Getting a Cat for the first time

[snoozy814]

We're closing on a 42' catamaran next month, finally found our live aboard! We've sailed trimarans and monohulls but this will be our first experience with a Cat. It's a Kelsall, has been across the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean, currently in Key West.

Anyone with experience sailing Cats who has input welcome to comment...especially differences in having to reef in earlier, etc.

We will be sailing her up from Key West along the coast and up the Hudson River (the river we're familiar with), but this is my first offshore transport, although not my partners. Any and all input welcome!!

[Snore]

Find a manual and sail her “by the numbers”. If the manual says first reef at 18, second at 23, etc. at the first gust at 17, 22 etc. -reef.

Be sure to rig and use jack lines. Also practice setting all three reefs in calm water. Don’t forget to practice feeding the jib also. I’ve seen some weird set-ups... practice - practice - practice.

[Intentional Drifter]

Snore's suggestions are excellent. I'll add a few more:


1. Keep her light. Kelsalls are performance oriented cats and will be more weight sensitive than Lagoons, F-P's, Leopards, etc. Take some extra effort to trim the boat to keep the most weight mid-ships and as low as possible.
2. Think about how you're going to slow her down in bad weather. There are lots of opinions about sea anchors vs drogues vs trailing warps vs heaving to, etc. Some cats won't heave to, no matter what you do. I don't know about Kelsalls, but you need to try it out on a gusty day and find out. Determine what method(s) you are going to use, gear up accordingly and then do practice runs (again on gusty days), before you have to do it when your life might depend on it.
3. Set up for, and practice, MOB drills. You don't want to be running around crazily looking for your gear, or finding out that she won't do a crash stop (see heaving to, above) and you must do a figure 8, when you've got crew in the water. Do it at least 10 times, timing yourself, in various conditions, so that you don't have to think about it any more. (Learning tip: The first 3 times, do the MOB in slow motion. Really helps to train the brain.)
4. Docking and piloting in restricted waterways. Start off with 4 crew, 3 on the boat and one on the dock. Practice and practice some more with wind/current coming from various directions. Cats usually have lots more windage, but you've got those widely spaced twin screws.

5. Chafing. Look carefully at every foot of your running rigging (assuming it's not new) to find the wear points. Prepare your chafe prevention ahead of time. Do not omit the battens! (I had a batten chafe through at oh-dark-thirty in 25/30 knots one time on passage and it was most un-fun. Another item on the pre-daparture checklist!)


I'm sure others have even more.


ID

[snoozy814]

great answers! thanks. like the MOB drill ideas. All her rigging had been inspected 4 years ago and we will do same once we get on board her. Have heard mixed reviews on using drogues on cats, doing more research. Again have done trimaran (searunner 31) and know they can get overpowered more quickly at times. Heard often best to just run with the jib vs. w/main as well if gusty. It is roller furling jib but not mainsail. Definitely going to take her out for some test sails before taking her up the coast!! We're not on a timetable so if it's really nasty, not taking chances. Definitely planning on a cautious trip up, and she's loaded for bear with safety gear, including jack lines, tall netted life lines, emergency life raft, 2 epirbs, radio and sat phone, etc. Sails are new but definitely checking battens, rigging, everything major on it. Hull is solid so that's good, and all mechanicals replaced 2015 including engine and dink engine. Loving the replies!! Thanks

[Snore]

Oh yes. Assuming there is one engine in each Hull, I did forget one thing. When I dock cats, I NEVER use the rudders. The wheel needs to either be locked, or tied off with the rudders in a neutral position. Use the engine like you are driving a bulldozer. This takes some practice. A spring line from the beam cleat running forward or aft is a key element.

If there is an ASA school down there, it is worth spending 1/2 a day with a 114 Instructor to go over some of these things.

[Intentional Drifter]

Originally Posted by Snore

Oh yes. Assuming there is one engine in each Hull, I did forget one thing. When I dock cats, I NEVER use the rudders. The wheel needs to either be locked, or tied off with the rudders in a neutral position. Use the engine like you are driving a bulldozer. This takes some practice. A spring line from the beam cleat running forward or aft is a key element.

If there is an ASA school down there, it is worth spending 1/2 a day with a 114 Instructor to go over some of these things.

YES! Absolutely! If you've ever driven a tracked vehicle, a cat will make lots of sense to you. And the midships spring has saved my bacon more than once. At least until you can do it in your sleep, have someone both fore and aft with fenders.


And, easy on the throttles! Slow is Pro. Take your time to assess wind and current each time. Balance the boat to keep her motionless in relation to the dock, first, and then start your maneuvers to the dock.



Also, having two really good boathooks on board is very handy. My personal favorite is: https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-...67?recordNum=3 Yes, it's a bit pricey, but having the reach is great, plus if you drop it you've got a good chance of getting it back.



ID

[ausnp84]

Having a midships cleat in a cat just makes sense... rig a line on it, pull into your slip then power up the slip-side engine. The boat will stay glued to the pontoon allowing you time to get the other lines on.

Other than the above, just enjoy your trip. Kelsalls are great boats - take some spare lines / halyards / sheets and engine oil, and just enjoy being out there. Some stuff will break (hopefully nothing too major) but that can always be fixed.

N

[Ndavies]

We just took delivery of a new Lagoon 40 in La Rochelle, France and brought it home to Pensacola, FL. We have done a lot of cruising on our Hunter 42 Passage before, so were used to offshore sailing but nothing of this magnitude. My advice (some repeated from above, but based on real-life experience):
- Take good crew. People you can trust absolutely to sail the boat how you want it sailed.
- Definitely sail by the numbers in the Owner's manual. Learn the recommended reef wind speeds and try doing it. We chafed numerous reef lines until we figured out a couple of modifications and the right technique (very boat specific)
- I would not worry about drogues etc. In 7,100 miles, we had no need for them. If conditions deteriorate, run with it under reduced sail.
- Consider a light wind sail, such as a Code Zero. This was our most used sail and sail of choice. We were also able to run downwind with 2 headsails (code zero and jib).

Hope this helps - more info on our journey and experience on our blog.
Neil

[snoozy814]

all good stuff. fortunately my boyfriend has a LOT of experience driving heavy equipment...driving it like a bulldozer makes sense. midship cleat I believe we already have on both sides. He works on all of our machinery (anything from motors to Michigan front end loaders to tractors to sailboats) so plenty of experience there. The things new to us are the water maker (present owner is going over all the systems with us) and having twin hull vs. tri hull (not to mention using a NuWave oven)...have lots of experience with the induction burners having owned a restaurant. We're very much the McGiver types..we both have run construction companies so....

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by ausnp84

Having a midships cleat in a cat just makes sense... rig a line on it, pull into your slip then power up the slip-side engine. The boat will stay glued to the pontoon allowing you time to get the other lines on.



N

A midship cleat can be useful to improve sailing performance on a reach too.

Generally headsail sheet leads are set inboard to suit windward sailing, which compromises sail shape with eased sheets.

A block hung off a midships cleat and a "third sheet" run through it can give you excellent control of the clew, giving very good sail shape on all points of sail.

Early in this video you can see what I mean

:https://youtu.be/o4PoObnQrpc

[akprb]

Leave Key West, turn left.

As sun sets reef.

As sun rises take out reef.

Enjoy the ride ;-)

[Paul Howard]

I have owned two catamarans, 39 and 37ft. and we heave-to when reefing. Tack and do not release the jib. Bring the helm back up and leave the main sheet slack. The main is much more in control if blanketed by the jib/genoa and with the boat stopped you have plenty of time to get things in order on this stable platform.

I always reef the mainsail before rolling up the jib, as on the fractional rigged catamarans the mainsail needs reducing to keep the boat balanced. I usually double reef the main (skipping the first reef) as that brings the head of the mainsail to about the top of the foresail and the boat balances very well under autopilot. After the double reef, I then begin rolling up the genoa to slow the boat down as necessary. I sometimes ran under only the jib when running downwind in a gale with lots of sea room. Again, heave-to to take the mainsail down when at sea.

[sailcrazy]

following for future use.

[Chotu]

Can anyone point me to some graphics online about using the midship cleat properly? My biggest weakness on my boat due to windage is leaving docks. Especially with a wind pressing me on the dock.

I always struggle to get free. I have certainly scraped and banged the boat a couple of times.

[Cpt Mark]

When sailing a mono and the wind suddenly picks up you head up to slow the boat and gain control. On a cat it is the opposite, you run downwind. Performance cats will take off incredibly fast.