In article .com,
"Capt" Rob" wrote:
I find it interesting that this ultimately pragmatic thread has not
touched on the actual sailing experience itself.


And yet you haven't sailed catamarans enough to say what the
"sailing experience" is.

Jere Lull wrote:
I've chartered a half dozen 45-48' cats, been on smaller ones, and of
course a bunch of monohulls. I can get either type to go well, so
that's not an issue.


It shouldn't be a big issue. Multis do sail & steer
differently. And not all multis steer the same, either.


The space of a cat is wonderful -- and horrible. From experience, if we
have space, we'll fill it up. We'll make a cat heavy pretty fast. There
goes any speed advantage.


Also more thumping under the bridge deck.
But even a heavy cat is as fast, or maybe faster, than a
heavy monohull. And more fuel efficient when motoring (maybe
I shouldn't mention that).

About space... my personal opinion is that the roominess of
multis if oexaggerated. They don't really have more capacity
or cubic, it's just less cave-like. They do have bigger
cockpits and immensely more deck space.


Price is certainly a factor. We can cruise for a few years on the cost
difference for the same amount of space.


Now there's a BIG issue... although the cost of multihulls
is dropping pretty fast on the 2nd-hand market. As more &
more charter cats come out of service & into the market, I
think we'll see prices level off.


My major question, though is how long will cats be serviceable? Our
little Xan is 33 years old and seems destined to celebrate 50
comfortably. That seems not unusual for most well-maintained monohulls
I see.

I saw what happened to a Gemini that smacked a wall. It wasn't going
that fast, but both hulls shattered and the construction revealed
wasn't pretty. (Truth be told, our old Macgregor seemed more solidly
constructed.) Friend on an "older" (late 80's) cat is discovering some
interesting structural projects.

Cats are built relatively lightly, and that's a good selling point, but
will it hurt them in the long run? New Hunters and Macgregors certainly
are capable of what they're designed for, but I wouldn't trust older
ones for serious cruising.


Interesting point. It may be that multis are stressed more
as well as more lightly built... but I don't see why one
couldn't last as long as a monohull, given good care.