On 12 Jan 2006 06:54:22 -0800, "Capt. Rob" wrote:

I find it interesting that this ultimately pragmatic thread has not
touched on the actual sailing experience itself.

I find it refreshing that there's been nothing but good, factual
information here instead of the usual bunfights. A part of that is
that this particular newsgroup is (generally) civil, but another part
is that catamarans have evolved and matured not only as a "technology"
but as an aesthetic choice (never to be sneered at...look at great but
homely cars that don't sell).

Cats are here to stay, and while I question their suitability for
*all* sailing endeavours, they have in some respects many clear
advantages that appeal to a lot of people. Were you to cruise solely
the South Pacific or the Caribbean, for instance, I think the shallow
draft and downwind performance of cats makes them a logical, and in
some cases, nearly inevitable choice.

I am quite willing these days to state that my reluctance to consider
a cat for self-sufficient world-cruising/liveaboard/ocean
passagemaking has much more to do with my own ignorance and the
still-excessive price premium of cats than of any perception I hold on
their suitability as passagemakers. I do dislike many of the design
choices of cats in terms of "floating condos" with "patio doors",
etc., but many builders and designers are preserving the "cat logic"
and advantages but are keeping the windage down and beefing up the
general seaworthiness of cruising cats.

So while I am tilting toward the known...a 40-45 foot monohull
cruiser...I haven't ruled out buying a cat. I would like to sail one,
though. Despite having PDQ Yachts just down the road, seeing a
cruising cat on Lake Ontario is very rare (Hobies, sure...) and I have
never sailed one, or even been aboard one, nor is there one at my
club, although we've had large cruising cats visit on occasion.
Strangely, there's quite a few trimarans...I see a few F-27s and F-28s
and a good pal just bought a Hobie TriFoiler "for kicks".

I don't know if the paucity of catamarans has to do with price (old,
smallish monos are a steal here currently), conservatism or the
peculiarly short, steep chop you find frequently in Lake Ontario, and
which would perhaps wobble a cat on the beam, but I hope to sail one
at some point, just to see what all the fuss is about.

R.