Shape of things to come??? - MBM article

The literature that i have read suggests the most efficient length: beam ratio for a motor catamaran is 3:1. Plenty of good product in S. hemisphere but you are right there is little choose in UK yet. Fountaine pajot, Alliaura are well respected large european builders but they are building trawler type power cats. Rest is small scale in N hemisphere. I loosely promote the starcat as i like the "princess" style design http://www.motorcats.com/starcats.htm . I would love to see more boats similiar to starcat here endorsed by major names.
 
It may be an indication of an average, but I've no idea how they calculated that figure, so can't comment on it really. However, the numbers you quoted clearly don't apply to my boat.

For what it's worth, it's very deep V forward, with planing section aft, and double stepped.
 
I remember picking up some info at SIBS on the Starcat, I guess it was from you. This is entirely my own view but the 4 cabin layout may suit the charter market but it doesnt suit a private owner. I would be looking for a full width master cabin myself with 2 additional twin bedded cabins and also the saloon does'nt seem as spacious as such a beamy boat should offer, in fact it looks no bigger than a 45' monohull saloon. I addition, I think the price is high when you consider that the Starcat only has 2 x 230hp engines - an equivalent monohull would have 2 x 400-500hp (and max out @ 30knots). To give you a comparison you could buy a fully loaded Med spec Azimut 46 with 2x500hp engines for not much more which has a better finish and a known resale value. Speed is another issue; modern planing boats cruise @ 20-25knots so a max of 18knots is going to put many peeps off
 
Modern planning boat?

Brendan, I've read you use this phrase once before, to describe your boat. Now assuming by modern you mean post 1980 or thereabouts, that covers a vast number of potential boats...

So c'mon what you got? Or is it top secret?
 
The horrible shape of things to come

I don't think multihuls have a hope in hell of becoming the standard, imho.

1) one of the problems is that however hard they try, mulihulls look ugly at rest and at speed, possibly with the exception of F1 boats at over 80mph. Macarthurs boat looks crashy bang, and many have decsribed the motion as "peculiar"

2 I don't see the berthing as a minor fly in the ointment either - esp in western med where space is limited.

3 Fuels consumption is neither nor there, imho, as argument for new hull form. Most people do hardly any miles, and ciould do even less if fuel prices went up.

4 Depreciation is the big hit, berthing the ongoing hit and these are measured against joy of ownership. It's not gonna be very joyful to own if there's the likes of me loitering on the quayside sniggering at some remoulded caribean charter rental ugly multihull thing now is it? No.

5. Techno issues don't go away with a few more being made. I like the low-techiness of monohulls and i think i wd like to see a few commercial vessels other than those for whom a big flat deck is all they need - namely the caribbean charter cruisers.

6 Another bad issue - and praps accounting for the relatively low levels of fitout - is the sensitivity of multihuls to overloading. I don't pretend to be expert in this area but for a given hull plan area, you can't load a multihull as you can load a mono.

7. A really good thing bout multihulls is that they don't rtoll about at anchor. No argument there.

Hence the main market is for fast sailing and calm anchoring for those who don't care about berthing or appearance or the motion of the thing underway. RTW sailors, liveaboards and carribean day trips. Which is where we are.
 
I had no intention of promoting starcat on this forum - just wanted to hear peoples views on hull shapes of the future. Starcat can be compared to the Trader as a comfortable long distance cruiser with range of 2500 nm at speed of 11 - 12 knots. It is semi displacement cruiser with very comfortable ride - it just looks like a princess!!. Would take 2x800hp for Starcat to reach speeds of over 33 knots. It is possible to have owners stateroom and people say it feels like a 55ft mono. Difficult to assess value for money. In US resale is very buoyant for powercats and i have people actively looking for second hand here but there is just no product available.
 
Re: Modern planning boat?

What term - you mean 'modern'? Used that in response to VA's use of it.

My boat is hardly a secret, it's been mentioned enough times before, Regal 2150
 
Having seen the big cats in aussie used as low-wake ferries I have to admit the concept is appealing, but to be taken seriously the manufacturers would have to produce something less plug-ugly than motorcat (sorry) and for me, a decent pair of diesels.
 
Re: The horrible shape of things to come

Agree with much of what you say in relation to sailing cats which dont have much hope in UK due to the berthing issues/wide beam. Motorcats however can have a similar beam to modern monos and can look smart and appealing.

Fuel costs will be an issue despite what you say and the demand for more fuel conscious boats will increase. Hence depreciation will be less on these models. Not all cats are high tech it is just lighter cats perform better and benefit from hi tech materials . This makes the development of cats all the more exciting and interesting. Load carrying is once again a function of hull shape design.

We are where we are because there is so little motorcat product available here in UK and no big players involved. In some S hemisphere countries it is the opposite and I read recently of one broker no longer taking monos in p/ex. Motorcats were apparently the big growth area in USA at miami show this year.

I confidently predict we will see more motor cats being imported and eventually built here by some major brands.
 
Beam is still a problem

Victor, I just took a look at the Starcat website. Looks impressive.

You mention a couple of times that the beam is "similar" to a monohull beam. Unfortunately I think you will still have a problem because "similar" wont cut it in the med. The issue is too precise for that. That starcat is roughly 14m x 5.4m. A 14m LOA monohull will fit in a 12x4.5 berth, which even in say swanky Golfe Juan will cost about £90k to buy. But a beam of 5.4m + fenders will require a 23x6m berth, which round the corner in Antibes will cost £250 to buy. And you'll be parked between 2 san Lorenzo 80s or similar, so life will be pretty dark down there on the starcat.

Sorry to rain on your parade, and the boat looks great, but this beam thing is a huge problem in the med, and the beam has to be just right, not similar. This is gonna be your biggest problem with Med sales, becuase in other repsects (space, and stable anchoring) the boat is perfect for the med

Boat's insides looked good. Any more pics, wasn't much on the website? Suggest delete the rouched leather, tis a bit 1999 /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: Beam is still a problem

Starcat design I like and try to help them with. Catana Legend powercat is built in S france and presumably sold for the Med moorings as excitecat is sold in Spain to overcome 7.5m LWL wealth tax. http://www.newcenturymarine.com/en/legend_tech.htm

Again semi displacement 20 knots. Accomodation will be probably nearer a 48ft mono. Plenty of others if you look around. .
 
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