Question:
Catamaran Sail Boat expereince wanted ?
Can anyone help please:
A friend and myself are discussing whether to go for a mono-hull or a
cat for some reasonably serious long-distance sailing.
We both have lots of mono experience but none on cats.
Could anyone with a cat of say 35' plus use a couple of experienced
crew for a day / weekend / delivery so we could get to see what a cat
is like to sail on to help make our decision?
We are male, 54 and female 60 respectively, both fit, active and able
to skipper a mono hull. Resident in the Midlands so can travel to most
parts of the country.
Answer:
-We have a Prout Quest - that's a 30ft cat and you will be welcome to come
sailing in the spring.
You need to use a different length assessment for a cat - they really do
have more space - we were cruising with 7 aboard earlier in the year and
didn't feel crowded - unlike a 30 ft monohull.
The boat has had to be put into her winter berth earlier than usual this
year. The gearbox exploded ten days ago, terminating a planned two week
cruise after four days.
The gearbox is part of the Volvo leg so, rather than an expensive rebuild
on a 30 yr old leg, I'm taking the opportunity to replace it with a modern
Sonic leg - and at the same time replacing the heavy and ancient MD2B
Volvo with a more modern, lighter and smoother unit - probably Yanmar.
Anyway, you'd both be welcome once she is back in commission
-I recommend that you get in touch with MOCRA:
http://homepages.enterprise.net/mocra/
-Come on Simon, I know you know better than that. 20m and over???
What about Gary Pearce's "Zazen"? A mere 40' yet he and his family
lived on her for more than a year. They crossed the Atlantic, cruised
through the Carribean and the crossed the Pasific to Australia.
"Zazen" is one of John Shuttleworths designs. "Zazen" is for
sale now I belive.
http://www.john-shuttleworth.com/Images/Zazen-biscay-trip-thumbs.html
Or take another 40-footer, one I came across back in 1991. This one
was called "Inoui" and I met her and her french crew on the Swedish
west coast. The crew was a family of four and the boat is an early
design by Eric Lerouge. The boat was home built some 8 years before
I met it and its home was Bordeaux. The boys were not yet teenagers
yet all seemed to think that cruising Scandinavian waters and getting
there and back was no big deal. This was their second trip to
Scandinavia. In 1988 (?) "Inoui" had come 3rd ib class after two
all-out racing tris in the transatlantic race. Wife and kids flew
over and the whole family then cruised New England. After that Wife
and younger boy flew back to France while father and older boy sailed
back. "Inoui" has a saloon on the bridgedeck but only with headroom
for sitting and the bridge deck clearance leaves little to be desired.
http://www.lerouge-yachts.com/images/catamarans/inoui_h.jpg
At 30' I think Richard Wood's Sagitta design isn't half bad. It
is not very pretty in my view but she does sail well and does feel
responsive to the helm. Sitting headroom on the bridge deck only
but full standing headroom in the hulls.
http://www.sailingcatamarans.com/ (go to "Designs" and 25-30 foot
to find the Sagitta design)
My boat is also in the water for some more weeks but she is also just
8m long and not what the original posters are looking for (and in
Sweden). http://hem.bredband.net/b262106/
