Catamarans in the Med?

[Irish Rover]

My power catamaran draws around 80 cm so I can comfortably get close enough to a beach to walk ashore - for a picnic etc or to let guests who are not confident swimmers have a nice cooling dip. It's unbelievably easy to maneuver even in the tightest harbour. When we want to go on a town wall we make a point of arriving early, usually by noon, and if we want a marina we pre-book.

 

[Neeves]

No wonder its called the lucky country

Jonathan

 

[Bouba]

Boat handling - with two engines you can basically turn the boat round in its own length, it just all needs a bit of practice and confidence. 'Living' in a marina with your transom against the pier and your patio doors open to the promenading public seems like our idea of hell. Surely the Med is about you enjoying the environment not you being part of the entertainment.

Jonathan

Don’t you find that most of the people that stare into your boat while moored Med style, are your neighbors ? And do you also find yourself looking into other people’s boats? I know I do, even when I try not to do it. We are the ones obsessed with boats ?
But of course for superyacht gawping you have to give the non boaty people the credit for that (in the hope of seeing a celeb). Because us boaters tend to be very dismissive of superyachts (reverse snobbery due to jealousy ?)

 

[Davy_S]

But of course for superyacht gawping you have to give the non boaty people the credit for that (in the hope of seeing a celeb).

If you want to watch so called celebrity's, it is easier to watch a tv advert, all the failed, or past it ones appear trying to sell you something.

 

[Artic Warrior]

I am wondering about a catamaran as a cruising and live-aboard in the Med.

I have many 1000's of ocean miles on board pretty high performance catamarans, and many more than that on mono hulls. One of my atlantic crossings was on a cat.

So i am not really looking for a general cat vs. mono discussion, although I guess it might turn into one. I am pretty familiar with the pro's and con's of cats generally, how they sail, and so on.

I am wondering specifically about their suitability in the Med: are they something of a hassle there?

I think that in the Caribbean, they can be fantastic - at least with one that sails well, and is not a "condomaran".

The difference I see is that in the Caribbean, one naturally spends quite a lot of time away from marinas, anchored or on a mooring.

Part of the reason for cruising the Med is to see historical/cultural sites, and to enjoy the nice towns and so on. My own experience in somewhat limited Med cruising is that we did spend a lot of time in marinas.

Does the necessity/likelihood of using marinas in the Med increase the hassle factor very much? I know cats cost more in marinas, so I am not only thinking about that. It seems one would be more limited in where one could go. Older, smaller marinas might be off limits.., even a marina that takes cats might not have a spot for one on a given day..

on lighter performance cats, the bows can blow around amazingly and they usually don't have thrusters (performance cats at least), but i guess one can learn to deal with handling the boat in a marina...

A lot of boat yards on the Aegean side can't cope with over 5 m wide lifting.
But there are yards that use trailers that will lift the cat up from underneath in the middle which has adjustable pads...

 

[Fisheye]

Having had a Cat in the Med for 12 years and only ever anchoring off and avoiding areas where anchoring is prohibited its
not a problem having a Cat in the Med. Biggest problem is being able to lift Cats wider than 6.9m ashore during the winter and then living and working on your own boat at a reasonable price. Most boatyards either won't allow DIY or will but not whilst living aboard. The boatyards that will allow this, can't lift more than 6.9m . All the facilities I know are east of Italy
and mainly in Greece/Turkey. Once west of Italy there are none I have found - only boatyards that are over priced (cost of storage plus mandatory services charges of 150 euros month in Portugal). Two resonably priced boatyards in Spain Almerimar & St Carls but limited to Lagoon 380s etc.

Hopefully somebody will prove me wrong.

 

[Laser310]

Thanks for the information - very helpful.

I like cats, but I'm a bit spoiled because I have only sailed on very high performance cats that are far beyond anything I could purchase.

I think I can accept lower performance than what I am accustomed to, but probably not if it also brought much more complexity to every day cruising matters.

I see that there is not uniformity of opinion on this question, but it seems the opinion leans that way, and it is also the direction of my bias before asking.

 

[Sea Devil]

Having had a Cat in the Med for 12 years and only ever anchoring off and avoiding areas where anchoring is prohibited its
not a problem having a Cat in the Med. Biggest problem is being able to lift Cats wider than 6.9m ashore during the winter and then living and working on your own boat at a reasonable price. Most boatyards either won't allow DIY or will but not whilst living aboard. The boatyards that will allow this, can't lift more than 6.9m . All the facilities I know are east of Italy
and mainly in Greece/Turkey. Once west of Italy there are none I have found - only boatyards that are over priced (cost of storage plus mandatory services charges of 150 euros month in Portugal). Two resonably priced boatyards in Spain Almerimar & St Carls but limited to Lagoon 380s etc.

Hopefully somebody will prove me wrong.

Isla Verde in Algeciras is a good duty free yard to lift out in with huge travel lift - you can certainly live on board whilst you work on the boat but probably not all winter

 

[Bouba]

Having had a Cat in the Med for 12 years and only ever anchoring off and avoiding areas where anchoring is prohibited its
not a problem having a Cat in the Med. Biggest problem is being able to lift Cats wider than 6.9m ashore during the winter and then living and working on your own boat at a reasonable price. Most boatyards either won't allow DIY or will but not whilst living aboard. The boatyards that will allow this, can't lift more than 6.9m . All the facilities I know are east of Italy
and mainly in Greece/Turkey. Once west of Italy there are none I have found - only boatyards that are over priced (cost of storage plus mandatory services charges of 150 euros month in Portugal). Two resonably priced boatyards in Spain Almerimar & St Carls but limited to Lagoon 380s etc.

Hopefully somebody will prove me wrong.

The Port du Gappeau in the South of France (close to Hyeres airport) do a lot of cats. I would guess upto 48 ft in length. They probably won’t open until the lockdown ends (hopefully beginning of May). People do live on their boats on land but I don’t know if this is official policy although the toilet block leaves a lot to be desired

 

[Laser310]

The Gunboat/Outremer yard is in La Grande Motte - they can haul cats up to ~70ft at least

 

[Palarran]

Plenty of cats in the Med. The cruising is (for most folks) seasonal, so in winter many find a marina that gives discounts for cats (some even price like a monohull of the same length) and end up agglomerating there. If you like to anchor during summer and are in an area with plenty of good anchorages (Greece, Baleares, etc.) the cost difference doesn't matter. If you want or need to put the boat into marinas at day rates, you will need a large bank account, as summer rates are very high in most places and catamarans are often charged 50% or more extra on top. Large swathes of the Med have few or no anchorages with suitable shelter for the prevailling winds (Costa del Sol was particularly bad - best sail right past, not much of interest there anyways). You can get a bit creative sometimes and tough out some swell at the cost of sleep, but will not always be able to avoid marina visits.

For living aboard the differences are that the huge windows heat up more in summer and lose more heat in winter. Heating costs in general are much higher due to larger volume and typically less insulation. The sailing is a bit different, sometimes better than a mono (light airs, motoring), sometimes worse (upwind, heavy weather). At anchor they're great because of less rolling and living upstairs rather than in the basement. Of course you pay for all that when purchasing one.

Boat handling in marinas is typically easier with twin engines, once you figure out how to use the twin throttles for steering and the wheel only for sideways thrust. Some cats have the rudders in front of the saildrives (e.g. FP Mahe), which then means no propwash over them - that could be a bit trickier then.

High performance cats are not great for most cruisers because of their very limited weight allowance. That's usually why people end up buying huge ones (like above 55 ft Outremer) to get the carrying capacity of a 35ft mono and be able to haul their provisions, tools and spares. Again this can be offset with money - there are usually enough yards and workmen in the Med that will do most of the boat fixing, maintenance and cleaning (for lots of money) so you don't have to carry many tools and supplies. All depends on your preferred style and budget.

This may be the most balanced post I've ever read on the whole Cat/Mono debate. Well done.

 

[Captain Jan]

There has been good discussion here. I would add that the bow to stern rafting that we did in the Tuscan islands , 3 boats out, also found in some Greek islands, like Hydra. the bow to stern mooring, with anchor to hold off the quay, 3 yachts out is a fact of life, or used to be., and not easy for a cat. Also, particularly in the smaller Italian fishing harbours & the Greek fishing harbours, we would find if the bow fits between the fishing boats, , the rest of the boat may too. Again, not a catamaran friendly policy. Anchoring off is of course much more relaxing , but holding & shelter is another issue. From memory, many of the Greek islands have their harbours on the weather shore. Also , particularly in Greece there is weather phenomena like tornadoes and particularly vicious squalls(Aegean side) which are not helpful for cats at anchor. Moving on, so far, we are speaking of the gentle sightseeing bit, but we found & equipped ourselves with quality sail shape below the spreaders (an inner strong weather jib & good main reefing) , as we knew that beating to windward off a lee shore, or out of what was once a sheltered anchorage, would be needed from time to time, in 35 knots plus. But of course a new cat with reliable engines would not have to consider this. You would just start the engine. And berthing in small fishing harbours may not be needed. You may find a marina somewhere. Horses for courses, as they say.