Question for Beamy Cat Owners (25ft+)

[teneicm]

We been actively cruising for the past 10 years with a 26' beam and 73' stick. Do we regret it? Not at all. Does it create some limitations on where you can go and who can haul you? Sure, some. But nothing that's been a huge deal as we've wandered about. If you're basing solely out of the E coast, it probably would have a larger impact than if you're cruising a wider area where you can work haul outs into your cruising itinerary. Once you get over 30' beam, you really have fewer options (but still not impossible), but anything less than that, go for it and get the boat that works for you!

[nc_cabin_fever]

Originally Posted by teneicm

We been actively cruising for the past 10 years with a 26' beam and 73' stick. Do we regret it? Not at all. Does it create some limitations on where you can go and who can haul you? Sure, some. But nothing that's been a huge deal as we've wandered about. If you're basing solely out of the E coast, it probably would have a larger impact than if you're cruising a wider area where you can work haul outs into your cruising itinerary. Once you get over 30' beam, you really have fewer options (but still not impossible), but anything less than that, go for it and get the boat that works for you!

Thank you teneicm! Yeah it seems there’s a couple of levels of difficulty/hassle:

Below 25’ can use most travel lifts
25’ - 30’ moderate amount options
Wider than 30’ - more complicated

[smj]

Originally Posted by nc_cabin_fever

Thank you teneicm! Yeah it seems there’s a couple of levels of difficulty/hassle:

Below 25’ can use most travel lifts
25’ - 30’ moderate amount options
Wider than 30’ - more complicated

From my viewpoint,
20’-21’ can use most travel lifts,
Up to 24’-25’ the options really slim down
Over 25’ much harder to find
Over 30’, I can’t imagine!

[Sand crab]

I'm only familiar with 1 300 ton travel lift and it can haul 30'6". They are custom built to order so they vary.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

I'm only familiar with 1 300 ton travel lift and it can haul 30'6". They are custom built to order so they vary.

Jarrett Bay in NC has a 300 ton lift that can handle up to a 30’ beam. Only trouble is you have to be able to make it under a 65’ bridge to access it. Not many cats with a 25’-30’ beam have a mast clearance less than 65’.

[Chotu]

Boggles the mind why everyone thinks you need a travel lift to move a catamaran out of the water.

With all of the Catamarans in existence now, you would think some places would start installing marine railways or just boat ramps. A pick up truck (or tractor) and trailer is all you need to take a large beam catamaran out of the water.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Boggles the mind why everyone thinks you need a travel lift to move a catamaran out of the water.

With all of the Catamarans in existence now, you would think some places would start installing marine railways or just boat ramps. A pick up truck (or tractor) and trailer is all you need to take a large beam catamaran out of the water.

That’s what they use at Belle Hatchee marina in LaBelle, seems to work great and I believe they’re able to haul wide beamed cats, with mast heights of 55’ and under…….
Another option would be to hire a crane, which can get a little pricey.

[Sand crab]

The main reason travel lifts stay popular are the big power boats which includes commercial boats. They need a deep well for haul out. Multihull owners are a small part of the business.

[pbmaise]

SE Asia
Philippines and Borneo
In SE Asia the main haul out point for Philippines and Borneo is at the tip of Borneo. It is called Kudat and it has a narrow travel lift that can haul about 26ft wide. Most cruising sailers love it because they can do their own work and there are lots of supplies.

Kudat haul out

Some haul out at Zeke's yard in Carmen, Cebu, the Philippines. That is more of a full service yard. I have no idea of width.

Zeke's is way too small to haul out a big trimaran or large monohull.

Next door to Zeke's a big commercial slipway. Friends of mine haul their 120ft ferro cement monohull there. The problem with that yard is the dirt blasting. They just scoop up the dirt around the vessels, screen it, and then shot blast it at the giant commercial RORO vessels. It is an incredible filthy area. I hired a Filipino to clean my vessel every day just to keep up with the mess and I wasn't in the commercial yard.

Phuket:
Ratanachai in Phuket claims information on their website that is simply not true. Yes they have a slipway and you can see it on Google earth. I paced it off when I was there last and they simply cannot accommodate a very wide vessel. A modest 60 ft catamaran with a 30ft beam should not be a problem. However, larger multihulls should measure and check in person before committing.

Almost directly across the river is a larger slipway where I hauled out. They had no problem with my 40ft beam. I went back years later and they were under new management and the yard was empty. I just looked at it on Google Earth and see plenty of vessels there now. They are named something like Asia Marine. This yard will be about 1/2 the cost of hauling at Ratanachai.

There are about 3 other yards for smaller cats where you can be hauled on a travel lift. These are to the North of downtown and one is called Boat Lagoon. Pricey

Langkawi.
Many many many cruisers haul out at Rebak Island Marina. I found a picture of their 65 ton travel lift here. It should be fine for a narrow small catamaran but confirm first.
Harmonie - Boatyard Tour - Rebak Marina, Langkawi, Malaysia

Langkawi has a megayacht service yard called Boustead. They would never return any of my emails to even answer if their giant travel lift could haul me out. 500 Ton travel lift looks plenty big for a 60 ft long catamaran. Completely unsure for a 90 ft long catamaran or a big trimaran like the one I owned. Perhaps if you own a 90 ft long catamaran they will return your emails?

Lamut has a 800 ton travel lift operated by Baustead. Never been there suspect same issues as Langkawi.

Northern Shipyard in Langkawi has a massive travel lift however, you need to be narrow enough to fit into their lifting bay that is 12 meters wide. That means subtracting 1/2 a meter on each side about 11 meters is the widest. That works out to about 36 ft. HOWEVER, I hauled at Northern Shipyard. They brought my vessel out on balloons. Be really really prepared for this. You need to have an underbelly conducive to rolling on massive tubes. Further, you can't have a 2 meter long racing rudder. It simply will drag on the ground owing to the diameter of the tubes. My rudder was damaged during the haulout...however, it was only the bottom third which was fine. The vessel no longer needed such a long rudder.

The problem with bringing a big crane to Northern Shipyard was the crane has to be shipped to the island and you have to pay for the crane to return to the mainland. The crew for the crane have to be put up in a hotel while you do your work.

Satun Thailand
Yucks. It is a fishing boat slipway and they can accommodate a cruiser. Some cruisers that are real budget types use it. One problem is your distance to get food and supplies. The city of Satun is quite far away. Also NO they could not haul a very wide trimaran.

Singapore
Certainly there are places to haul out down near Singapore, however, only the uber rich go there owing to the fact lower labor rates are just up in Thailand. Raffles Marina has a 70 ton lift no idea how wide. However, if you can afford the rates there, likely you don't have a narrow catamaran.

[teneicm]

Originally Posted by pbmaise

SE Asia
Philippines and Borneo
In SE Asia the main haul out point for Philippines and Borneo is at the tip of Borneo. It is called Kudat and it has a narrow travel lift that can haul about 26ft wide. Most cruising sailers love it because they can do their own work and there are lots of supplies.


......

Good place that isn't on the list (if you don't mind using an under-bridgedeck lift, they have a SeaLift) is Pangkor Marina just south of Penang. Great place.

[pbmaise]

Originally Posted by teneicm

Good place that isn't on the list (if you don't mind using an under-bridgedeck lift, they have a SeaLift) is Pangkor Marina just south of Penang. Great place.

Thanks,
I had a look at the place on Google Earth and found there are about 3 cats on the hard. So obviously they have the ability to get them up on the hard. This looks like a much nicer option than Satun and probably cheaper than the big names like Boat Lagoon up in Phuket.

Here is a link to the resort... https://marinaisland.com/

I measured cats on the hard at about 26 ft beam. If you have anything near that size or with a greater beam you need to check.

I see the sealift itself at.....
http://www.sea-lift.com/blog/blog.cf...tByUpdate=List

Hauling out on a sea-lift is new to me. There are some pictures of them hauling cats out located at
https://www.sea-lift.com/news.cfm#:~...20beam%20width.

I saw one cat being hauled out using the sea-lift under the ama and another cat was being lifted with the device between the ama. I would be really really leery about lifting a cat between the ama. But I am not a cat owner and obviously the lift went well because they are showing it in a picture.

I found a thread on underbridge deck lifting of cats

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ck-185580.html


This is on peninsula Malaysia.

[teneicm]

Originally Posted by pbmaise

Thanks,
I had a look at the place on Google Earth and found there are about 3 cats on the hard. So obviously they have the ability to get them up on the hard. This looks like a much nicer option than Satun and probably cheaper than the big names like Boat Lagoon up in Phuket.

A better website is this: https://www.pangkormarina.com/


The other is for the "resort" that is also on the island.


James Khoo, the owner, is a great guy and he runs a good operation. Plenty of skilled labor if you need it, or do your own thing. They have a covered shed that holds about 8 boats if you need it. Easy, no duty shipping in of parts (if not available locally), and a nice, mid-size town nearby for all your other amenities.



Surprised there were only 3 cats there. Must've been 8-10 when we were there. We're 26' beam and we were fine. The machine can go wider (not sure the max- but there were some 60+ foot cats taken out). The issue for us is that we have two inconveniently placed hatches in the bridgedeck, so it's a bit difficult to get the machine to be as widely spaced as we'd like. But we hauled there (and stayed 8 months) and it was great.

[torrmundi]

I've updated my Cat Haul Out list with the excellent contributions of pbmaise and heath68. See https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3617238

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by teneicm

A better website is this: https://www.pangkormarina.com/

We got hauled there twice, beam 28ft, a bit wide for the Sealift

but James has two steel cross beams that sit on top of the Sealift cushions. These work great for very wide boats.

[torrmundi]

I have posted an updated list of wide beam haul out facilities in North and South America, North and South Pacific, Europe, and Asia on a blog site. This has been requested several times in various threads.

See Torrmundi - Wide Beam Haulouts.

Several years ago, I used Cotemar's and Ziptie's lists as a starting point and have added many myself or by suggestion in various threads on Cruisersforum. Many thanks to all who've identified good facilities!