52' alloy cruising cat

[Mark424]

Just stumbled across this from de Villiers on FB, I sailed her big sister, 62' Elcie from Tonga to Fiji 3 years ago, great sailing boat. If he can hit his numbers, his SA/D is between the Catana 47 Carbon and the Outremer 4x, not bad for a low maintenance, go anywhere, alloy boat. Would love to know what it would cost to build a boat like this.

[yeloya]

It will be around a 1 Mio USD , pretty well equipped. However, the problem is that there aren't many baot yard who can work with alu alloys. There are some in France, and only one in Turkey, near Istanbul who built recently a 60 ft mono for one of my friends.


Cheers


Yeloya

[Boatguy30]

From my understanding this is about the smallest cat you can build in aluminum for decent weight and performance numbers. Not sure on the spilt rig in this size boat. Probably OK and that larger design

[sheldon957]

Sure like the design because of the split rig. Nice not to have skyscraper main mast. On the 50' & up they can be in 70-80' range.

[PhiSig1071]

Very interesting design. Forward cockpit is very unique. I've never sailed on a cat with a forward cockpit like that, I'm not sure I would like it. I'm guessing that an owner could spec whatever sail plan they wanted, but the solent staysail is a neat idea too.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

From my understanding this is about the smallest cat you can build in aluminum for decent weight and performance numbers. Not sure on the spilt rig in this size boat. Probably OK and that larger design

This was my understanding of aluminum cats as well, but one of Kurt Hughes's 36'ers was built in alloy. Don't know how she came out weight wise. And I've seen a few 40' alloy trimarans also.
http://www.multihulldesigns.com/desi...k/36bdcat.html

I'd guess that noise could be a serious drawback, especially if you skimped on insulation during the build, to save on weight. I've seen a video or two which led me to this theory. And in it the tri's crossarms were aluminum, & of course, weren't insulated. Thus...

Originally Posted by PhiSig1071

Very interesting design. Forward cockpit is very unique. I've never sailed on a cat with a forward cockpit like that, I'm not sure I would like it. I'm guessing that an owner could spec whatever sail plan they wanted, but the solent staysail is a neat idea too.

The theory on the forward cockpits sounds nice. But they can be super wet, given how much spray the bows of cats kick up when approaching double digit speeds. And then when going to weather, the apparent wind on multi's is pretty strong, so closing the door between the cockpit & the main cabin could be a challenge.

Figure that if it's blowing 20kts true, & you're going to windward/reaching at 12kts, then you've got 30kts+ apparent in the cockpit. So put on your drysuit unless you're in the tropics.
Though on boat this size you could have 2 cockpits, one forward, & one aft. And the visibility from the cabin in Chris White's cats is nothing short of amazing!

That said, wet cockpit not withstanding, if someone wants to give me an Atlantic Series cat, I'll take it

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

The theory on the forward cockpits sounds nice. But they can be super wet, given how much spray the bows of cats kick up when approaching double digit speeds. And then when going to weather, the apparent wind on multi's is pretty strong, so closing the door between the cockpit & the main cabin could be a challenge.

Figure that if it's blowing 20kts true, & you're going to windward/reaching at 12kts, then you've got 30kts+ apparent in the cockpit. So put on your drysuit unless you're in the tropics.
[/COLOR]

We find that we don't really start getting spray in the forward cockpit until we have 20 knots TWS. Even then, the spray is intermittent and entering and leaving the cabin is not an issue. I haven't worn foulies in years. I suspect my boat is drier than an Atlantic or a Gunboat because the hull Length/beam ratio is closer to 8 on my boat, as opposed to somewhere in the mid teens for a CW or GB. As with all aspects of boat design this is a trade-off. While drier, we don't approach the speeds of the skinnier boats. We definitely don't do 12 knots to windward (and wouldn't if we could!)

[UNCIVILIZED]

Yes, the issue of spray definitely varies from design to design. And I've not been on an Atlantic Cat when they're pushed. Though some of the Shuttleworths, while very safe, can surely be wet, as in the below video. And the 35' Shuttleworth had her companionways & steering stations redesigned, due I'm guessing, to what's seen in the video. Since her older, little sister, the 31', gets quite a pasting in what are at most, moderate conditions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am6YTSVZH0A

[UpOnStands]

you must admit that the 31 in the video is being driven far harder than any cruiser. but
has anyone tried adding a 6-8 cm wide strip of, say, sunbrella, along the hullside of the tramps?
would weigh nothing and should reduce spray considerably.

[Training Wheels]

That looks like fun to me!