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Jeff, another catamaran capsize and breakup at sea
* Wilbur Hubbard wrote, On 8/6/2007 11:01 AM:
Therein lies the problem. Today's designers, in order to attempt to get some speed out of a loaded cruising catamaran, design the bows with too little reserve buoyancy. Actually, the problem is two much buoyancy in the sterns, a function of trying to increase load carrying, reduce hobby-horsing, and support larger engines. They dig in and pitchpole going downwind even when running under bare poles. And yet, its almost impossible to find a case where this happened on a cruising cat. Virtually all cruising cat capsizes involve carrying sail. As always, you're confusing cruising boats with racing boats. Going upwind they just submarine through the waves and do take quite a beating. Unlike monohulls, which can go upwind under bare poles. The best survival tactic for a catamaran seems to be a very small hank-on storm jib and steering so as to quarter the waves and in the trough trying to run a little less free. But it takes a steady hand and a helmsman who isn't tired or inattentive. Or use a drouge to reduce speed. But people will continue to attempt to voyage using catamarans and their bodies and broken, capsized craft will continue to come up missing or be found washed up on beaches. That's a fantasy that I have since I've never actually sailed out of sight of land. |
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