Catamaran verse monohull for RTW cruising

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Peter

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We are currently thing about buying a cruising catamaran as opposed to a monohull for our planned long distance cruise (RTW hopefully) I‘ve read a lot of the various threads about the pros and con of cats against mono’s and have taken them onboard as part of the decision making process. The primary reason for thinking about a cat is a medical requirement based around a vertigo suffer, no heeling over, rocking etc.
So I’m properly asking the same question again, what are the advantages/disadvantages of a cat over a mono and looking for answers towards, anchoring a cat against a mono (do mono’s roll as badly in these far away anchorages as people make out), cost of running a cat, in marinas, etc. And any recommendations for a manufacture/model cruising cat, up to £100000 to spend. As my sailing has been in mono’s

Thanks

Peter.
 
Cats don't heel but they do roll. Not as far as a mono but quicker. Don't even think of buying a cat until you've sailed in a few or the motion could come as a nasty surprise.

Yes, there are rolly anchorages out there that can be intolerable in a mono. They are generally OK in a cat but don't expect to be completely motionless.

A cat will tend to sail around on an anchor and you'll need to lie to a bridle which adds an extra stage in the anchoring process and makes increasing the scope a bit of a drag.

If you can't find anyone with a cat to take you sailing, think about chartering - ideally in the Caribbean where you'll get a feel for what it's like on a multihull in real cruising conditions. There are plenty of cat owners around here so you may well be able to blag a ride when the season comes around.
 
If you are doing a RTW, then presumably you intend trade wind routes. This is where the cat scores highest compared to the mono. None of that cyclic rolling during downhill sailing that is so **** uncomfortable. However as has been said, dont expect there to be no motion - there is, but it is different. you either like it or not so do try. You get space, good views from the saloon, and much better ventilation than on a mono (especialy important in hot weather)

Real disadvantages - cannot sail so well to windward. You have to be very careful in selecting a cat for cruising cause a cats performance is effected by weight, and for some, badly affected. You also need a decent bridgedeck clearance to stop slamming . Marina charges are higher

For £100000, you might be able to find a 38 ft Prout. There are a number of cheaper contenders.
 
Agree with that but at anchor no cat will ever pick up the horrible pendulum roll that a mono beam on to a swell experiences. Personally that is one of the main benefits for me. I can enjoy quiet anchorages even if there is a slight swell. As far as marinas are concerned many now don't surcharge cats (although some still do) but I can avoid them in favour of an anchorage. With a good watermaker, solar panels, hot water shower etc. all I need marinas for is to pick up diesel and change gas bottles now and again....
 
i am planning to do exaccerly this over christmas. I am given to understand that huge amount of pacific is at anchor (as I know it is in carib) and is prefereable anyway to a sweaty marina almost everywhere. Certainly the resonant rolling at anchor is a pain that forces a marina visit on monos, power or sail, up to at least 25 metres.
 
FWIW here is my summary of cats vs. monohulls. I should point out I have FP Belize, so I'm a bit prejudiced:

When you are berthed
Nothing else makes as comfortable a platform. You have two hulls, which gives excellent privacy, and the bridgedeck saloon means you can look out (almost 180 degrees in our case) and see the world going by. In most monohulls you are in a cave. And how many 44' monohulls can seat 8 round a permanent cockpit table? In addition there's a vast amount of storage space for all the bits and pieces a liveaboard needs. At anchor a cat is also much less prone to rolling than a monohull. On the other hand cats are sensitive to load, and a displacement monohull can store a lot more fuel and water than you'd want to put into a catamaran.

Parking
Two engines make life a lot easier, but it's true that it can be harder to get a marina berth and you are often surcharged 50%. We tend to prefer to anchor off anyway. However a catamaran presents a much larger area to the wind (normally more important in anchoring than weight) and so you do have to anchor securely. One big advantage of a cat is that the anchor locker is invariably self draining. On most small-medium sized monohulls the chain is stored below the waterline so that and water coming up with the chain or entering in other ways has to end up in the bilge with the result that there's always some water down there which I hate. A cat's bilges should always be 100% dry.

In a bit of a blow
A catmaran's stability makes it a much safer working platform. No falling down cockpit steps, no toppling across the cockpit and breaking a rib. And you can nip in to the chart table to check your position and be out again in seconds. On ours the helm position gives you good shelter and the excellent visibility from the saloon means you can shelter in there popping out every few minutes for the 360 degree check.

To windward
No heeling, but it's certainly true that a catamaran will never point as well to windward as a monohull, though our pointing is pretty respectable. That said we'll often outsail boats headed in the same direction as we'll go faster even if not quite so close to the wind. I get a lot of fun strolling around my cockpit with a cup of coffee when the monohullers are heeling over and hanging on. Cats do slam going into the wind when the waves hit the underneath of the bridgedeck and the motion can be jerky. With modern designs like ours this is much less of a problem than it used to be, but still an issue. Plugging into anything over a Force 5 is a bit like being inside a washing machine strapped to a camel.
On a reach
Nothing's faster - except of course a trimaran!

On a run
No boats sail well with the wind dead behind, but a cat's foredeck gives you a wonderful (and safe) platform for flying a spinnaker. Our 7m beam means we can do that without poles, so it's up quickly and safely.

At night
It's also a little-recognised fact that the navigation lights on a monohull which is heeled over are often not visible to ships. Bizarrely the regulations specify a narrow vertical beam pattern which means that when heeled the leeward lights will be shining down into the sea and the windward ones up into the air. The low angle of heel of a catamaran leads to improved visibility of navigation lights.

Radar signatures
Monohulls can provide fairly poor radar signatures, particularly when they are approaching from ahead of the beam, as the chances are there will be no flat surface from which to bounce a radar signal. On a few occasions we have had monohulls of some size come right through the guard zone of our radar (usually set at 3-4 miles) without triggering an alarm until they were beam on or stern to. A catamaran's 'squarer' design is more likely to return a signal, and so far on every occasion when I have had to call up a ship which has been on a course a bit too close for comfort, we have been picked up on their radar - and we have no special reflectors.
When you hit something be in a cat. A monohull (Etap's unsinkables excluded) is based on a constant fight between the weight in the keel trying to keep the boat upright and the water trying to get in. Many are the stories of monohulls which have sunk in 5 minutes after hitting a container or a whale. It is very hard to sink a catamaran as it doesn't have that weight in the bottom and most, like ours, are stuffed with foam fore and aft. It's those pictures you see of people hanging onto their cats which put some off these boats. You don't see photographs of monohulls which have hit something as they are underneath the water.

In terrible weather
Well, we have yet to find out and I suspect in a really bad storm I'd rather be in a monohull as there's no doubt that a well founded monohull will roll back up from a knockdown. Cats can pitchpole and can go over in extreme seas (or less if you are late with your reefing). We've invested in a parachute anchor as part of our 'storm survival' equipment but hope we will never have to use it in anger. The strongest winds we've had so far are Force 10 (at anchor) and a sustained Force 8 which were very uncomfortable but never felt at all unsafe.

As to which brands most modern cats are well made. Of the mass produced ones FP have a reputation for being a bit quicker and Lagoons a better interior layout (though some people think they are less strong).

A big issue is bridgedeck clearance. That is the problem with Prout/Broadblue and most of the South African boats. The bow wave from the hulls can cause a lot of slamming with lower slung boats.

Buying a used custom built cat can be good value as they are hard to sell - but they you will have that problem one day!

Best wishes
 
A good assessment Jeremy. A couple of points I'd empasize-

Cooking: no need for gimballs on the stove and pots generally stay where they're put. All you need is a bit of non-slip matting in the galley.

Speed: the difference between a 5 knot average and 7.5 knots means a week less on a typical ocean crossing. But - you only get that with a lightweight cat and careful weight-saving.
 
Good summary Jeremy!
Makes you wonder why every skipper doesn't have a cat.
I suppose the answer is room in marinas which will only want a few cats each.
Once you go to sea the multihull advantages rapidly increase. Obviously you
are going to anchor as often as poss, but in hot climates this creates better
ventilation, and there is plenty of room for a large dinghy. Also the crew don't
get on top of each other with all that deck space.
I think cats are much less tiring to sail since they stay flat.
In fact I'm surprised more mono owners don't complain how awkward
constant heeling is.
I don't think Peter will regret converting to a cat, very few skippers do.
I suggest Peter subscribes to a multihull magazine. I can recommend the
Australian "Multihull World".
 
[ QUOTE ]
I suggest Peter subscribes to a multihull magazine. I can recommend the
Australian "Multihull World".

[/ QUOTE ]

Really, I always thought multihull world was good coffee table stuff, never read but left out to impress visitors.

No one has yet managed to produce a good, readable, interesting multihull magazine yet! IMHO.
 
Re: Excellent link

[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps we could get you a job de-obscuranting Microsoft's instructions

[/ QUOTE ]

er

help

Don't understand relevance?

Confused of Cheshire!
 
Re: Excellent link

The last issue of Multihull World compares French and OZ cats, and covers Pacific cruising in a Newick Tri. Plus the usual info about the fantastic amount of building and launching of multis going on downunder.
It's a huge improvement on the defunct Multihull International.
There are a lot of designers there, and it would make a great sabbatical to buy a cat in OZ and sail it back to The UK.
 
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