Why do you guys like monohulls so much?

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by river251

Two years of reading threads and watching videos and I still don't get it.

Thanks.

+1 Jim Cate and his ever-wonderful voice of reason.

River, you've never sailed offshore in a cat for weeks/months. Once you have, you'll know why monohull lovers love their boats.

Cats are certainly great for the whole condo-on-the-water thing, though - if you have the money and you can find dockage space.

You need to get out sailing soon. Two years of reading this forum and watching videos is enough.

Warmly,
LittleWing77

[Yihang]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Yihang that's the multihull fantasy, plenty of cats I have sailed on would be lucky to do 6 knots in 10 knots of breeze.
Cheers

Well, that's what the instruments in the video show. I know most cats can't do that. But it looks like more and more performance orientated cruising cats are coming out, so its an exciting space to watch.

[Tetepare]

I like monohulls because I enjoy sailing. I like to heel, I like water over the gunwhale, and spray on the genoa.


That said, if I were going to live aboard, a cat would be the way to go- certainly it would make my wife happier.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by fxykty

A cruising cat flips over about as often as cruising monohulls sink - it happens, but rarely for both. And at least with the cat you still have your boat, albeit not super useful. Let’s stop this silly ‘cats flip/roll over so aren’t safe for cruising’ meme.

How many monos that roll over lose their rigs? Most? And some lose their structural integrity through hatch and/or window loss, engines and/or batteries falling through cabin tops, etc. Then sink. Horrible. Fortunately rare.

Our cat heels about 3-4 degrees when we go upwind in 15+ knots - not enough to slide things or render horizontal surfaces useless, but noticeable. I’m sure your tri, if it was anything like the F31 I used to sail in the Pacific Northwest, heeled at least 10 degrees when going upwind and reaching. And the F31 pointed at least as high as most racing monohulls. But it’s great that you prefer your current boat. Enjoy!

I pushed my buccaneer kraken hard and usually like you say I got about 10° but she really ripped across the salish on the way to the san juans. In a broad reach I could get almost 15 ° and the windward ama a good 2 feet out of the water.

BTW the flipping comment was a bit of a joke .

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Haddock1

Cat's are a bit like marmite, you either like them or you don't. Personally I don't.

Marmite vegamite

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by newhaul

When a cat rolls they tend to stay upside down . A monohull tends to want to keep rolling till the stick is pointing back up .

Cats may stay upside down.

Monos stay on the bottom.

To the original question: I think 95% of it is supply based.

Most long term cruisers buy used boats and fiberglass lasts pretty much forever:
- Production fiberglass has been in production for 60+ years.
- Cats really only took off on a larger scale in the last 20yrs (they were available before that but really only took off more recently in terms of larger sales numbers).

That means there are a lot more cruising monos on the used market, so more cruisers wind up on a mono because that's what is available.

Spending a couple hours at a 20degree heel on the weekend is fun, not so much when it's all the time and it's your home. Monos still win the new sales game but most new boats get sold to weekenders where it's creates the impression of excitement. These boats eventually wind up on the used market feeding the longer term cruisers.

[Sailmonkey]

Because I picked up an $18k mono that really only needed $10k of my own parts/labor to be ready to sail where I wanted to go.

I’ve put lots more into it than that, but still haven’t reached the cash outlay I would need to have a cat that I really want.

[wolfgal]

monohulls because, when they heel, they give me that we're-going-fast feeling, and this, even when the boat is not particularly going fast. all that air filling the lungs, while bracing and holding on! the thrill is thrilling!!!!

monohulls because, among them, there are many, many stunning and lovely creatures! i literally ooh and ah over so many of the plastic classics, just as men do over Marilyn Monroe, Bridgitte Bardot, or, if you are younger, Nathalie Portman (she really is beautiful, smart too). i enjoy how their graceful curves can glide through the water, how the movement can be so soothing. of course, i do not enjoy rolling anymore than anyone else, but it is not as though this is an everyday given. i also enjoy working on and caring for lovely-n-old boats, definitely get the whole labour-of-love thing.

monohulls because i pride myself in being able to feel comfortable in most conditions. what is tough is a bad case of seasickness, of course and/or being exhausted, wet and cold (with the shivers); or sinking into that terrible place when something breaks out there in the middle of nowhere with no idea how to fix it; and then there is that knowing that there is no escaping bad weather/sea conditions and Forever begins...

for me, this "discomfort list" is actually so long that, when i hear that so-in-so needed more "creature comforts" so to be happy on the boat (which seems to point to the need for a cat in many cases), i simply cannot understand...

[bensolomon]

I sail a monohull because I love it. There is feedback and she comes alive, in even a small breeze! I also like the physicality of sailing a monohull....trimming the mainsheet by hand, sitting on the high side as the water rushes past, compensating for the heel.

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by river251

Every time I notice it, there are twice as many people reading the monohulls forum as reading the multihulls forum. I am really curious about this.

Here is one theory for you that was not offered before: cats appeal to extraverts, monos to introverts. Most cruisers are introverts. Hence, the misbalance you observe.

Now, for my own curiosity: have cats ever done really serious cruising, such as a figure eight or at least a circumnavigation below the great capes?

[Rohan]

There are some advantages you are missing. Monohulls can carry more weight without it affecting performance, they tack more easily, and can point further upwind. Some monos have a shallow draft or even a lifting keel so shallow water is not an issue.

Also, if you visit the tropics you will see a lot of cats, but fewer and fewer as you go north. Cats are better ventilated for warmer weather, monos are better insulated for cold weather.

[MartinR]

Originally Posted by river251

Every time I notice it, there are twice as many people reading the monohulls forum as reading the multihulls forum.

I guess there are at least 20 times as many monohulls out there sailing than cats. In Scandinavia probably more than 100x. So the multihull forum is probably overrepresented.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

+1 Jim Cate's answer.

And to elaborate, I own a 36.4 ft Pearson cutter, and I also have a part-ownership in a Moorings Leopard 45 with a complicated financing deal so that it ends up costing me almost nothing. So I have sailed cats and monohulls. I prefer monohulls because I like how they sail. My wife prefers the cat because for her, it's more about being able to bring family and friends, and about having flexibility to visit the various Moorings bases. Also, in rough seas, she gets seasick, so no passages for her. I respect and understand her preference, and I also like the fact that our daughter-in-law (who gets seasick) is comfortable on the cat (usually) and thus can share the sailing experience. But personally, I'd never buy a cat as my only boat, and I'll be sailing my Pearson on my big voyages, either single-handed or with a friend or one of my sons.

[sengland]

Monohulls will right themselves in any storm + they have a natural tendency to spill winds in a gust, saving the sales, rigging and capsizing risk.

[Joli]

Originally Posted by Yihang

Speed only when the wind is 15-20 knots? I'm guessing the engines are on when the wind is below 10.

Here is a Balance 526 sailing 6.4 knots in 6 knots going into the wind, 30 degrees apparent. With only main and self tacking jib(not the thumbnail, but that's what they say in the comments).... Just wow... Although all other points you mentioned are dead accurate.

We'll do around 10 knots in 7 apparent with the kite up and around 11 knots upwind with 15 true. We find anything over 10 on the ocean is uncomfortable and back down. 200 mile days are an average of 8.4 knots.

There is a lot of comfortable waterline that can be bought very affordably in the used mono market right now.