44 Helia "sunk" in the Atlantic

[GRIT]

I doubt many cats can have their hulls sprung by hand. I'll bet in fact there are fewer than a handful, and those would be small ones indeed.

But I will tell you; I personally did that to a Gemini back in the early 90's. I was just a newbie back then, and was a bit turned off of multihulls for a while because of it.

I know better now!

Cheers.
Paul.

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by svquintana

I doubt many cats can have their hulls sprung by hand. I'll bet in fact there are fewer than a handful, and those would be small ones indeed.

But I will tell you; I personally did that to a Gemini back in the early 90's. I was just a newbie back then, and was a bit turned off of multihulls for a while because of it.

I know better now!

Cheers.
Paul.

you will likely find such examples among some cats advertised as 'performance'. Meaning builder can cut on material and work hours to make lighter and sell as 'performance cat'. Win win for him. Then things are breaking for you

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by arsenelupiga

you will likely find such examples among some cats advertised as 'performance'. Meaning builder can cut on material and work hours to make lighter and sell as 'performance cat'. Win win for him. Then things are breaking for you

Evidence and references please, otherwise that is trolling.

Displacement alone has nothing to do with ‘performance’, sheesh. If you took everything but the rig and control bits off your boat it would still not be a performance design.

[AllenRbrts]

Interesting thought that it was an escape hatch failure. I can tell it is an older Helia from the style of the salon windows, so the hatch has had lots of time to separate from the frame. The escape hatch is inside the head on the starboard side for the owners version, but I don't know how to tell it is an owner's version from those photos. The escape hatch's plexiglass is only held on with a bead of silicone. After my hatch failed off-shore, I now have attached the plexiglass to the frame (upper diagonal bars). The hatch still functions, but the plexiglass can't come out of the frame. The fix was less than $50.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Well, a floating but awash inverted catamaran (which is what I understand from the translated story referenced by Mark) is a very different use case from a monohull. For a mono, there is no reason other than fire, battery gassing or catastrophic structural failure to get out of a monohull that is still floating.

For a cat, securing a life raft between the hulls creates a decent liveable space while waiting for rescue. Certainly better than trying to hold on to the undersides of the hulls or bridgedeck (our bridgedeck has jacklines on the underside) with water surging back and forth or dealing with the darkness, water and mess of staying in one of the hulls.

Check your cat for strong points under the bridgedeck to which you can attach life raft, dinghy, harness tethers, ditch bags, etc. Consider putting non skid on the underside. And maybe a painted-on or vinyl emergency v-sheet. Too bad anti foul doesn’t come in orange or yellow.

Oops, they were awash but not inverted. But so far down by the sterns according to the photos that they had very little highly sloped deck to cling to. I can certainly understand why they popped their raft - it would be good to hear why it came loose.

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Evidence and references please, otherwise that is trolling.

Displacement alone has nothing to do with ‘performance’, sheesh. If you took everything but the rig and control bits off your boat it would still not be a performance design.

i have read blogs from wives that usually say as is. I am sure you can find yourself such cases. Not saying this is widespread, but buyer should check that angle out, not to buy lemon that can financially sink even decently rich people.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by AllenRbrts

Interesting thought that it was an escape hatch failure. I can tell it is an older Helia from the style of the salon windows, so the hatch has had lots of time to separate from the frame. The escape hatch is inside the head on the starboard side for the owners version, but I don't know how to tell it is an owner's version from those photos. The escape hatch's plexiglass is only held on with a bead of silicone. After my hatch failed off-shore, I now have attached the plexiglass to the frame (upper diagonal bars). The hatch still functions, but the plexiglass can't come out of the frame. The fix was less than $50.

Interesting. Catamaran escape hatches. I'm a big fan of 'hull ports' in expensive monohulls, because they allow sunlight. However, escape hatches on cats scare me. It's a big bad ocean out there.

Speaking of boats (hahaha), it amazes me how few newbies think about hull design / construction; i.e., STRENGTH. Many newbies just think about 'play areas', 'grilling areas', and where to store their 'YouTube-Star' GoPro equipment. Me? I care greatly about hull construction. It's "Number 1".

No other comments on modern cats, but some yacht builders DO care about hull construction. Personally, I can't even imagine paying $500K+++ (or any amount $$$, for that matter) for a poorly constructed "flimsy cheap hull".

Maine - August 2017: "The Boating Issue - Seaworthy Elegance" "Decades of handcrafted luxury at Hinckley Yachts."

As per request: https://www.themainemag.com

https://www.hinckleyyachts.com/our-story/

I'm blue-water monohull, all the way! Flimsy flippers are for dolphins and Polynesian fishermen.

[PortClydeMe]

Ps; If Hinckley ever gets around to building a catamaran, I'll be first in line with an order! It will not be inexpensive, but the boat will be constructed correctly.

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

Ps; If Hinckley ever gets around to building a catamaran, I'll be first in line with an order! It will not be inexpensive, but the boat will be constructed correctly.

that is not very clever. Guy has no idea of catamaran dynamics and will made many guesses during build what he thinks loads will be and then build based on these guesses. Some overstate, others understate. And you will be one paying fixing.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by arsenelupiga

that is not very clever. Guy has no idea of catamaran dynamics and will made many guesses during build what he thinks loads will be and then build based on these guesses. Some overstate, others understate. And you will be one paying fixing.

Think what you want, yet you might do well to read through the link I provided in regard to hull construction. Especially, this sentence: "Our confidence in this approach is why we are unique among production and semi-custom builders in guaranteeing our hulls and decks for life." - Hinckley Yachts (Maine)

Modern cat construction holds zero interest for my wallet, as does visiting France again any time soon. Just my opinion. Cheers, mon ami.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Well, a floating but awash inverted catamaran (which is what I understand from the translated story referenced by Mark) is a very different use case from a monohull.

From the pictures in post #1, it was not inverted.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

Interesting. Catamaran escape hatches. I'm a big fan of 'hull ports' in expensive monohulls, because they allow sunlight. However, escape hatches on cats scare me. It's a big bad ocean out there.

You can blame the EU for them.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by StuM

From the pictures in post #1, it was not inverted.

Yes, I corrected that. Thanks

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by StuM

You can blame the EU for them.

Them? What? Hatches? Cats? The EU can be blamed for many things, especially these days, but I'll blame Mother Nature bashing flimsy-production modern 'condominium-cats' for the need of escape hatches. That aside, should I ever find myself inside an inverted cat in heavy seas, I'll be one of the first wet rats desperately searching for an escape hatch.

By the way, was the cat delivery crew heading east from Cape Town ever found? I think I remember that the inverted cat was maybe found somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Was the crew trapped inside? Washed away?

Hmmmm. Hull construction. Naval architects. Mother Nature. Condo-cats. Swimming. Something to think about.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by PortClydeMe

Them? What? Hatches? Cats?

The requirement to have escape hatches in the hulls.


“All habitable multihull craft over 12 metres long shall be provided with viable
means of escape in the event of inversion.
All habitable craft shall be provided with viable means of escape in the event of fire.
Each habitable area of a multihull sailing craft shall have access to an escape hatch capable of being used in the capsized position.”