Visit our Popular Forums

aqfishing · 24-08-2020, 07:22

We have a Leopard 40. When it comes out of Moorings we plan to tackle the oceans. If the kids keep passing we may be able to pull it sooner!!!

Leopards are very good value for money. They are mostly made for the charter market so they are easy to maintain and pretty idiot proof!!!

We had a 44 with Sunsail and after 5 years I would gladly have taken her cruising. Some minor work for sure, but it was nothing major.

I strongly suggest taking your girl on a few charters with a skipper and see how you enjoy it. Maybe work up to getting your day sailor skippers and doing a few bare boat charters, then see where it goes!

A charter ownership program like Sunsail or Moorings is a great way to sail lots of different places without crossing oceans. But to make it worthwhile you need to use your points.

No I do not represent any of the companies aforementioned!

And now I await the FP and Lagoon clans responses!!! Not to mention the anti ownership program squad!!!

skenn_ie · 24-08-2020, 07:33

Big enough, absolutely. Strong enough depends on the builder. People have sailed Hurley 22s around the world. Monohulls do TEND to be more robust though, but not nearly as comfortable ... in most conditions. Torsional stiffness is difficult to achieve. In a major blow, if one hull wants to point up, and the other down, it can cause problems.

Ndavies · 24-08-2020, 07:45

Yes - we sailed our Lagoon 40 from France back to USA. The first of many adventures.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...v6wtwW97KFcsYn
Also, think about where you are going to be using it. Bigger cats have taller masts (ICW is an issue if you are in USA), wider beams (sometimes a marina issue). THink it through carefully!

dbraymer · 24-08-2020, 07:50

The icon said "quick reply". Not really possible, but...

Couples have sailed around the world in a Newport "Gladiator" 24. They returned in a bigger boat with a baby. Go figure.

Operator expertise and resolve are actually more important than the vessel itself.

That said, I actually watched a guy in a Hobie 16 set sail from Alamitos Bay (Long Beach) attempting to cross the Pacific. He had supplies tied in plastic bottles on a line trailing behind the Hobie.

The USCG did a reasonable thing and arrested him for being a navigation hazard in the Catalina Channel!

Above all said, you need to stand watches 24/7. This is very tough with 2 people, easier with 3, and a snap with 4 on board. Which is not a very romantic sentence, but it is the truth. There are literally thousands of vessels maybe 33 feet- 60?feet that are seaworthy, and can be handled by 3 or 4 easily, and can carry enough food to get you from California to Hawaii (the longest single passage which must be crossed)

Members of my family have dome the Erie Canal and intracoastal, from Michigan to Florida with 2 onboard. This appeared to be a lot of fun, and those involved are still couples, maybe a better voyage choice for romance.

Happ · 24-08-2020, 08:04

I have a friend and his wife sailed a Lagoon 380 around the world in of the Arcs’.

Sailguy61 · 24-08-2020, 08:19

The answer to your question is really not about length but about how well the blue water prepared boat is, and above all, how well the captain has learned and trained to sail the specific catamaran of his/her choosing.

lituya1617 · 24-08-2020, 09:07

I am 74 years old. I have yet to see a monohull sailboat floating upside down but I have seen several cats and tris upside down both afloat and on the beach where they washed up. All who go to sea must respect the power of the ocean. Almost any size cat can be destroyed by the ocean. I have seen rogue waves over 100 feet high that could be heard roaring as they broke even over the howl of the wind of a full gale. A properly prepared small sailboat would survive being hit by such a wave - probably would lack some rigging and deck gear tho - but a cat would be flipped. If you can anticipate bad conditions, your boat has to be able to take them. One thing is really annoying about cats: in a moderate chop while into the wind, the underside of the mid-deck bangs like a freaking drum hour after hour. Unnerving. They are fast but try to remember that sailing is not about speed. If you want speed, buy an airplane. Cats are nice houseboats tho.

smj · 24-08-2020, 09:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by lituya1617

I am 74 years old. I have yet to see a monohull sailboat floating upside down but I have seen several cats and tris upside down both afloat and on the beach where they washed up. All who go to sea must respect the power of the ocean. Almost any size cat can be destroyed by the ocean. I have seen rogue waves over 100 feet high that could be heard roaring as they broke even over the howl of the wind of a full gale. A properly prepared small sailboat would survive being hit by such a wave - probably would lack some rigging and deck gear tho - but a cat would be flipped. If you can anticipate bad conditions, your boat has to be able to take them. One thing is really annoying about cats: in a moderate chop while into the wind, the underside of the mid-deck bangs like a freaking drum hour after hour. Unnerving. They are fast but try to remember that sailing is not about speed. If you want speed, buy an airplane. Cats are nice houseboats tho.

You’ve yet to see a monohull floating upside down because the weight of the keel sinks them, not a great ending to an enjoyable cruise

skenn_ie · 24-08-2020, 09:49

The most stable sailing vessel is an inverted multihull.

smj · 24-08-2020, 09:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by skenn_ie

The most stable sailing vessel is an inverted multihull.

No, that would be a monohull on the bottom

skenn_ie · 24-08-2020, 10:01

Monohulls rarely get inverted unless their keel falls off. Even then, most will float. Tony Bullimore being one famous one. Knock-down, yes.

smj · 24-08-2020, 10:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by skenn_ie

Monohulls rarely get inverted unless their keel falls off. Even then, most will float. Tony Bullimore being one famous one. Knock-down, yes.

Greater chance that a mono will sink than a catamaran flip.

captain38 · 24-08-2020, 10:27

Cruising starts with day dreaming for all of us! I was once a teenage day dreamer and am now 82 years old and still cruising aboard my 3rd boat with more than 70,000 miles under the keel under sail in my lifetime, all singlehanded and doublehanded.

Cruising longevity requires safety and comfort. Without comfort, you will give up and move ashore soon. Without safety you will perish! It is my (perhaps old fashioned) idea that multihulls are unsuitable for offshore, especially with only two aboard. Multihulls lack the design safety of being able to automatically recover from a knockdown!! You must pay close attention to this design flaw! Shorthanded sailing requires self steering. When no one is at the helm, a severe squall or sudden, quick approaching gale can result in a knockdown due to a slow response easing the sheets or reefing. A monohull gets knocked down and comes right back up. A multihull turns upside down and is FINISHED!

Sure, plenty of cruises and circumnavigations have been completed in multihulls. They were just lucky playing Russian roulette with the weather. Do you want to just take your chances? I know multihulls are very much in vogue now due to the vast room and upright sailing they offer. But they also provide very uncomfortable motion in heavy weather.

Further, long term cruising requires a vessel to have good carrying capacity. Multihulls have lots of room, but do not like to be overloaded. Consequently, they are usually overloaded and perform poorly.

I hope these comment produce thought and are not offensive.