Manufacturers

[downunder]

There is at least one Kelsall KSS 46 - Ballotta build for sale somewhere around the Carribean at present.

[RabidRabbit]

Get a mono and go 1 year from now rather than having some long drawn out plan for living well on a boat you might never afford. Your in the rut of thinking that your future boat is going to be a house. It may be a home, but its not a house. If you can't see you're self living on a way smaller vessel, maybe you don't really want to do it. For some just chatting on the net about it is the first of many steps to nothing.

[cwyckham]

You didn't mention budget. Maybe you've got the cash, but don't drop a million on a boat and then realize you don't have enough left over to maintain it or to cruise. Nothing wrong with a 42' cat or a 35 foot mono for a couple either, just really different budget points.

[WantoSail]

Dont have a budget or a plan just wanted to see what is out there. Really want to know about set ups for people not for profit (charters). Seems like storage would be more important than unneeded bedrooms.

[Sand crab]

Asking generic questions about boats is like asking "What car should I buy?". So, read everything on this and other forums. Research yachtworld and the other sites. Just about any boat can be set up for shorthanded sailing. You mostly need the winches and lines in the cockpit and electric winches for some of the heavy lifting. There are lots of customs and one-offs also, some good, some not so good, just like manufactured boats. You can also install a MicroCommander which is a remote that controls engine and rudder functions so you can be standing wherever you want while docking or maneuvering. And BTW cats can turn in their own length MOL so they are generally easier to steer in tight quarters than monos.

[floatsom]

here's the thing, look at what it takes to do things like, oh take the sails off before a storm. I have a St Francis 44, and the sail is everything that two men can lift. You'll need to work on it occasionally, and a 80 ton lift is JUST big enough for our boat. Move up to a 50 ft boat and instead of simply having to go to a different city a couple hours away your have to plan an passage and hotel.

[mdsailors]

We have a 50' St. Francis - The two of us handle her easily. Very comfortable and she can take big seas. I know there is a new one for sale in the bahamas.

[WantoSail]

Originally Posted by mdsailors

We have a 50' St. Francis - The two of us handle her easily. Very comfortable and she can take big seas. I know there is a new one for sale in the bahamas.

What kind of "big seas" can a cat take?

[WantoSail]

What kind of "big seas" can a cat take

[dan360]

There is no easy answer to what kind of seas can a particular boat take. Massive cargo ships are sunk by waves, so any vessel can be sunk by the wrong conditions. In general the perceived wisdom is a cat is safe beam on to waves 2/3rds of its LOA. a 40' cat should be good to 25' waves on the beam and a 60' cat to 40' on the beam. That's a ridiculous generalization, and you would of course be aiming not to be beam on to big waves.

Small boats can and do safely cross oceans and huge boats are also sunk by waves in those same oceans - big is in general principle somewhat safer.

Lots of other design factors play into safety - a cat which is lighter, has nothing in its bows other than sail storage space and thus has more center weight should be relatively more resistant to capsize than a cat of the same size that has every available hull space filled with accommodation distributing the weight away from the center etc.

[Sand crab]

What kind of "big seas" can a mono take?

[WantoSail]

Interesting. I know very little about sailing. I don't eve know what waves to beam means. It is interesting to know what a boat could " potentially" take on. If one was to get caught in a storm they could possibly see some pretty huge waves. Your initial comment made me think about what a person might have to go through if they got caught. Exciting when thinking about it from my couch.

[SVNeko]

Originally Posted by WantoSail

A Baroness 566.

That boat is 5' longer than mine but twice the displacement. This is not a two person boat.

[szkutnik]

Some more to take a look: AQUINUS C48 or C57 : characteristics
And big size is not a problem if the boat is prepared for small crew.
61 years old Roman Paszke sail on 91 feet catamaran single handed.

[ArtM]

Originally Posted by WantoSail

Dont have a budget or a plan just wanted to see what is out there. Really want to know about set ups for people not for profit (charters). Seems like storage would be more important than unneeded bedrooms.

Unneeded bedrooms are easily (and frequently) converted to storage.

The Lagoons are most notorious for being excessively slanted toward charter use - most notably for their 4-head layout. Extra heads, like bunks, also make excellent storage locations with only small modifications.

If you are buying new, Lagoons and the other charter makers offer an "Owner's Version" (OV) which creates one super suite in one hull with a large shower, head, sitting room, and berth. The other hull is the regular configuration. They are more rare to find used. More and more OV Leopards are coming on the market, but in the smaller sizes.

I would recommend that you consider smaller sized cats. 50' is very big, and could be larger than you might like. For example, it is difficult for the helmsman to see all the way around the boat when docking. No problem for an experienced boat pilot, but not a completely confident feeling for the "rest of us". Sails, anchors, and other equipment are heavier and may be more difficult to manage as well - though not necessarily if the boat is very well outfitted. A smaller boat can be much better outfitted for the same money.