In article ,
Bobspirt wrote:
Why can't you get a straight answer from catamaran owners about the performance
of their cat. All you hear is that they are fast, fast, fast and roomy, roomy,
roomy and don't point all that bad. Deep down, you know this can't be true.
Do they stay fast once you put normal cruising gear on them? Is it comfy to
sleep in a bed that both of you have to crawl into from the end? Can you do
better than right angles to the true wind? Its like they developed their
answers with Condoleeza Rice's help.

I'm not a cat owner, but I've sailed on more than a few of them in
various places. I find that they point well, perhaps not quite as well
as monos. They're much faster off the wind. Close hauled, they're
about the same as monos of the same length. They're quite roomy, and
not all of them require you climb in/out of the bunk from the
end... depends on the size of the cat. They don't heel much at all, so
cruising is easier on the people, with long passages not being so
stressful and without "living on the walls." If you overload them,
they slow down and can be dangerous. They can't hold as much crap as
monos, but you should be able to sort out what you need vs. what you
want in some reasonable and equitable way. For example, you don't need
a liferaft, since the cat itself will suffice, even in the unlikely
event of inverting.

I didn't ask for Condi's help.


--
Jonathan Ganz (j gan z @ $ail no w.c=o=m)
http://www.sailnow.com
"If there's no wind, row."