* Vic Smith wrote, On 4/16/2007 7:44 PM:
On Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:22:00 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

It got hit by a squall. That's what a couple different reports have
said. Just google "catamaran rescue".

Yeah, but just this week numerous news reports reported that the 40'
fiberglass sailboat Aqua Mist flew apart in rough water off the coast
of Florida. Turns out the Aqua Mist is (was) a 42' customized
Uniflite sportfisher.


It was a very suspicious situation - they claimed the boat was worth
$300K, about triple its real value.

....
Sounds right, though I've read a strong beam wind also pushes the cat
sideways. I guess that depends on the hulls resistance to the water
due to load and draft and how strong a wind overcomes that.
Has anybody considered an automatic sheet releasing mechanism
for catamarans? Any heel that would lift a hull would release the
sheets. Wouldn't have to be complicated.

My old boat was a Nonsuch. The unstayed mast was flexible, so when a
gust hit, the tip flexed off and shed the force.

I may be wrong, but I think that some cats are designed with rigging
sized to fail before pulling the boat over. (Or maybe that was just a
hare-brained scheme I heard here ...)