Lost Cat! Small Pocket Cruiser Catamarans

[OhioDreamers]

Hi all. Been lurking awhile. We're in Ohio planning a new chapter in our lives and are considering purchasing a small live aboard catamaran for extended excursions in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway to Lake Champlain, some East Coast travel, then maybe ship it over to EU to do the French Canals before settling in Italy (dual citizen here). We have some "requirements" that we are trying to keep and two of those are a beam of 5m (16ft or less) and headroom for someone who's 6'3" (me).

The cats we've been considering are all smaller and our running list looks something like this:

SmartCat 280
PDQ 32
TomCat 970
BroadBlue 345
Voiliers Piana 9m
Snell's Easy 32
and, if it comes to it, the various DIY options by Woods and Waller (Woods are excellent designs although slightly too beamy but the Waller 880 will fit down the dutch and french canal systems).

On a recent internet search we came across a thread (it may or may not have been here) started by another small cruising cat searcher that mentioned a brand/design that was unknown to us. When we looked into it, we were astonished at how it ticked off not only our main two criteria, but a whole host of other preferences on our wish list: galley up, aft berth, slightly wider gunwales, outboard boxes, forward facing chart table...it was an impressive package! We had both been leaning towards a TomCat, but this option filled in just a couple more boxes while staying in the same price range.

Trouble is, for the life of us we can't remember what it was called, and although I swore I bookmarked it, I clearly didn't. I spent literally an entire day going through two weeks of browser history but to no avail.

So, I'm reaching out to the fine folks here on cruisersforum to see if anyone can help us find our "lost cat". It had a beam to length ratio of (I believe) more than 50%, and the steps leading down into the hulls had an interesting rotation towards the berth to save space, kinda like dutch stairs. I think the stern had a tiny trampoline, but it may have been solid. Looked like a recent build (I didn't see anything on the used cat sites that matched).

If anyone can help us figure this out, we'd be grateful for your assistance!

[Montanan]

Possibilities for your LOST CAT:

https://i.chzbgr.com/original/909632...age-9096321536

https://pics.me.me/funny-my-cat-was-...i-19808697.png

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/23/d7...adaf77459a.jpg


https://i.redd.it/xdenody0ky001.jpg

[OhioDreamers]

Haha! While those are some adorable options, we’d like something that would do more than a quarter of a knot when wet.

[Montanan]

Okay, so you don't want a dog of a boat.

Other cat prospects:

https://theboatgalley.com/10-small-c...-for-cruisers/

https://www.sailnet.com/threads/crui...tamaran.32009/

https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/t...tamaran.41154/

[OhioDreamers]

Thanks for those links Montanan. We’ve looked at many of those online already. This was a very specific recent production that someone mentioned as an alternative to a new TomCat. It was slightly smaller IIRC by maybe a foot, but not as small as the JarCat or the Slider or the SmartCat 280. Has me baffled that I can’t find it again. It’s like a needle in a haystack trying to relocate it.

[Tin Tin]

https://www.aventura-catamarans.com/en-au/aventura-34


Add says it will do most EU canals

[OhioDreamers]

Thanks Tin Tin. From my understanding of the French canal system the max beam is 5m for much of it. We looked at the Aventura 34 and liked some of the features but kept it off our ill-named “short list” because of the additional beam.

[Tin Tin]

Well from my research most french canal traveled cat is a Prout as this was part of the Snowgoose design brief I believe. The Gemini is a lot of boat for the beam less than 5m and we have seen a few live boards on these through the Caribbean, it is possible but maybe not easy to sail from USA to Europe, it has been done on one. There was a folding trimaran that also went through the canals.


A newer small Prout is a 346 https://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/2...e-346-3513325/

[etoimene]

I wish you find your lost cat! Very interested in one with similar specs.

I was looking at https://www.catnano.com/en/catamarans/9-9/

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Tin Tin

Well from my research most french canal traveled cat is a Prout as this was part of the Snowgoose design brief I believe. The Gemini is a lot of boat for the beam less than 5m and we have seen a few live boards on these through the Caribbean, it is possible but maybe not easy to sail from USA to Europe, it has been done on one. There was a folding trimaran that also went through the canals.

I'm 6'2" and we lived on a Gemini for 9yrs. No issues with headroom.

You could also look into a Catalac 10m (not 8m or 9m). We had one for a few years. More headroom but really we prefer the Gemini.

What the OP describes sounds like a FisherCat. I've only been on one and the build looked good but I've heard they are bad for hobby horsing (didn't go out so take this with a grain of salt).

[OhioDreamers]

Tin Tin, thanks for the Gemini and Prout suggestions. This was a modern design, and it had a higher B/L ratio than either of them because it was shorter. Both good solutions but not the name of the one that got away. Your link is to a BroadBlue 346, not a Prout. We've looked at BB enough that I recognized it without looking at the manufacturer haha. I believe the BroadBlues are a spin-off by part of the Dazcat design team.

[harlem24]

And many people that are involved with BB are former Prout guys.

[OhioDreamers]

Etoime, if I figure it out I'll be glad to let you know. That Catnano is a pretty boat. Reminds me a the KD860 It's a bit longer and beamier than the one that was recommended as an alternative to the TomCat 970, but I like how deep the trampoline is. It looks like it has low windage by sacrificing headroom in the companionway, but the steps leading to the hulls from the cockpit are a good solution IMO. My better half disagrees and prefers standing headroom in the aft part of the saloon.

[OhioDreamers]

Interesting Harlem42. I've been trying to follow the interconnectivity between design teams and boats, but started to get lost. BroadBlue's website mentions Dazcat design, so I was assuming that was the dominant legacy involved in the design criterium.

[OhioDreamers]

Thanks for the suggestions Valhalla360. Headroom and livability are definitely important to us as well. FisherCat appears to be an older model and this lost cat of ours was a newer production boat.