Cat Survey

biodfuel protest

  • No,silly idea

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Would like to,but not brave enough

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yes excellent idea

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
See my website - link below - for photos of a Privilege 435. For me it is the best cat in terms of quality with the Broadblue and Catana of similar standard. If you want to go really fast then a Gunboat is what you need if you can afford it.
 
The speed under power of a cat can be increased as far as you like by simply shoe-horning in a bigger lump (or pair of them). For example Pat Paterson built a 43 footer and put a pair of monster diesels in it and it will do 17 knots.

I suspect that if 12-knot cruising is your prime criterion you might do best to forget the sails and just go for one of the big power cats.
 
sailing cats are rubbish compared to a good strong and fast mobo. Remember they don't come up from a capsize and will not go where you want when you want.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, I think a good strong power cat is the way to go.
 
There are very few power cats on the market and what there is that is OK is either too small or nor very good quality.

Power cats are much smaller and not suitable for blue water cruising which I will also be doing.

I have a learning curve with sails but I am happy to learn as a keen student and can devote a lot of time to doing just that.

I am going to try all options out before deciding though.

I appreciate the trouble you are all taking in offering advice.
 
One thing I have studied is cat safety.

A sailing mono hull when holed sinks - a cat still floats.

I would rather strike a whale in a cat than a monohull.

There a re arguments both ways but it seems to me as a person with nil experience of sailing that the cat is at least as safe as a mono hull if not safer and the insurance companies see to think the same.

I also think that a sailing cat is safer than a power boat which also sinks.
 
I must disagree on this one.
Any boat designed with safety as the paramount criteria is a steel monohull, for various good reasons.
Just look at SAR boats.
 
I am not saying that steel is not the safest.
I am saying that a cat is as least as save as a monohull.
You know as well as I that within mono hulls there can be a huge range of safety aspects in designed with some designed as self righting etc.
However comparing the fibre glass mono to the fibre glass cat - the cat is as least as safe - that is what I am saying.
 
Some 50 foot cats have a 2:1 ration with a beam of 25 feet which is the same as most 42/43 foot cats - so its not the length that is too much of a problem in marinas etc -its the width - hence a 50 foot cat with a 25 foot beam is basically the same as a 42 foot cat with a 25 foot beam as regards a marina ....... that is what my opinion is at this point.
 
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they don't come up from a capsize

[/ QUOTE ]Hmm... neither do MoCats, do they?

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Fine, don't agree with me then. You have destined scutts to years of 191 post threads about how long to the nearest nanometre the curve should be on mainsail twist...
 
Re: Pardon?

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To put me off buying a raggie you will have to do a bit better than that! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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You stick at it Paul. You are right and you know it. If you want to live on a boat a cat is the right way to go - particularly if you want to have female company. If you want to go long distances then you want sails and a couple of little motors.
 
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I suggest you look at what is available from Privilege , BroadBlue, Maxim (ask Stingo). Fontaine Pajot make very nice looking boats, but IMHO they are too lightly built for heavy use. Leopard tend to have too low a bridgedeck and can slam. The American built Manta has good reviews. The Lagoon boats are good average workhorse, but I do not like their style.

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I might be slightly biased but the comment about bridgedeck clearance on a Leopard is incorrect for the current model range. The 46 has 750mm fully laden with fuel, water, 1 week of supplies and 6 people with luggage. This is greater than Lagoon, FP, Broadblue, Dolphin, Dean, Voyage, Admiral, Nautitech and Privilege.
If anyone is interested in a mid 40's cat they are welcome to my reseach spreadsheet which has taken nearly 2 years to complete and includes a comparison between most of the current models (PM with email address).
 
For reasons I have already stated, I have been looking at smaller cats so am quite happy to accept your figures.

However, as I am sure you are aware but others may not, actual distance from sea surface to bridgedeck is only one of four main factors in slamming.

Sea to bridgedeck distance is the one most people use as the primary factor
beam is a factor
design of the hull deck join under the bridgedeck. This needs to be such that as the sea as it slams upwards, it is deflected. The success of the deflection is what minimises the slamming.
The fourth factor is height, steepness, and distance between peeks of the waves.
 
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For reasons I have already stated, I have been looking at smaller cats so am quite happy to accept your figures.

However, as I am sure you are aware but others may not, actual distance from sea surface to bridgedeck is only one of four main factors in slamming.

Sea to bridgedeck distance is the one most people use as the primary factor
beam is a factor
design of the hull deck join under the bridgedeck. This needs to be such that as the sea as it slams upwards, it is deflected. The success of the deflection is what minimises the slamming.
The fourth factor is height, steepness, and distance between peeks of the waves.

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Talbot
I am sure the older African built cats such as Voyage and the earlier St Francis caused the impression that all African built cats had problems with slamming. The 6 month old Voyage 440 I chartered last year had a BD clearance of 350mm. I didn't have to measure it as when you opened the 450mm escape hatch in the saloon floor it was 100mm in the water and yes, it slammed badly (even in the BVI with 3 or 4ft waves).
The leopard 46 is designed by Morrelli & Melvin of Playstation fame, it has a chined hull and a well rounded joint between hull and bridgedeck with limited protrusions. In the time I have spent on the L46 on charters and test sails in varying conditions I have yet to have it slam.
I will give you a more detailed overall opinion when I collect mine from Cape Town in Spetember and come back to the Canaries via St Helena and Cape Verde.
Adaero
 
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