Thinking of a power cat - anyone got one?

[Whitelighter]

Not immediately, im still very happy with Seralia but our trip to Mallorca has shown that we perhaps use the boat in a way that is unintended.

I really do like plodding around at 8knts, but also in the right direction so please don’t suggest a sailing cat.
I like that if needed we can do 18knts

We like anchoring aand plodding and a planing hull dies neither of these brilliantly.
Love the look of the Fountaine Pajot MY44 but budget won’t allow it.

We could stretch to the previous Cumberland 44 or 46 (or maybe even a 47 LC)
I wonder if anyone on the forum has one or has charter one (or similar) and might like to share pros and cons.

Berthing at our home marina isn’t an issue. When travelling part of the point is a more independent platform

 

[Tranona]

Irish Rover who posts on PBO has one.

 

[Nigelpickin]

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2006/Lagoon-Power-44-3184191/Turkey?refSource=browse%20listing#.W2m-lKTTXDs

We have a lagoon 450 sailing cat which is related to the Lagoon 44 power cat, sold ok so there should be a few of them around, less dated than the 43 and nice that it’s solid grp below the waterline.

We’d welcome you on board for a couple of days if there’s even a chance you’d be converted to a sailing cat....we do 10.5 knot wide open - we’re in the Canary Islands for a few months? Ann doesn’t like the sails and we will probably do some serious engine hours, especially when we do the great loop next year but the sails give you range, keep you fit and when the wind is right, there’s nothing quite like being pushed along at 8knts foc...

Yes, independent platform is exactly how we use it, far happier at anchor than in the marina and the interior volume is still making us laugh at how ridiculously small our 50’ motor boat felt...
With a bit of solar and plenty of dry goods, you’ll be well set come the zombie apocalypse

I think a cruising cat is a great idea - Deleted User was querying why there’s not more choice in the 40 - 50’ segment and it does seems like a bit of a missed opportunity.

 

[Whitelighter]

Well there are at least 4 new to market this year:

Aquila, nautitech, Fountaine Pajot and Lagoon coming back into the power market.

Lagoon 44 is an option but (and I’ve not stepped foot on any yet) the Fountaine Pajot looks better in pics.
I could be persuaded to sail but sbo would be your challenge. Happy to spend a week in canaries trying though...

 

[Irish Rover]

I too would love a Cumberland or a Summerland but for now I have to be content with my Greenland 34. Actually overall I’m very happy with it. There are generally only 3 of us so we have loads of space including storage. The boat is easy to handle and is very maneuverable. She’s very comfortable except in a beam sea and is exceptionally economical burning around 3.5LPH motoring @ 7Kn on one engine. At any given revs the second engine only adds 25-30% to the speed you can achieve with one. With both engines just under max I got 15kns. Apart from docking and maneuvering we only ever use one engine. My background was in smaller much faster sports boats and my biggest worry moving up in size was being able to handle the much bigger boat so when I was looking last year the 34 was the limit of my ambition. I had no idea just how maneuverable the boat would be with it’s widely spaced engines and I may well be tempted to a 40 or 44 in the future. Good luck with your search.

 

[Nigelpickin]

Well there are at least 4 new to market this year:

Aquila, nautitech, Fountaine Pajot and Lagoon coming back into the power market.

Lagoon 44 is an option but (and I’ve not stepped foot on any yet) the Fountaine Pajot looks better in pics.
I could be persuaded to sail but sbo would be your challenge. Happy to spend a week in canaries trying though...

Yup the Lagoon looks dated now but that’s mainly the light Alpi and unholstery - the FP’s have a darker more grown up finish, the ones I’ve seen anyhow.
Last I heard was that lagoon were dropping the 40my, again....mainly because they’ve got serious orderbooks following Irma and the success of the line.
My guess tho’ is that most potential punters are like Ann and I, want a condo on the water, long legs and cheap to run....so the sailing line is the early retirees - FOFE boat.

We’re in Lanzarote until the 27th August if you fancy a few days, send me a pm...
Just bring Marmite and Nutella

 

[Elessar]

I too would love a Cumberland or a Summerland but for now I have to be content with my Greenland 34. Actually overall I’m very happy with it. There are generally only 3 of us so we have loads of space including storage. The boat is easy to handle and is very maneuverable. She’s very comfortable except in a beam sea and is exceptionally economical burning around 3.5LPH motoring @ 7Kn on one engine. At any given revs the second engine only adds 25-30% to the speed you can achieve with one. With both engines just under max I got 15kns. Apart from docking and maneuvering we only ever use one engine. My background was in smaller much faster sports boats and my biggest worry moving up in size was being able to handle the much bigger boat so when I was looking last year the 34 was the limit of my ambition. I had no idea just how maneuverable the boat would be with it’s widely spaced engines and I may well be tempted to a 40 or 44 in the future. Good luck with your search.

That’s nearly 10mpg! Crikey.

 

[Irish Rover]

That’s nearly 10mpg! Crikey.

I used around 170L on a recent3 week trip around the Aegea Islands clocking around 50 hours total combined between the 2 engines. The economy has become part of the enjoyment.

 

[Nigelpickin]

I used around 170L on a recent3 week trip around the Aegea Islands clocking around 50 hours total combined between the 2 engines. The economy has become part of the enjoyment.

Its great isn’t it? Which engines/horsepower do you have?

 

[Irish Rover]

Its great isn’t it? Which engines/horsepower do you have?

2 x 75hp Yanmar with over 2,750 hours each.

 

[Nigelpickin]

2 x 75hp Yanmar with over 2,750 hours each.

That’s a great return, we get 3.5lph at 2200rpm - so 6kts with one engine - but I guess we are a little bigger...Coming from a boat that achieved 1 mile per gallon we are still pinching ourselves - around 8 or 9 times less fuel. We take the mast down next year and become a motor boat for a couple of seasons so we are hoping the yanmars will prove themselves worthy.
Agree also, it’s not worth running 2 engines unless big sea or close quarters, 2200 rpm on each will only take is to 7.5kts we have to go wide open to get 10.5kts.

 

[iapetus]

I had the opportunity to spend a few weeks on two different powercats. The idea was to run a real-life test before buying one of these:
- a Leopard 39 PC (the consumer edition of what The Moorings rents around the world)
- a Fountaine Pajot MY40

Budget approx 400-450kE at the time if I remember well for a new boat.

Space a plenty on both, the FP is even wider than the Leopard. We were up to 10 pax at the same time and never felt space was an issue. The flybridge on the Leopard was just incredible for a boat this length.

Sea handling: not really satisfying in my opinion, be it with beam or moderate (4-5 ft.) head seas (in the latter case, hobby horsing was so important we had to stop and veer lest we break something). This applies to both (probably all) cats.

Mooring: not really suited to well packed anchorages, as a cat at anchor moves really differently from monohulls. We had "interesting" times near Porquerolles and between the Lérins islands in this regard.

Berths: a nightmare here in SoF, Corsica or Italy. Don't expect to find a last minute berth when the weather deteriorates...as you actually need two berths in most marinas.

In either case the tremendous space didn't compensate for the above issues, so I bought something with a single hull instead.

 

[Hurricane]

POPS2 here in SC is a motor cat.
If you don't know them, I'm sure we could introduce you.

But I am going to disagree with you.
IMHO, if you are going to have a cat, it might as well be a sailing cat and then there are loads to choose from.

But remember what you are seeing at the moment is the cream of cruising.
Imagine cruising down the coast of mainland Spain.
Where would you stop - most of the time it would have to be a marina and you would be paying a premium price for the width.
I've always been very tempted with a cat (most of my dinghy sailing was in cats (hence the forum name) so I have a love for them) but they aren't practical all the time.
Nothing is perfect.

 

[Nigelpickin]

I had the opportunity to spend a few weeks on two different powercats. The idea was to run a real-life test before buying one of these:
- a Leopard 39 PC (the consumer edition of what The Moorings rents around the world)
- a Fountaine Pajot MY40

Budget approx 400-450kE at the time if I remember well for a new boat.

Space a plenty on both, the FP is even wider than the Leopard. We were up to 10 pax at the same time and never felt space was an issue. The flybridge on the Leopard was just incredible for a boat this length.

Sea handling: not really satisfying in my opinion, be it with beam or moderate (4-5 ft.) head seas (in the latter case, hobby horsing was so important we had to stop and veer lest we break something). This applies to both (probably all) cats.

Mooring: not really suited to well packed anchorages, as a cat at anchor moves really differently from monohulls. We had "interesting" times near Porquerolles and between the Lérins islands in this regard.

Berths: a nightmare here in SoF, Corsica or Italy. Don't expect to find a last minute berth when the weather deteriorates...as you actually need two berths in most marinas.

In either case the tremendous space didn't compensate for the above issues, so I bought something with a single hull instead.

Agree, short head seas or anything from the front can be uncomfortable - but we are lucky not to have a schedule so can take our time to wait for the right conditions most of the time. Re anchoring, we tend to mostly point to wind so no real problems.

 

[MapisM]

please don’t suggest a sailing cat.

Stick to a monohull, then. Motor catamarans only make some sense as passenger fast ferries.
Boats that are good at plodding around and can make 18kts if you wish were already invented, they are called SD vessels.
If the cons of motor cats wouldn't massively outweigh their pros, the likes of Fleming, Grand Banks etc. would have gone that way decades ago...

 

[Portofino]

View attachment 72527

Lifts ?

Can every yard do cats —- mine can,t even in the 200 toner pen ,RHS of pic ^^^

How many cat capable yards are around ?
Do they charge more for the day rate as the cat takes up more acreage in the yard ?

With a family onboard I would not want to loose out on the ability of a short notice marina berth in popular cruising grounds .Or a lift if required .

 

[Whitelighter]

View attachment 72527

Lifts ?

Can every yard do cats —- mine can,t even in the 200 toner pen ,RHS of pic ^^^

How many cat capable yards are around ?
Do they charge more for the day rate as the cat takes up more acreage in the yard ?

With a family onboard I would not want to loose out on the ability of a short notice marina berth in popular cruising grounds .Or a lift if required .

All those points affecting sailing cats of which there are thousands.

 

[iapetus]

All those points affecting sailing cats of which there are thousands.

Elsewhere, perhaps, but not in the Med, save for a small number of marinas

 

[Garold]

All boats are a compromise and cats are a particularly good example of this.

We’ve had two modern sailing cats ( for five years in total), and have gone back to a raggie monohull (to cruise the Med for a few years). And each time we sit anchored and begin to roll, I wonder why we sold the catamaran.

And then I remember the difficulty of getting berths whilst cruising, the hassle of only being able to use certain boatyards for lifts, the hobby horsing in any kind of head seas, and the general non-boaty feel of a vessel built for accommodation rather than sailing ability. And I remember why I made the decision.

And then I notice all the space they have, the stability at anchor, the manoeuvrability, the perfect space for a decent tender, etc etc. And I’m confused again.

It’s about priorities and only you know yours. For this trip the monohull has been a better choice so far.

As far as I can see, motorcats are SD vessels and any of the modern ones with wider, spacious hulls wouldn’t be quite as economical as you’d think. Whenever we’ve been passed by them at sea they seem to shift a lot of water with huge bow waves. So, with the extra berthing costs it may just make motorboating more expensive.

I know that my experience is sailing but I thought that I’d post because we swapped boats because the boat wasn’t best suited to what we wanted to use it for so I understand your dilemma.

Garold

 

[Portofino]

All those points affecting sailing cats of which there are thousands.

Yup but in regard to lifting - does your yard ( SCM ? ) do cats ?
If not what’s your plan B ?