Putting the cat down

[SolentSnowgoose]

Why is it that there are so many people who appear to have strong predudices against about cruising catamarans and multihulls.

According to the "bar room experts" they are hard to manouver, difficult to moor safely and most unsuited to shallow waters.

The most astonishing thing appears to be that when you ask any of the holders of these views how many times they have manouvered, moored or even sat on a multihull in a shallow creek then the answer is almost always NEVER.

I have sailed many miles in both multihulls and single hulled yachts and can even see that powerboats or even 15 minutes on a jet ski could be fun. So why is it that some people are so keen to put down multihulls at every opportunity on the basis of so little real experience or evidence.

It seems these same people are are happy to celebrate the sucess of Dame Ellen but could never bring themselves to recognise the benefits of cruising cat.

Having sailed as a faimily on tri's and cat's since our kids were less than 2 years old we have found multihulls to be the most family friendly boats. Again it seems interesting that those with the stongest anti multihull views appear to frequently sail alone having been long abandoned by their familes.

I really would like to try to help others get as much fun out of multihulls as I have had but there seems to be so much prejudice almost bordering on pathalogical hatred that it feels like even thinking about owning one could get you blackballed in some situations

Some wise insight appreciated

 

[powerskipper]

I think they look great personally.

 

[manimbored]

Would have thought they were ideal for shallow waters. Am I wrong to presume that cats do not need keels?

I take it there is more room on them than a mono, but does it not lose a little headroom in the middle?

 

[Colin_S]

Welcome to the forum and the good news is that there are a number of cat owners amongst the more prolific posters here so you need worry no more.

 

[Joe_Cole]

I also thought that they were fine in shallow waters because of minimal draught.

I thought that the main concerns were
a. The capsize issue......i.e. not self righting
b. Probably more important......... higher mooring/marina fees

Main benefits
a. Speed
b. No heel

but I've never heard anyone "putting the cat down"

 

[Sybarite]

They are great for family cruising but I would not get one because :

- Cost - To get one with adequate headroom you are talking about a lot of
money. Both in the purchase cost and then in mooring fees.
- The feel on the helm. You just don't have the same feel.
- In a storm the risk of capsize without warning. This said they dont sink.

John

 

[webcraft]

Where are you finding this bizarre predjudice? Not here on SB, for sure. Quite a few cat owners post here and are more than tolerated . . . even though they do tend to refer to the rest of us as sailors of 'half-boats'

Although a confirmed mono sailer I have been an admirer of cats as practical ocean cruising boats ever since reading Rosie Swales' book (Children of Cape Horn) back in the 70s. It is a matter of choice and preference, and anyone seriously slagging cats off obviously knows nothing about them.


Welcome aboard!

- Nick

 

[snowleopard]

we have had one or two cases of rabid anti multi posters over the years but they soon got put straight. welcome to the club, there are lots of us here.

 

[hlb]

Though I sailed a national ospray sailing dinghy for years. On holiday in Gambia, the hotel had free water sports. No not that kind. We took a cat out, about a mile or two, then came to tack and come back. Just then a shark appeared, swimming round the boat, us sat on a piece of canvas. Would that bloody boat come round, no. So we sat there for a while petrified. Eventualy by backing the fore sail, we eventualy managed a sort of three point turn, going backwards and forwards. Maybe the boat badly set up, but anyway!!

 

[Talbot]

[ QUOTE ]
In a storm the risk of capsize without warning

[/ QUOTE ]

There was one class of cats in the early years that were designed by a dinghy sailor, and were very narrow, and also had dagger boards. This class used to capsize and have given all the rest a bad name.

The modern cat especially the versions with long aspect ratio keel like the Prouts, is VERY VERY unlikely to capsize. The biggest risk is a pitchpole, and that is normally cause you are sailing too fast.

I am 6' 2" and have more than adequate headroom - I certainly dont consider my Catalac to be expensive. My bunk is 6' 4" x 4' 6", there are 3 separate cabins - the other two being singles (+ extra space for surprise guests) - all this in a 9m boat! If you dont believe me come and have a look!

Most derogatory remarks are made by people who have never set foot on a cat,

 

[Sammo]

Went out regularly with friends in a Prout Snowgoose 37 and enjoyed every minute,
Though in rough weather it did have a tendency to slam. I loved the speed and stability and if I was ever converted from Mobo`s I think perhaps that’s the one.

Perhaps when we lose the red diesel.

………….

 

[starboard]

Just fed up with them crapping in my garden.......the next one will get put down.

 

[capt_courageous]

The only real thing I can see against multi hulls is the problem of moorings. marinas just dont want them even as visitors. Our club has pontoon moorings but we have to ban multis because they effectively use up 2 berths.

 

[A_7]

No natural stability. End of story.

 

[SolentSnowgoose]

Interesting that you immediatly use phrases like "not welcome in marinas" and "they take up 2 berths" to justify a ban

I think this is quite typical of the predudice that comes from lack of information.

My Catamaran is 16ft 6 wide and hence is actually little more than 25% wider than an equivalent monohull

In many marina's she will fit alongside a finger pontoon and still leave space for a decent size yacht alongside ( but not a powerboat) .

Some marinas ( eg Treburden) try to apply a 50% surcharge as soon as you mention "cat" but once you show that you are actually only occupying the same space as a monohull then this is dropped. Quite fairly the monster cats do pay the surcharge. Even on the South Coast the only place we pay a surcharge is Poole!!!

Of course there are place we cannot fit, but the same is also true for my friend's Bavaria 40 with a near 2m keel

SO the big question, When moored alongside a pontoon does the cat take up 2 moorings NO ( it typically adds about 4 - 6 feet of width)

When moored on a fore and aft mooring does a cat take up 2 moorings NO ( When moored between bridles it swings side to side much less than a monohull)

When moored in finger pontoons does a cat take up 2 moorings , well that depends on the spacing of the fingers and hence depends on how tight you try to "pack-em-in" . I would suggest that saying that they take 30% more space would be fair.

Does your club also ban motorboats which are say 14 plus feet wide ? Would you ban a HysuCat Rib which has a catamaran hull but is less than 8 ft wide ?

So: is the ban really due to width or is there some deeper reason which prevents the issue being explored with an open mind .

Most cat owners would pay a 30% premium and would use the shallower moorings so is your club loosing out?

Have you really done your sums or is it simply that 2 hulls must be twice as big

I think the stability issue is pretty sorted for most middle of the road crusing cats. It's the attitude by some unenlightened sailing clubs regarding moorings which is the big barrier now

 

[boatmike]

Re: Putting the cat down

There there! Didums get a nasty old "half boat" sailor being rude to pussy then? Ahhh! Never mind. We will look after you.
We will need a complete confession of your sins to admit you to the inner circle though. As a Snowgoose Elite owner myself I can tell you that most of us here keep the faith regardless of the silly buggers who sail at a crazy angle all the time with big lumps of iron screwed to their bottoms. You will never change some people......
There are still a lot of misconceptions from otherwise sensible people like sybarite who seems to think they capsize and then you get the complete bollocks talked by people like A-7 who obviously is a complete "expert" and would rather sail a boat with so much ballast that it sinks if it gets a tiny 'ole in it than one that hasn't. The majority of people on here are reasonable though. Welcome to the madhouse! Where do you keep your boat? How long have you owned her? Whats her name?
Which marque of Snowgoose, Elite or pre-elite?

 

[A_7]

Re: Putting the cat down

Hee-hee! That was to easy!

 

[snowleopard]

Keelboat: no natural buoyancy. End of story.

 

[catmandoo]

Re: Putting the cat down

I got one too . Like most things it is a matter of practicalities and personal preferences . For one thing it suits my current situation .

If I was a week end sailor perhaps I would sail something different and build model steam traction engines during the rest of the week but just now I am a warm weather freak .

I also remember several years ago on a beach in South Africa meeting a man of 60+ sailing a Hobbie Cat single handed . He seemed to find it very satisfactory. It was not his only Hobby (excuse the pun)

 

[SolentSnowgoose]

Re: Putting the cat down

Not sure if it helps advance the multihull cause if cat owners show just as much prejudice against monos.

I agree 100% that its a matter of preference and choice. I made mine after sailing both

The thing that really bugs me is the ease with which some folk make statements ( eg twice as wide / 2 berths etc ) which are factually incorrect and if left to go unchallenged get taken as gospel and are then used to justify bans

It all has the feel of the "crystalnacht " where a small group of people build up fear and prejudice in the masses by spreading stories which are just plain untrue

I would like to focus on understanding why these prejudices exist and hence work out what we need to do to educate non cat owners and hence eliminate the unjustified prejudice

Lets see if we can separate the facts from the opinions

Oh ! and my sins are just too many and exceed my typing skills ( but were fun !)

Also what was does A_7 mean by: "to(sic) easy" ?