What catamaran should we buy?

Bajansailor said:
Richard Woods' designs are very nice - I have sailed on his own Eclipse catamaran years ago, and I was very impressed by her.
However they do not seem to come up on the second hand market very often.

www.sailingcatamarans.com
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People do seem to hang on to their Woods cats. We had a Strider, our 1st cruiser. It was a dagger board version, quite fast, and a great sea boat. It’s probably Mira, Flika or Banshee that the OP could consider.
 
Well I can update my list of 'catamarans I have been on'.

Balance- very nice. High end. Definitely quite spacious but not in the same league as Lagoon or FP. But I expect they sail better. Done really nice design features, like the hull windows set at the right height so that you can watch the sunrise from your bed.

Outremer. I've been on one- the former La Vagabond, now sailing under a new name. Given how big a boat it is (48ft?) I was surprised how sleek it was: it doesn't actually have all that much living space. Far less than a similarly sized Lagoon. Of course it's designed for a different purpose. No fly bridge. Very exposed helm. Carbon tillers in addition to the wheel, which is unusual to say the least. Everything was nicely done and the family who now have the boat obviously really like it.
 
Wansworth said:
Doesn’t seem much comment about Wharram cats are they non grata?
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They're not exactly mainstream.
In a world of $1m+ production cats, a home built plywood Wharram is a rather different proposition.
I've seen a few of them around, sadly most of them seem to be abandoned or used as permanently moored floating homes.
 
Yeah, don't see many around these days. There was a 65 foot Wharram that used to call in here every year but not seen for a while. We used to joke that it was run by a German hippy commune....we may not have been far wrong.

Not many Prouts these days, either. Sailed a lot of miles on 3 versions, but look outdated now.

I see on here that some have less known brands on their wish list. Again, I put the odd post up around Atlantic migration time with pictures but some are very expensive. But generally the most seen are Fontaine-Pajo and Lagoon. Dunno why people get uptight about them. I've sailed long distance on several of both brands and like them. But it's all subjective.
 
Charter a cat before you buy.
They are different - the movement in waves is different and upsets some people.
Sure they don't heal much, but some people are uncomfortable with the way they jiggle and wiggle in waves.
 
Sailing Florence recently put up a good video summarising their experience of a transat on a cat, vs their many years of sailing their own 37ft mono. Quite interesting, although as they say themselves, is just their opinion and based on experience of one model of cat.
 
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Francois Gabart (Vendee Globe winner 2012 edition; Jules Verne round the world solo, under sail, record holder since 2017) is striding about the deck of his catamaran, in Concarneau, today. Fitting her out for a family around the world cruise, before the children grow up too much.

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This is what, with his ocean sailing experience, he has picked for the task. Not sure what the design is. But she looks so 'right.' Made to be scything across oceans.......Or swinging at anchor with palm trees as a backdrop.......
 
John_Silver said:
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Francois Gabart (Vendee Globe winner 2012 edition; Jules Verne round the world solo, under sail, record holder since 2017) is striding about the deck of his catamaran, in Concarneau, today. Fitting her out for a family around the world cruise, before the children grow up too much.

View attachment 193703

This is what, with his ocean sailing experience, he has picked for the task. Not sure what the design is. But she looks so 'right.' Made to be scything across oceans.......Or swinging at anchor with palm trees as a backdrop.......
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i tried googling, but i couldn't find out what it is...
 
westernman said:
Charter a cat before you buy.
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That certainly seems like good advice for the exact reasons westernman says. However, if you charter a cat you will be on a charter style cat, which I assume is the sort of “production boat that falls apart after a few years” which you say you don’t want in the OP. If your wife likes such an experience (and a bold guess would be that her desire for a cat is more aligned with than than a Wharam) you might be getting one whether you want it or not. Of course it’s possible that she doesn’t enjoy the motion or finds the more frequent upwind motoring etc irritating in real life - in which case a trip to boat show might find something monohull that still delivery the cat type comfort - a Moody DS perhaps?
 
Loads of +/- to cats in general and many are listed above. I went mono in the end after vacillating extensively and after offering on a couple of Outremers. I don't like the restricted vis of most cats from the cockpit, where one lives mostly when at anchor. I don’t like the jerky motion at anchor. I love to not do the death roll at anchor, but with good management that is really rare.

Only lightweight high performance cats sail well upwind and in very light winds (usually v. expensive), so if that’s a requirement then choice is limited. Internal space is nothing like what you get with cheaper cats.

If wifey cant handle a mono’s downsides and is certain a cat will make her happy all the debate is irrelevant. You choice is very simple….

Ditch the wife.
 
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