Light weight cruising catamaran

[GRIT]

That's a good read.
Thanks for posting it.

Paul.

[NevilleCat]

I love the concept of those rudders.

[NevilleCat]

OK so I just read the article and saw they reviewed Catenza and published back in 2004.
Had that copy too, so here's that one for you...

[smj]

Thanks for the articles!

[alsail]

Thank you.

[fxykty]

Great to see those articles, well done holding onto them! The design and execution sound awesome and the pictures do the boat proud.

I stand by the relatively small payload - fine for a weight conscious couple but I’m not sure if suitable for a family and extended cruising. Good to see the large water and reasonable fuel capacities though.

Solid fibreglass below the waterline has a lot going for it - any mishaps are relatively easy to repair. Any laminated with foam structure is much more difficult to repair and even with Kevlar skin is more vulnerable to punctures.

Other than that, looks promising A!

[Heath68]

Originally Posted by fxykty

5.5 tonnes (light ship?) likely means only an additional 2 tonne or so of load capacity. For long term cruising, unless you like cutting toothbrushes in half, using ereaders to keep paper books off, and minimising the toys to keep the weight off, that’s really not much.

Monohulls joke about raising their waterline a cm or two for every additional year of cruising. That would be deadly for a super lightweight catamaran.

Smaller tanks, less ground tackle, smaller provisioning, smaller tender with smaller motor (or no motor at all, healthier); all of these may be just fine for the kind of cruising you want to do, or not.

Of course, the other issue of a lesser-known non-production boat is resale value and difficulty.

How much do you think is "about enough" for a long term cruiser/live aboard?
We plan to slowly circumnavigate and will have extra stuff on board because of it but have not much idea how much this would weigh.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by Heath68

How much do you think is "about enough" for a long term cruiser/live aboard?
We plan to slowly circumnavigate and will have extra stuff on board because of it but have not much idea how much this would weigh.

How many is "We" and what sort of "extra stuff" do you anticipate?

[GRIT]

You can manage with 2000kg just fine.
You'll fill it up at two tonnes, or at 5 tonnes. If you had a 10 tonne capacity, you'd eventually have 11 tonnes aboard. It's human nature...you can never have too much stuff. . You will simply adapt to your boat's abilities, just like a monetary budget; some need $5000 a month, some make do with $1000.
Don't fret, you'll adapt.

We use ereaders, limit our frivolties, and adapt our eating habits to the area in which we cruise. No need for 4kg of peanut butter.. It's not a hardship. We're just cognisant of our load, and get rid of things we don't use; soon to be replaced with more junk.
For spare parts, we carry belts , filters and oil. If we have a repair that needs much more than that, we also have a spare engine in the port hull. As a cruiser, you'll always have a little more stuff than you should. If the boat performs to your satisfaction, you're probably not too overloaded. There are safety limits, but I'd consider 2 tonnes as a guide, not a law with dire consequences for those who go over by a few kg try to stay close to 2 tonnes, and you'll be fine.

Don't fret, you'll adapt.

Cheers.
Paul.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by GRIT

You can manage with 2000kg just fine.
You'll fill it up at two tonnes, or at 5 tonnes. You will simply adapt to your boat's abilities, just like a monetary budget; some need $5000 a month, some make do with $1000. Don't fret, you'll adapt.

Cheers.
Paul.

Yes and no. I totally agree that most can manage with 2000kg.

If you want to load up more than the stated payload then choose a heavier boat. Putting an extra 1000kg on a Lagoon 440 represents 6% increase in the all up weight. Putting an extra 1000kg on the Catenza represents 13%. Load either up too much and you are likely to exceed the design safety factors and it will become dangerous. Cats cannot spill wind by heeling so unless the wind forces can overcome the inertia and convert it into motion something will break. Say for example the design safety factor on both these was 10%, 6% is OK, 13% is NOT.

Ignoring the dangers the effect on the higher performance of Catenza will be much more significant than the already lower performance of the Lagoon.

If you want to load 5 tonnes then buy a monohull, cats aren't for everyone.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

Yes and no. I totally agree that most can manage with 2000kg.

If you want to load up more than the stated payload then choose a heavier boat. Putting an extra 1000kg on a Lagoon 440 represents 6% increase in the all up weight. Putting an extra 1000kg on the Catenza represents 13%. Load either up too much and you are likely to exceed the design safety factors and it will become dangerous. Cats cannot spill wind by heeling so unless the wind forces can overcome the inertia and convert it into motion something will break. Say for example the design safety factor on both these was 10%, 6% is OK, 13% is NOT.

Ignoring the dangers the effect on the higher performance of Catenza will be much more significant than the already lower performance of the Lagoon.

If you want to load 5 tonnes then buy a monohull, cats aren't for everyone.

So one could simply decrease the amount of sail to keep their overloaded performance cat from being unsafe? Of course at that point one may as well own a lesser performance cat with a higher load carrying capability.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by smj

So one could simply decrease the amount of sail to keep their overloaded performance cat from being unsafe? Of course at that point one may as well own a lesser performance cat with a higher load carrying capability.

Precisely, or a longer performance cat that can carry more.

[smj]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Precisely, or a longer performance cat that can carry more.

I’ve always said a perfect cat for us would be 50-55’ long with the living space of a modern 35’er.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by smj

I’ve always said a perfect cat for us would be 50-55’ long with the living space of a modern 35’er.

Then welcome to Gerard Danson’s first generation Outremer 50/55. Our 2003 O55L is much smaller inside the salon and a bit smaller in berths than the 2015 Leopard 40 we chartered back then. No need to comment about the difference in sailing fun.

YMMV

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by smj

I’ve always said a perfect cat for us would be 50-55’ long with the living space of a modern 35’er.

Agreed

Originally Posted by fxykty

Then welcome to Gerard Danson’s first generation Outremer 50/55. Our 2003 O55L is much smaller inside the salon and a bit smaller in berths than the 2015 Leopard 40 we chartered back then. No need to comment about the difference in sailing fun.

Agreed

What a great boat