That was a racing trimaran, not a cruising cat; two totally different boats. The have
been only a handful of cruising cats over 35 feet flipping while cruising in the last 50
years - maybe one a decade.

Here's the story of the Caliente:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~treyritter/


NH_/)_ wrote:
I seen a program on TV, where is shows a cat getting caught
in a down-draft from a storm on the Great Lakes it flipped over
but did not sink. ? can you explain better

NH_/)_


"DSK" wrote in message
...
"NH_/)_" wrote:

.... so when the funds
come in, we know what we want. and the cat right now is
lurking top choice.

Reasons
1 will flip ...but does not sink

Neither will a monohull with either bulkheads or positive flotation,
and if the mono flips it will come back.

Actually, it takes really bad luck and/or stupidity to flip a big
cruising cat. Not a realistic concern, you should worry about being
struck by a meteor first.


2 more room

Depends on how you count 'room.' Most multis suffer from lack of
stowage and the extra room is divided up into small compartments.
Except for a few Chris White designs, I have yet to see a cruising
cat that was designed for cruising (ie a small number of people
aboard long term) rather than chartering or weekend partying (not
that there's anything wrong with that).


3 sails in shallow water

So will a properly designed mono.


4 more stable on the water

Yep. Definitely a plus there.



Down side

1 Costs are high
the one we are looking at costs 300K
we only have 140K right now so we have to
wait for the trust to come available.

2 mooring can be more difficult--finding room

3 can't use a windvane

4 poor performance in chop (also very noisy)

5 poor performance in light air (but you'll probably be motoring
anyway)

but wait there's more! I always manage to PO the multi fans because I
point out the lack of perfection of their craft... of course all
boats are a compromise.

Personally, aesthetics aside, I don't think cats are a logical
choice. For what a big cruising cat costs, you can get & outfit a
mono that is bigger, roomier, faster, more seaworthy, with
centerboard or lifting keel, and the only thing you gain with the
cat is no heeling.

Fresh Breezes
Doug King