Are cruising cats sensible for the UK?

[hoobie]

Is it practical or sensible to have cruising cat (circa 45 ft) kept in the UK?

Some people tell me that it would be better to find mooring in the Med and just fly/drive out there.

Some tell me that the UK is not suitable at all for cruising cats at all becasue of limited space and harsher waters/weather.

[mikedefieslife]

The med is horrendous for ripping off narrow beam cat owners. Not sure what the UK is like but when I contacted Brighton (Premier?) they did say if it could fit into a standard slip then there is no extra charge. My cat is only 4.5m wide though, wouldn't work with a 7m wide Lagoon.

The waters and weather shouldn't really be of any concern unless you like beating windward in a mono.

[atoll]

there are a lot of prouts about lurking in tidal estuaries!
not sure how cats with sail drive propellers would fair in mud berths though.
beauty of the prouts is the lifting drive leg when not in use and ease of clearing pot lines.
marina fees would be horrendeous for a 17x7m cat,about £10k a year in the popular ones.

[Rapanui]

We had a selection of cats and tris in UK south coast for 40 years until we came to Croatia.
They clearly do work as cruising boats, they were just as functional as monos and often more so, less prone to mal de mer for example.
The downside can be cost. We were lucky to be able to keep on swinging mooring and berth ashore at our sailing club, so only slightly increased ashore fees because of our acreage. In a marina or boatyard you will often pay more. Again, boat lifts wide enough are less common and usually more expensive.
If you intend getting a cat, you need to need to secure a berth and any layup, craneage in advance. Some clubs, marinas and boatyards will not accept multis

[Jeannius]

Don't see why not. I sailed my 44ft cat in conditions every bit as bad as you find round most of the UK, most of the time, without any problem.


You will probably find it difficult to get a marina berth at reasonable cost in the more popular places but if you go to Plymouth there are places like The Multihull Centre ( price list here http://www.multihullcentre.co.uk/ass...-16-17-(1).pdf ) where you can get decent pontoon berths at a reasonable cost.


I never had my cat further north than Les Sables d'Olonne mainly because my wife wasn't interested in sailing if you needed to be wearing any more than swim suit but your circumstances my be different.

[onavegador]

Sorry, but in my opinion the beamy modern cats are fine for ocean voyaging as I have done the last 15 years. But now for weekend cruising I prefer a small cat, due to the wishes of my wife. Otherwise I would sailing a monohull, may be not a very performant but more cruising oriented.
And by the way: a well built catamaran is ok for UK waters imho. This because I know the coast of England, Scotland and some Irish coasts ver well.
Good luck
James

[catman]

I had a Fountaine Pajot Fidgi.
It is 39' X 19' and has sails drives.
It would sit quite nicely on its keels with the prop we'll clear of the ground, making it ideal for a mooring buoy and when the tide does go out it will sit on the bottom.
There is one for sale in the U.K. On Yachtworld.
Catman

[hoobie]

Thanks for the replies - lots to think about.

I don't see that many cats in the UK compared to say, the Caribbean where the ratio of cat to mono is much higher. I was starting to get the feeling that the UK wasn't really suitable for cats but your responses are encouraging.

[mikedefieslife]

Where were British cats like the Prout Snowgoose 37, Catalac, and Twins designed to travel? Presumably British waters and perhaps down to the Med.

I've seen images of 'Gooses in Scotland. It would probably we a great boat for that region.

Big beamy cats is an entirely different thing altogether. I Beneteau Blue 2 would probably look a little out of place circumnavigating the Shetlands, but no reason it couldn't do it.

Whatever you choose, you'll want good heating and great insulation.

[Rapanui]

I guess sailing people in the UK are quite conservative in general and until they experience catamaran sailing first hand are instinctively wary. What seems to be quite common from our experience is that hardened mono sailors want to charter somewhere warm with a large family or friend group but some of the party (wives?) are disinclined to share accomodation and bathrooms and want privacy. You need a very large mono to get 4 double cabins with ensuites whereas pretty well all cats in charter offer at least that.
Whether that increased exposure to cats chartering will affect buying habits for boats in the UK, time will tell. One problem is that there are very few modern cruising cats in the UK, so you will have to go abroad for a secondhand one probably somewhere warmer so why would you bring it back? We bought in Croatia and stayed. There are plenty of new cats sold to UK owners, but very few stay or even ever pass through UK waters.
The other factor is that many of the recent cat designs clearly place the emphasis on accomodation at the expense of performance, particularly upwind. Many charter areas abroad allow you to choose a favourable off the wind direction to sail and even condo cats will sail well if enough wind or motor comfortably if not. Not so easy on say the UK south coast where a weekend sail will usually require at least 1 day going to windward. While there are modern designs that sail well, they are almost universally significantly more expensive and sold in relatively small numbers.
While increased costs of keeping a cat are pretty well universal worldwide, the already high marina costs for a mono become painful for cats, and along with availability of suitable berths, that must be a deterrent from basing a cat in the UK.
My guess is that there will be a steady increase in the number of UK owned cats but that most will be kept abroad. The growth in UK owned and located cats will increase far more slowly.

[Sos]

There are about 8 cats in our marina on the south coast. Plenty more in the other marinas near by and quite a few on moorings.
A berth on the end of a hammerhead is the same cost as a mono.
Lifting out and storage ashore is bit more.
So yes they are suitable for the Uk if you are willing to look around for the various options.

[Naughty Cat]

The trend towards cats is in its infancy and dominated by long term cruisers/liveaboards and charter, both of which are dwarfed by the day/weekend scene in the UK. That is why I think we see less of them here at the moment. I would consider a self-tacking jib in the UK though. Incidentally, my view is that you can make good progress to windward if using the tides in a cat in the UK.