smaller or less desirable ones have to sell on price.

Demand for cat's is a bit greater compared to supply, so prices reflect this.

Well Market forces suck.

[Razoo]

Originally Posted by atlroofman

I have heard a cat sailor say in those conditions he pointed almost directly in to the wind and rode it out at 1 knot in speed till wind died down a bit.

But is hearing believing....

[rajsach]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Cats are cool and Mono's are cool...If you are on a budget you can forget Cats but that doesn't give you the right to bad mouth them because you couldn't afford one in the first place.
Cats are really big and cost more to operate but take on hoards of people and sail flat.
Personally I don't find the cruising Cats that exciting to sail but they are comfy at anchor.
There are cruising Cats and fast Cats and they are not the same, most folks here have cruising Cats and from time to time they brag about certain speeds they can get but usually they are so loaded with gear and their wife's shoe lockers that they do passage time about equal to mono hulls.
Most women like Cats, they have way more room to store stuff like new shoes and jewelry. Cats like to motorsail and mono's like to motorsail they are similar in this regard.
So to sum up, if you have deep pockets then you can look at Cats, if not then your world is about Mono hulls and you can then buy one and bad mouth Cats because you can't afford Cats.
If you are a lover of some of these new Cats with flying bridges with another 8 feet on top of that to get to the boom...fugly designs ..sort of think of them as a Cat with a mezanine floor. You might want to choose something different if you want to sail outside of the trade wind belt...thats kinda mono hull territory!
I'd like to buy a Cat but they would soak up a lot of my extra change and its only been recently that my wife is running out of room to store her extra shoes....

Ditto!

[Sailor 99]

Originally Posted by Razoo

Yes, the heeling, wet ride and holding on for dear life gets harder to take as one gets up into their late 50's and early 60's. Not something I'm looking forward to.

The solution to too much heal is always the same. Shorten sail. If your going mono get a cutter rig with furling on the staysail. Too much heel, throw in a reef, or furl the headsail and unfurl the staysail.

[Sailor 99]

Originally Posted by Razoo

In the beginning, I was stead fast on buying a cat. Now that I've got real comfortable with my mono over the past 18 months I'm thinking maybe a mono is the way to go. I liked the cat for space. But, the last two mono's I sea trialed were very spacious. I've gotten used to living life on a 10-15 degree angle so that's no longer a problem for me. The big problem for me now is rolling in heavy seas. A cat has little roll which is what I like, but I've come to learn that a full keel mono is what you want in heavy seas. It dissipates the roll and is easy on the human vitals when you're heaved to in a storm for a day or two or a week. Can't really do that with a fin keel or a cat. I guess I'm leaning towards a mono with a full keel?

Not all fin keels are created equal. Some fins are long chord fins and they track very well. Some people call these shoal draft. The keel on my boat is ostensibly a fin and draws 6'4 but the keel is 14' fore and aft.



A short chorded fin like you see on the new Beneteau's are pretty tough to keep in a straight line. Lots of steering required.

[Tillsbury]

It also depends a lot on your intended latitude. If I were likely to be sailing at less than 30 degrees then I'd probably go for a cat. Since I'm currently at 42S there just aren't any cats about and I wouldn't consider one, like I didn't when I used to sail at 52N and above.

I can see the appeal at anchor and in calm anchorages certainly, especially with a family.

[Sojourner]

I'll bite: I prefer a mono and actively dislike cats because
1. To my nostalgic eye, it doesn't look right. Boxy, blunt, main boom 20 feet above the water, etc. We bought a ketch for many reasons but looks were among them
2. Didn't care about performance speed or draft advantages. We live onboard full time with 3 cats and wanted storage space. Load a cat the way we load our amel and she ain't gonna budge upwind while we keep on trundling
3. Bed size. There are three of us and our current aft cabin holds a wall to wall bed, larger than king size. Ain't getting that in a cat under 60 feet
4. Cost. Usually more expensive by quite a bit
5. Layout. Again specific to amel, but we have a huge cockpit and a king size sundeck behind, which is peaceful and sheltered even underway. Not the same lying on the tramp up front on a cat sailing along.
6. The kind of layout and space on a cat is not what we needed, what with often identical hulls, 4 cabins 4 heads sort of deal. We love the cool cosy interior going down below, like a cocoon. The raised window covered saloons of cats are a turn off... You spend most time in the cockpit or sundeck, I don't wanna wear shades or run the ac inside.
7. Docking fees and space
8. And yes, monos will right themselves. Not the biggest worry but it's in the mix.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by Sojourner

I'll bite: I prefer a mono and actively dislike cats because
1. To my nostalgic eye, it doesn't look right. Boxy, blunt, main boom 20 feet above the water, etc. We bought a ketch for many reasons but looks were among them
.

I'll address point one and let others do the rest

Not every cat looks like a condomaran



G-Force 1800

[Sojourner]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

I'll address point one and let others do the rest

Not every cat looks like a condomaran



G-Force 1800

A beautiful boat to be sure*


*for a cat 🐱

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse

The solution to too much heal is always the same. Shorten sail. If your going mono get a cutter rig with furling on the staysail. Too much heel, throw in a reef, or furl the headsail and unfurl the staysail.

Something easily forgotten, sailing the yacht upright is often faster too. When its time to cook on board we chuck a reef in and slow the boat down a tad. Taking a knot off the speed makes little overall difference for an hour, but makes life way more comfortable when doing things.

Pete

[Razoo]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Something easily forgotten, sailing the yacht upright is often faster too. When its time to cook on board we chuck a reef in and slow the boat down a tad. Taking a knot off the speed makes little overall difference for an hour, but makes life way more comfortable when doing things.

Pete

A great tip most don't seem to get.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Something easily forgotten, sailing the yacht upright is often faster too.

you don't really have a choice with a cat do you? with a mono it is going to heel .. and that also increases the waterline and the speed as well