Fast Cruising Catamaran

[Agility]

cbcat & Stillraining. re: the Chris White.

I couldn't agree more.

I just spend the weekend on hull #1 A57 from Valdivia. It still looks brand new. It was also way more comfortable than the beautiful condo we stayed at.

[dwightsusan]

Can multihulls really go to windward fast?

YouTube - Trimaran Brossard tracte 2 wakeboard

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by Agility

cbcat & Stillraining. re: the Chris White.

I couldn't agree more.

I just spend the weekend on hull #1 A57 from Valdivia. It still looks brand new. It was also way more comfortable than the beautiful condo we stayed at.

Ya!...now all I need is about 50,000 of you rich guys to hurry up and go get one built so 20 years down the road I can afford to buy one of the depreciated and flooded market things off ya!..

[Roc Chambeau]

Originally Posted by cbcat

Obviously they are not cheap, but I would argue a Chris White Atlantic offers the best mix of luxury fit and finish along with truly impressive performance. So many variables on boat speeds - having said that, I sailed on a (loaded) A55 from Halifax to Puerto Rico this past fall in 8.5 days... Boat speed averaged in the teens, topped at 20kts - the boat has seen 26kts before (non of which was surfing).

Handles big seas incredibly well, awesome BD clearance, ridiculously comfortable live-aboard qualities, huge galley, tons of storage, inside helm station, boards aid in performance... I could go on. Something to be said when you can comfortably bake fresh bread, read a book and relax while averaging 15kts 1000nm off-shore.

I wasn't sure how I'd like the forward "mono-style" helm station (vs the typical aft position). I was surprised how nice it was... Terrific, protected station right at the mast, all lines are right there as opposed to having to run them aft (or worse, hidden like a Catana - I wouldn't want to have to work on that setup in heavy weather). Having that forward location offers incredible visibility. A little extra attention must be given aft when docking, but hardly an issue worth mentioning. If things get nasty, the inside helm station is terrific. Great orientation with the inside helm and nav stations both facing forward. Visibility in the pilot house is phenomenal - this is a true sailor's cat.

As with any discussion such as this, it's very personal... Just my .02, but the A55 or A57 would be my first pick, hands down. It's an active, exciting boat to sail (or race) and a serious passage maker. Chris White sure knows what he's doing.... and he does it with (a lot of) style!

ps: They are cheaper & much nicer in fit/finish than a big Gunboat. In my opinion overall more "bomb proof" with things hit the fan. Gunboats are cool toys, but with all the hype, I think there are better boats for the buck in that category.

Mrs. White I presume?

[Intentional Drifter]

A few provisos before I get to the main comment:

1. My boat is certainly not as fast as many being discussed here, but neither is she a slow poke. A sister ship won the Cape Town - Rio race, achieving 21 knots in the process, so they can do it.
2. While #1 is true, neither does she cost anywhere near what lots of these others cost.

Having said the above, we've still had runs hovering around 14 in the open ocean and, you know something ---

IT WAS REALLY FUN!!! For about an hour.

Then, the fun wore off. When I starting thinking maintaining that sort of speed, it just wasn't relaxing. We would have to have 2 people on watch, 24/7. The idea of breaking something was much more present and you just know that anything you break at those speeds was going to be both dangerous and expensive.

I slowed her down. 10 knots was plenty fast and we could all get our rest, and cook, and watch a movie -- you get the idea.

ID

[Eleven]

My brother did some long ocean trips in his own Snowgoose.
Some high speed runs achieving over twenty knots on a broad reach, spray at 50+ kts at night.
He described the elation as lasting until you went off watch. More than eight knots into wind generally means falling off each wave top. Tiring! Downwind a bit more is reasonable but high boat speeds are really nice to have, even if you don't use them much. There were too many days where 100 miles were hard work. That's where cruising boats need to concentrate their efforts.

[LoranSea]

fast, comfortable, cheap, you have to pick two out of three. Thank you Dick Newick. His equation will outlast the multihull production !

[Gpser2]

First let me say, I am a cruiser and have approx. 100KNM on my Catana 431. I have experienced 23K at 30K wind speed. Like all multi-hulls, weight is very critical.