The missus wants a catamaran

gandy

gandy

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Hi,

No, I'm not asking for counselling. More wondering how best to find out about the different types of cruising cats. We'd need something with standing headroom in the saloon, shallow draft would be good, not too big.

I am aware of the Heavenly Twins, but not seen one in the flesh. There's an Oceanic 30 locally, but I think that's bigger than I want.

What types should we be looking out for? Until we see some, I can't really tell whether I like the idea or not, so its all a bit speculative at the moment.
 
If you haven't tried one, I would go for a sail in one. There are many things about Cats that I like but the things I don't like outway them.
 
If your missus is expressing any desire for anything to do with sailing you should grab the opportunity with both hands and not let go!

If she wants a cat, she sounds like she knows what she is talking about already!

As for types of cat; you need to decide what you want to do with it and how much money you can spend or whether you feel up to a protracted refit.

Dick Newick said that people want three things freom a boat: Performance, Comfort and Low Cost. He reckoned you could have any two but not all three.

P
 
Hmm! I think you have a problem Houston. Cats smaller than 30 ft are rare and frankly there are very few good ones. There are reasons cruising cats under about 30ft perform badly and most hobbyhorse like mad. It's just impossible to get standing headroom either at that size. At 35ft upwards the problems tend to be less but then the price goes up astronomically.
Either rob a bank or get a monohull.
 
Hi there. There are lots of cats to choose from, you'll struggle to get standing headroom in the saloon of any small one and they are nearly all shallow draught. If you post more specific requirements then I'm sure ther will be someone able to give advice.
Regards
 
AFAIK the only cat under 30' with standing headroom is the Oceanic though I have seen Bobcats with add-on tops that will let you stand up.

In terms of interior space the Twins is probably the best interior space you'll get in small cats. There is also the Prout 26 which gets some extra headroom by having a central hull or 'nacelle'.

Quite small cats give plenty of headroom in the hulls so it may be a reasonable compromise to sit on the bridgedeck but stand for cooking & washing.

The Aristocat has a large sliding hatch on the bridgedeck so you can stand up - in fine weather.

Apart from those, you're looking at 35 ft for normal adults to stand on the bridgedeck, 40'+ for taller people.

p.s. on draft, Twins 26 and all Bill O'Brien designs are shallow draft. Prouts have fixed stub keels so are a little deeper.

Probably the shallowest is the Iroquois but saloon headroom is definitely not standing.
 
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There is also the Prout 26 which gets some extra headroom by having a central hull or 'nacelle'.


[/ QUOTE ]

Thats the "Ranger" and even Prout fans like me will tell you that's a complete Dog.
Sails like a dustbin... Don't!
 
You will have to start thinking in a different way.

Why do you want standing headroom in the sallon, a place where you sit. In a small cat you get your standing headroom in the galley, the heads (shower) and dressing areas, Where else would youwant it?

First question, How much?
 
Why do you want to stand in the saloon? Surely the saloon is a place to sit and relax? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

You can have standing room in the galley or chart table in the hulls of some smaller cats, but to get standing headroom in the saloon from memory you'll have to go for summut like the Broadblue 385 or the Fontain Pajot Mahe 36. I don't think the Gemini 105 has standing headroom, and neither does the Tomcat. But that's from memory so I might be wrong.

Go sailing on one, they have a totally different motion than a monohull, the smaller ones don't go to windward particularly well and can be slowed by a chop, so while they might not heal over the they can pitch up and down, rather than power though it

There was a multihull show at Royal Clarence in Gosport last weekend.
 
Thanks for the comments. I guess I hadn't thought through the standing headroom issue, and maybe we both need to climb around in some cat to see how it all works out. I take the point about the saloon being the sitting/lounging, but isn't it a bit strange being able to say stand in the heads, and in the galley, but having to stoop (crawl?) across the saloon to get from one to the other?

Specific requirements - more room that a Griffon. Standing headroom in galley and heads. Berths for a couple completely separate from the heads and the saloon. Draft less than 1m. Dare I hope for good sailing performance?

I need to plot how we can to get out sailing in one or more types.
 
You have just described a Southerly 95/100 almost perfectly. Barbican 33 would be close but a bit more draught.

The "headroom" is not the constraint, nor is the layout, but the draft is. Even twin keels are unlikely to meet that requirement, so you have to look for centreboard/drop keel.
 
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Tell her to get stuffed cos cats are for old men and you're still too young and virile

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That really is an ignorant remark; go hide!
 
Performance and spacious accommodation are seldom found together in small cats. I'd suggest looking at an Iroquois.

Your best bet would be to go to one of the specialist brokerages like Multihull World at Thorney or Multihull Centre down here. They can make suggestions and show you examples without having to trek all over the country.

I'd offer you a ride in mine but it's so far removed from the types we're discussing you probaly wouldn't learn anything useful. Maybe other forumites can help there.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
There is also the Prout 26 which gets some extra headroom by having a central hull or 'nacelle'.


[/ QUOTE ]

Thats the "Ranger" and even Prout fans like me will tell you that's a complete Dog.
Sails like a dustbin... Don't!

[/ QUOTE ]

Wrong on both counts!
the Prout Sirocco 26 is an update of the older Prout Ranger 27. I have cruised extensively in both, and in this equation the OP's Griffon is the sluggard - sorry Tony.
 
Catalac 9M is what you want for comfort, fitted with 2 good engines, it only sails well off the wind but can be very quick in the right conditions.
The main advantage is comfort and space in port.
 
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