Heavenly Twins

[Slow_boat]

No, not a misplaced post from the lounge. It's the catamarans I'm thinking of here.

We're thinking about our 'sail away' boat and a Heavenly Twins seems to have a lot going for it; Small enought not to break the bank on mooring/marina/lift out charges but with a massive after cabin and decent galley and heads/shower. And they seem cheap enough for a lot of change to go into the cruising fund.

The question I direct at those who know is this; how well do they sail?

 

[Tradewinds]

Dogwatch has one - send him a PM

 

[Slow_boat]

Ta

 

[snowleopard]

With that shape they are never going to win any prizes for speed. The rig is pretty floppy as there is no front crossbeam and the forestay is set up on a bridle. They are pretty bad for hobby-horsing in a chop. They score on accommodation with the two aft cabins. I was aboard one recently being sailed by a liveaboard couple. They used one of the aft cabins as a 'garden shed' (his words) for all the gear they took along.

I presume you are thinking of the 26. We also have the 28, 35 & 43 in the yard here, not surprisingly as it is run by Pip, son of Pat Paterson.

 

[Colvic Watson]

Had a 27 for 5 years and most of the faults accurately listed above were rectified. They win in every way you listed, outstanding boat for 27 feet, will have another when we downsize. All the other 30 foot cats pale in comparison either being slower, heavier, more cramped or more expensive. But the HT doesn't go close to windward, the leeway is unbelievable at less than 45 degrees and they slam in a nasty head sea, tooth jaring slams and little progress make for an unhappy skipper and crew. 50 degrees plus and with a lifting outboard she picks up and starts to skip along. The worst thing though was the rolling, she's a narrow beam cat and could shake your eyeballs loose with the wash from a passing mobo.

 

[Slow_boat]

I've only heard of the 26 and 27. I'll google the others. Ta

 

[Seajet]

There was one ( 28 ? not sure now but in very good order ) at my club, owned by arguably the best sailor I know and his then partner; they were very keen when they bought her, but could only stand one season, just too incredibly slow.

That was for Solent & occasional cross-Channel sailing.

 

[BoyBlue49]

Heavenly Twins, miss named !

I spent 6 weeks on one coming back from La Rochelle. Very slow if laden with live aboard gear, they sail ok if stripped out. If you are thinking of long time live aboard and distance sailing there must be a better alternative.
They are murder in a cross sea or anything over 1 metre as previously stated. The only place I could stand upright was at the chart table. The original 1 cylinder engines make it underpowered and they are subject to corrosion of the cooling water ways.
For a day/weekend sailer they are good fun. Can't say I found my experience Heavenly.


Yer pays yer money, yer makes yer choice.

 

[mikeinkwazi]

Don't!

No, not a misplaced post from the lounge. It's the catamarans I'm thinking of here.

We're thinking about our 'sail away' boat and a Heavenly Twins seems to have a lot going for it; Small enought not to break the bank on mooring/marina/lift out charges but with a massive after cabin and decent galley and heads/shower. And they seem cheap enough for a lot of change to go into the cruising fund.

The question I direct at those who know is this; how well do they sail?

I know this design and it has a very low bridge deck which results in slamming. The ends (bow and stern) lack volume and so the boat hobby-horses. By the way, I have sailed multihulls since 1973 so am not an anti-multi!

 

[Colvic Watson]

There was no 28, instead the designer and builder created the Summer Twins range which addressed a lot of the problems but utterly failed in the looks department. There were two models, the 25 and the 28 and about 9 of the first and 5 of the second were made. Cats just contain too many compromises sub 35 feet in my opinion, you either have to go for speed and sailability but make big sacrifices to safety and volume or go safety and volume and loose the sailability. But for short trip relaxed coastal cruising the HT is superb, despite its faults we plan on having another HT one day.

 

[Searush]

Cats are very weight sensitive which can be a problem for liveaboards. You can't take it all with you!

Just remembered didn't Rosie & Jim Swale have an HT for their circumnav?

 

[ianat182]

If I remember rightly Rosie Swales cut down her kit to the bare minimum!


Ianat182

 

[snowleopard]

Just remembered didn't Rosie & Jim Swale have an HT for their circumnav?

For their trip from Australia and round the Horn they had an Oceanic.

 

[MrCramp]

I chartered one from Fambridge about 1999(ish). It was OK for 6 blokes and we went to Burnham and Brightlingsea for a long weekend. It didn't half slam going into waves. It had a diesel engine with hydraulic drives to a prop in each hull.

I think Lazy Kipper summed the boat up fairly without being biased, even though he had one. I would try and have a sail on one for definite before you buy. They are a bit different.

 

[Slow_boat]

Mmm, thanks for comments, folks. Maybe we'll look more towards the Prouts.

 

[snowleopard]

I think if you're seriously interested It would be worth a trip down here to the Multihull Centre where you can see them all.

 

[Garold]

If you want a small catamaran then the Gemini seems to have a lot going for it.

It has lifting dagger boards which are better for performance because when down they are deeper. And the boards can be lifted for shallow water and access to cheaper moorings.

They have some standing headroom in the main cabin and hulls. And a good partially covered cockpit for sailing and living comfort.

They aren't too wide so they often fit into ordinary berths in marinas.

They have been around a long time and older ones are available to suit varying budgets.

There's lots of them so you can get parts and advice and modifications info.

There are some of them that are well-travelled and so they are clearly sea worthy.

Etc, etc.

But I think that prices start about where the Heavenly Twins prices top out. So it depends on your budget.

Cheers

Garold

 

[Slow_boat]

Yes, we're off to the multihull centre at the weekend.

Funny you should mention the Gemini; that's the first cat we looked at and what we really fancy but have never seen anything within budget (which will be about £40-50k)

Edit;

I've just had a look at multihull centre's website (they are the one's in Emsworth?) A second hand Gemini will set you back about £80-120k That's more than they were new when we first looked about 5 years ago! Somewhat over priced and out of our price range anyway.

 

[Talbot]

At the price level you are looking, I would suggest a mid 80s Prout Snowgoose elite is the best value.

Not the fastest cat, but a solid performer, with space and carrying ability, plus a long history of round world capability.

 

[snowleopard]

I've just had a look at multihull centre's website (they are the one's in Emsworth?)

No, Multihull World are at Emsworth. Multihull Centre, home of the Twins family, is at Millbrook in Cornwall.