Question for Beamy Cat Owners (25ft+)

[nc_cabin_fever]

Originally Posted by smj

Now if you want to base out of the Bahamas or the Caribbean you should have way more options.

Ok - so this gets back to something SailSB mentioned earlier and had us wondering. How does establishing a base in the Bahamas or Caribbean look?

We've been quoted by a couple of insurance carriers, and I thought our hurricane plan options were basically:

A: Head north of the Florida line.
B: Head south of 12° 40' to Grenada, ABC, Panama, etc.
C: Pay a premium to remain in Florida.

[nc_cabin_fever]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

Pier 7 Marina in Edgewater, MD can haul a pretty wide cat using their trailer and boat ramp. No bridges!

https://www.catamarans.com/site/news...-62-Feet-Catam

Awesome - Thanks Sand crab!

[nc_cabin_fever]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

I owned an Orana for about 3.5 years on the east coast and into the Bahamas. It had a 25' beam and 64' mast. We went under a few 65' bridges on the ICW, but much preferred to sail on the ocean.



Marinas were indeed a difficult topic. Haulouts too. But they are available. There are a lot of bigger beamier boats out there.

Thanks LoudMusic! Your Orana is another great example - so with your preference for sailing on the ocean, would you consider a beamier cat if you did it again?

[blubaju]

43x27, we usually beach and use a fast drying antifouling. If needed to haul out, catamarans are usually LIGHT weight, just hire a movable crane, they are abundant anywhere nowadays. We lift at the chainplates, they carry your sails, your rig, they carry your boat. Sometimes you find a slip wide enough, a usual trailer with 4 drums below bridge deck will do, of course, tying down is a challenge ;-) don't worry, if there is a will, there is a way, 43x27, I wouldn't like it smaller

[Cuvee]

I've got a FP Saba 50 (26.2' beam, 76' air draft).

I've been based in Annapolis (haul outs at Pier 7, Edgewater and Georgetown Yacht Basin, Sassafras River) and St Thomas (haul outs at Nanny Cay, Tortola, BVI and Puerto del Ray, Puerto Rico, and brief maintenace haulouts at Sub Base, St Thomas). A few years ago, Pier 7 got a self-propelled conolift rated to 58' that lifts the boat from the underside. That was a huge boast in haulout options for my boat while in the Chesapeake. Prior to that it was either a 7 hr trip north to Georgetown or an 18 hr trip south to Norfolk.

I had no expectation that I would ever base the boat along the ICW so air draft was never a consideration. I have to bypass the Cape May Canal - a non-issue for me.

Prior to purchasing in 2014, I had chartered the Leopard 46 and Bahia 46, and been aboard some at-the-time newer generation cats in the 45' range such as a Helia 45. They were fine for a week trip, but I found them too small for me when doing multiweek trips with 4 to 8 adults onboard. That drove my decision for the Saba 50, and I might have gone as large as a 52' model if FP had one. At the time, I also felt that was as large as I could comfortably singlehand operate. At this point, I could not imagine downsizing to a 45' boat with my typical crew size.

I've not found that having a 26' beam instead of 24-25' has affected my marina dockage options. Seems that marinas with piling slips for 45'~55' catamarans have ~30' spacing.

The size ratings on public moorings might reduce your mooring options or put you further out in the mooring field. Some mooring fields have fewer mooring balls rated for 50' or greater. I found this traveling up the US NE coast.

In Annapolis, majority of public moorings are rated to 55'. In the BVI, the national park moorings and I think the public moorings have a 55' limit. The USVI St John national park moorings are almost all limited to 60'.

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by Cuvee

The size ratings on public moorings might reduce your mooring options or put you further out in the mooring field. Some mooring fields have fewer mooring balls rated for 50' or greater. I found this traveling up the US NE coast.

FWIW I know the OP is looking on the east coast but the size limit on Washington State Park buoys is 45'. There are quite a few of these in the Sound plus some in the Columbia River. The cost is only $15 per night!
https://www.parks.wa.gov/648/Moorage

[nc_cabin_fever]

Originally Posted by blubaju

43x27, we usually beach and use a fast drying antifouling. If needed to haul out, catamarans are usually LIGHT weight, just hire a movable crane, they are abundant anywhere nowadays. We lift at the chainplates, they carry your sails, your rig, they carry your boat. Sometimes you find a slip wide enough, a usual trailer with 4 drums below bridge deck will do, of course, tying down is a challenge ;-) don't worry, if there is a will, there is a way, 43x27, I wouldn't like it smaller

Thank you blubaju! [emoji1303]

[nc_cabin_fever]

Originally Posted by Cuvee

I've got a FP Saba 50 (26.2' beam, 76' air draft).

I've been based in Annapolis (haul outs at Pier 7, Edgewater and Georgetown Yacht Basin, Sassafras River) and St Thomas (haul outs at Nanny Cay, Tortola, BVI and Puerto del Ray, Puerto Rico, and brief maintenace haulouts at Sub Base, St Thomas). A few years ago, Pier 7 got a self-propelled conolift rated to 58' that lifts the boat from the underside. That was a huge boast in haulout options for my boat while in the Chesapeake. Prior to that it was either a 7 hr trip north to Georgetown or an 18 hr trip south to Norfolk.

I had no expectation that I would ever base the boat along the ICW so air draft was never a consideration. I have to bypass the Cape May Canal - a non-issue for me.

Prior to purchasing in 2014, I had chartered the Leopard 46 and Bahia 46, and been aboard some at-the-time newer generation cats in the 45' range such as a Helia 45. They were fine for a week trip, but I found them too small for me when doing multiweek trips with 4 to 8 adults onboard. That drove my decision for the Saba 50, and I might have gone as large as a 52' model if FP had one. At the time, I also felt that was as large as I could comfortably singlehand operate. At this point, I could not imagine downsizing to a 45' boat with my typical crew size.

I've not found that having a 26' beam instead of 24-25' has affected my marina dockage options. Seems that marinas with piling slips for 45'~55' catamarans have ~30' spacing.

The size ratings on public moorings might reduce your mooring options or put you further out in the mooring field. Some mooring fields have fewer mooring balls rated for 50' or greater. I found this traveling up the US NE coast.

In Annapolis, majority of public moorings are rated to 55'. In the BVI, the national park moorings and I think the public moorings have a 55' limit. The USVI St John national park moorings are almost all limited to 60'.

Thank you Cuvee! Your Saba 50 is very high on our list - and checks a lot of boxes. Outside of NC, we’ve got at least one haulout in every state.

And thank you for bringing up mooring ball ratings - as that was not top of mind and could be more frequent of a consideration.

Seems like if we can stay skinnier than 30’, and around 50’ LWL - we have enough option to work with. A few weeks back, we were seriously considering a 31’ beam and 58’ LWL - and that started to feel pretty stressful. When I called to confirm the few remaining yards that could haulout- like Thunderbolt, I realized that there can be a long waitlist and very limited space for transfer to the hard.

Really appreciate your comments! [emoji1303]

[MIRELOS]

yes we are about to start our cruise back towards the NE.....I hauled out at Georgetown a few times, they were great (don't know if they are still in operation) and the last time we hauled at Bridgeport, huge facility with the capability to haul out any vessel...btw both places were DYS which is something I look for.....enjoy

[aqfishing]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Chubby Cats do have their challenges, but in many ways, they are purrfect.


https://tenor.com/xjGy.gif

Classic!

[aqfishing]

Not sure if in your budget, but have you considered a Leopard 50. 26ft beam. Can be up to 5 cabins and lots of different living areas for people to get out of each other’s hair! Very NB when living with family!

[bullislandken]

I had the worst experience in a boatyard of my 50 years boating by trying to use Catamaran Boatyard in Key Largo. Steer clear of Sam’s yard. He is a liar and makes up different rules and costs for everyone. I would rather sink than use that yard again. The locals know NOT to use Catamaran Boatyard. He still owes me a couple grand. I will never see it. I am not from Florida and he insisted I had to find cash to pay him so he would relaunch our catamaran. His crew ended up launching us and they apologized to me for HIS behavior. Then as we waited for high tide, my crew had to threaten him with a boat hook when he tried to cast off our lines without us being ready. I think he is carrying a gun, too. hope he dies in his private plane ASAP.

[nc_cabin_fever]

Originally Posted by aqfishing

Not sure if in your budget, but have you considered a Leopard 50. 26ft beam. Can be up to 5 cabins and lots of different living areas for people to get out of each other’s hair! Very NB when living with family!

Thank you aqfishing! We really like the Leopard 50's, just so new that there's not many to choose from and likely would be just out of our reach budget wise this year. We just chartered a Leopard 48 and felt like it could work from a size and accommodation standpoint ... just had us wanting more storage space.

[nc_cabin_fever]

Originally Posted by bullislandken

I had the worst experience in a boatyard of my 50 years boating by ...

Greetings bullislandken - I'm not sure what else to say... but I am really sorry this happened to you. 😕

[aqfishing]

Originally Posted by nc_cabin_fever

Thank you aqfishing! We really like the Leopard 50's, just so new that there's not many to choose from and likely would be just out of our reach budget wise this year. We just chartered a Leopard 48 and felt like it could work from a size and accommodation standpoint ... just had us wanting more storage space.

Yes, we liked the 48 as well, used one once. We loved our 44. We now have a 3 cabin 40, but it just needs more outside storage and more diesel. I also miss the the forward lounge.
The 45 is also very nice and could work for you depending on the size of your family.

Good luck and please update the thread once you have made a choice!