Cats that proud our seas

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I worked for Sunsail at Levkas last year and cats accounted for 5% of their fleet of 118 boats. I used to be quite keen on a cat (under pressure from SWMBO) until a) I delivered one across Biscay and b) my viewing of a cat was cancelled because the boat ended up inverted during the RTIR.
Cats are something of a cross between a caravan and a boat, IMHO. Not that that's a bad thing if it's what you want.

 

[Seajet]

+1 !

 

[capnsensible]

I delivered a Fontain Pajot Lavezzi from St Lucia to Croatia a few years back. I rather enjoyed it although it did seem to take forever.

Comfy boat, not very good upwind but a flyer on a reach.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I worked for Sunsail at Levkas last year and cats accounted for 5% of their fleet of 118 boats. I used to be quite keen on a cat (under pressure from SWMBO) until a) I delivered one across Biscay and b) my viewing of a cat was cancelled because the boat ended up inverted during the RTIR.
Cats are something of a cross between a caravan and a boat, IMHO. Not that that's a bad thing if it's what you want.

I hope non of my friends read that or you be hang .
I don't think any cat will point up as well as a mono , althought the way some sail their mono one has to wonder ,
I have quite a few friends with cat , three of them will push their cat to the limits and boy can they sail them .
Still not sure if I would have one tho .
One last thing , don't try and compair Sunsail cat to a good cat , Sunsail cat are just that , caravan

 

[snowleopard]

Nice to see that the old tradition of ignorant prejudice against multihulls is alive and well. Having owned and built boats with 1, 2 and 3 hulls including sailing 20,000 miles on a cat I can laugh at such ill-informed twaddle.

If your style is to hop from marina to marina, get a mono.
If you want to cruise in comfort and are prepared to use anchor or buoys most of the time, get a cat.
If you want to go really fast, get a tri.

From time to time there is a thread on here where owners brag about the speed of their boats, quoting double-digit speeds. I often wonder why there aren't fleets of monos screaming past me as I plod along at my usual 7-8 knots.

 

[mobeydick]

There is certainly a boom in charter cats in the Med. Used to be that you would have difficulty in chartering one there, but most companies do them now. I would not comment on relative % but there are a LOT more.

A lot more people are chartering, while new and second-hand boat sales are slow, at best. The costs of a cat (expensive to keep, cheaper to use if you keep away from marinas) and the advantages (accomodation, no lean), mean they are more attractive to charterers than owners. So most of the cats in the Med are charter, with crew of varying levels of experience.

So, the result would be: more cats to be seen, but more-cock-ups by cat skippers.

M

 

[Tomahawk]

Why would you want to risk your gin and tonic when you tack?

Suffice I like the view of the back of another boat, ten the side, then the front..

 

[mobeydick]

You could finish a G&T in the time it takes to tack....

Seriously though, I am a big fan of some cats, but the e.g. £15K+ per year it costs to park in the Hamble makes me think it will not be in the majority with UK boat owners.

MD

 

[SamanthaTabs]

L

So, the result would be: more cats to be seen, but more-cock-ups by cat skippers.
M

Wondering why it's thought that cat skippers may have more cock-ups than mono skippers? Believe me, watching private and charter muppets get in and out of their berth here in Corfu, I beg to differ :ambivalence:

 

[mobeydick]

L

Wondering why it's thought that cat skippers may have more cock-ups than mono skippers? Believe me, watching private and charter muppets get in and out of their berth here in Corfu, I beg to differ :ambivalence:

I was suggesting that if it is true, it may be that a higher proportion of skippers in cats are charterers. If you are talking about entering/leaving a berth, then I imagine you would have only the more skilled cat skippers trying it at all, whereas it would be a mix of skills for monohull skippers. The muppet cat skippers would be laying anchors over other peoples'.

 

[Scillypete]

The muppet cat skippers would be laying anchors over other peoples'.

So who is the muppet here then and where has he hidden the other hull

And by the way that chain is led from the centre of the bridgedeck on my cat and I anchored first