BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - Sail-powered SWATH catamaran

Evan Gatehouse2

wrote:
Several navies have introduced SWATH catamarans and found benefits like
high speed, stability, and fuel efficiency. Worthwhile advantages, yet
no sailing versions of the SWATH concept seem to have emerged. Anyone
know of any examples sailing anywhere?
Reducing the scale of these military vessels down to regular sailboat
sizes would create a very tender boat since each hull would be only 50%
buoyant. So beefing up to perhaps 100% in each hull would be a first
design step. Apart from this pre-requisite, I see no serious drawbacks
to creating a superior performance and wave-piercing catamaran.
Anyone care to differ, ... or offer further design refinements that
might help make this the catamaran of the future ?

SailNut.

It won't work. SWATHs work by virtue of Small WAterplanes. If you
have a small waterplane, you don't have any decent resistant to
heeling moment due to a sailplan. In other words it will be way too
tippy. Huge wetted surface area is another drawback. Regular cats
have a pretty seakindly motion.

Evan Gatehouse