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(DUINK) wrote in message ...
Youve given a very pro-PDQ recommendation. Do you have any views on the other
non-charter cats, especially in the smaller sizes (30-33ft or so) such as
Gemini, Seawind, MaineCat, TopCat, etc.?

Thanks........Scott

Sorry, but there are few companies which target their boats more to
the individual owner than the charter, as the charter is a very large
market. I owned a PDQ 36 for several years and found it had some very
good points, the factory was also wonderful to deal with.

Gemini I'm very familiar with (I live 150 yards from their factory and
I know people who've had them) and it depends on what you are looking
for. The bad points are the cheap construction materials (small thin
stanchions, standing rigging, tiny winches, thin fiberglass) make them
not age well. Literally a comment from one owner was "my first
catamaran was a gemini and I wish someone had brought up how cheap
they were and how their resale value is practically nothing". The
good point is that they are made at half the price of the other
catamarans, so they are very affordable. They have no clearance
underneath them, so they do tend to slam relentlessly (PDQs have
around 20" min, I think the Gemini is much less than that). They now
have westerbeake 30 HP diesel engines. This is frankly a horrible
engine (PDQ used to have it for their 42s and some people were on
their second set of engines after 2 years). I personally would look
for the outboard model as opposed to the westerbeake (sp?). They have
a galley down, but the centerboard eliminates some of the storage.

Maine cat I've heard is a very good boat, with good clearance and an
open bridge deck, similar to a shuttleworth tek 35. The open bridge
deck makes he a faster sailor, but with less all weather accomodations
than a closed bridge deck boat. Again, a great weekend cruiser, but
with small births, and due to it's smaller size, not a great deal of
storage so it would be difficult boat to go extended cruising on with
all of your gear.

I'm looking at Kantor's Cruising in Catamarans for his review and the
layout of the seawind. They put the births in the hulls, which are
narrow for speed. Good for sailing, poor for living aboard on a
catamaran less than 40 feet. There are no cabins really in the
hulls, the birth is right in front of the galley, so you really
wouldn't have any privacy. They had a 3 foot extension added on the
later version to properly balance the boat. If you were looking for
something that would be a good weekend cruiser and fast racer, this
might be a good choice.

I've never run into the top cat and can't find a review in the
"cruising in catamarans" book.

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