Laser310
Well-known member
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...
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...