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Date: Wed Jun 01 2005 - 10:42:40 EDT
I'd like to add one comment to Dwight's excellent thoughts about mono Vs catamaran -
A catamaran will withstand a great amount of wind - but when they are blown over they *stay* blown over while a mono will right itself.
Dwight briefly mentioned finding marina space - I'd like to add - *none* of the marinas I've been in have had a slip where a large (35'+) cat would fit. If they did I'm sure the rent would be *more* than double the rent for a comparable mono.
Sincerely,
Larry T ('74 911, '67 MGB, Catalina 27)
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----- Original Message -----
From: Dwight Yachuk
To:
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 8:51 AM
Subject: [world-cruising] Cats vs Monohulls
Bessy asked me to post my thoughs on catamarans vs monohulls so here they are. Most everyone here knows about the merits of monohulls so I'll just chat about catamarans.
A saying I heard which nicely sums up the difference in my experience/readings between monohulls and catmarans is: Monohulls are slow and can carry a lot of weight, great for hauling freight. Catamarans are fast but can't carry much weight, great for hauling people.
Length for length, catamarans are lighter, faster, stabiler, draw less (better for the Bahamas where draft over 5 feet is a concern) and have more room overall. Catamarans don't heel which makes for a smoother ride. There is a common fear of cats pitchpoling but the figures show that it rarely happens and usually on racing cats being pushed to their limits.
Things to watch out for on a cat:
Excessive wind pressure: A monohull will heel, spilling excess wind. A cat will take the wind and the accompanying forces. There are a lot more pressure being exerted on a cat which means the rigging must be much stronger than on a monohull. While cats rarely pitchpole, being demasted in a really big blow is a consideration.
Small ammas. While there is a lot of room above deck on a cat, each amma (hull) on a cat is smaller than a similar length monohull so spaces below deck are smaller.
Tacking. A cat won't tack as nicely as a monohull. Sometimes you have to backwind the jib in light airs or you'll go into irons instead of tacking. A bad sail configuration will really mess up a cat.
Center Clearance: A cat is two ammas joined by a center deck. When sailing water is funneled between the ammas. If this deck is low, water will be constantly pounding the deck from below which puts a lot of force on the cat (although I know of no cats have fallen apart because of this) but more importantly scares the crap out of the crew.
Docking: A cat is typically half as wide as she is long and much wider than a monohull. Docking can be a problem as slips can be too narrow.
I've never been on a trimaran. I believe they are faster still but suffer from almost no space belowdecks. Each amma is fit for storage only while the center amma on a 36+ foot trimaran is typically the size of a 20+ foot narrow monohull.
So there are some thoughts in my humble ignorant opinion. While sailing Chispa I really missed being heeled as we speed along. While cooking dinner underway it was nice not to be rolling back and forth with everything banging about below decks. Bill has been sailing monhulls for 20+ years (caribeans, atlantic, europe, etc) and really likes the cat.
Dwight Yachuk
Gabrielle, Kirby 25 #4, Ottawa River, Canada
Chispa, Jenneau Lagoon 37, Caribbean
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