2 Family Boat Recomendation?

[Teknav]

Hiya Stu! You raised important questions that need to be considered! I went directly for the "JUGULAR"! I suggested to them a sturdy boat; the Beneteau - Oceanis 41. Hopefully they'll go to a boat show for a test sail. Once they get inside the boat, then can measure the available/needed space, check ease of accessibility to the engine, raise/lower the stern's low platform for snorkeling/diving and loading/uploading of provisions from a dinghy; great for kids too. At the helm, the two wheels...and the list goes on. Best of all, it is within their budget to get a 5 year old. Best of luck!

Mauritz
Simple and elegant by design!

[FLLCatsailor]

Originally Posted by scoobert

maybe because a 35' breaking wave can flip a boat, mono's self right. you can cross the pacific in anything thou.

I love it... Wasn't the pacific settled by folks in very rudimentary catamarans... 35ft breaking waves... Come on...

[rw58ph]

Originally Posted by Mimsy

Really? What makes you say this? I have several friends who have crossed the Pacific on cats successfully...

They must have timed it right and/or experience sailors. So where and what time of year did they cross the Pacific? How big a Cat!

The time of year, the location crossed and the size capability of the makes a big difference. The Washington, Oregon, BC Pacific coast with is long off shore fetch tend to be rougher/wavier. You have to watch the weather windows closely as they can open and close quickly, plus there are not many harbors along the coast you can duck into, and most of them have bars so you have to time the crossing with high slack tide.

Not very many Cat/Tri in the PNW even for protected waters. Tri tend to not have a high ultra roll recovery, and tend to have more of an uncomfortable ride. Anyway, before they buy a boat they should understand and be knowledgable of the boat capability.

[Mimsy]

Yes, they timed it right. I.E. not in cyclone season but even a mono would be taking risks in cyclone season. Much like peeps in the Carribean "time it right" to not be crossing the Atlantic during hurricane season. :banghead One 40 ft cat, one 44 foot cat, one 42 ft cat (these are boats with kids), then there are the other cats I know which have crossed the Pacific- one 35 ft, a 38 ft, a couple of over 4O footers..... so on and so on and so on...

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by FLLCatsailor

I love it... Wasn't the pacific settled by folks in very rudimentary catamarans... 35ft breaking waves... Come on...

That reference to the Polynesians comes up quite a bit - what doesn't get mentioned is the likelihood that many voyages would have been unsuccessful (bad weather and getting lost!) and that at least some of those re-settlement expeditions would have been accidental (lets go fishing - ooops ) or forced (go over the horizon or go in the pot ).

Of course given that they left no written record of all the voyages, only a record of successful voyages via descendants we will never know the percentages. Me tends to go on the likelihood that that the laws of physics and of the sea haven't changed in a while ........and those be the reasons why most folks nowadays don't choose to cross the pacific in open catamarans - at least not for fun.

Whether 50 odd foot of cat would be ok is one for OP to decide, likely would be as 50 foot of anything can get through most things (as long as Skipper not an idjut!) - but perhaps may want to consider the weight of his crew (8?), not so much from body weight (some are kids) but from the food and stores needed to support that number for an extended period. Overall Monos carry weight better. Of course how often, where and for how long a full crew is onboard woud come into the decision.

I stand by my earlier comment, 50 foot of pretty much anything would be ok for the purposes described - really comes down to personal taste, in design / styling and interior layout.

Just to say, that as a rough guide for living space 40 foot of cat equates to approx 60 foot of mono (not quite double, despite having two hulls!). 40 foot of cat vs 40 of mono then the cat wins hands down on space......40 vs 60 and the cat likely wins on price (or close to), whether also on space will depend on design and what sort of space is valued more......boats!, so many decisions .

[Kevin84]

I'd also consider the Beneteau Oceanis 51 or Idyle 51. A 41 would be a but cramped with 2 families onboard IMO.

[engine1218]

This:

53' Pearson

[JHandley]

We took two families (incl 4 teenagers) to the South Pacific in our very seaworth, comfortable monohull Lavranos 50. Two double aft cabins, one double and 2 single bunks forward, two heads. Salon table dropped to provide additional space for when we were 9. Now back in Pacific Northwest (the monohull beat back to PNW really well), it has been great for cruising here. You can check out the boat specs if interested: ?