CATs vs MONOHULLs: Which one is the better for Sailing and Cruising?
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- The perennial question amongst sailors: Catamarans or Monohulls. We sit down with Chris and Elissa from SY Barefeet and look into this very questions, the pros and cons of both based on their sailing and cruising experiences with their catamaran, and El provides our take.
We're keen to hear your opinion and experiences: which one is your preferred one for sailing and cruising?
For me personally, a cat would be the best option.
If I am traveling around the world by sea, then the boat would be my home.
So therefore I would would take a cat 10 times out of 10 because of the more open and bigger living space that a cat has which a monohull does not.
And then also all the other advantages mentioned in the video that, in my personal opinion, outweighs the benefits on a monohull.
On a cat you also, in most cases, get your own cabin with your own shower etc, which gives you more privacy.
And if you have a little bit more money you can also get a cat with a big flybridge which in my opinion is something I really would like.
But with all this said, I love to watch beautiful monohulls, and I fully respect those who finds a monohull to be a better option for them.
Take care guys! 😀
Yes all these reasons would be why we'd favour going with a cat....
For me, it's what I can afford, to get me out there in the big blue desert.
Yes, very true!!
I honestly want both. It makes more sense to choose a boat based on what you spend the most time onboard doing. If you mostly daysail and tend to spend less time anchored, then a monohull definitely makes the most sense, since it will give you that much more involved sailing experience (though there ARE cats out there that aren't lagoons or FPs or Leopards and actually are fun to sail).
If you find that most of your time is spent at anchor, it makes a lot more sense to have something that is most comfortable at anchor, and that's where the cat just wins hands down, unless you are ridiculously well off and can justify a seakeeper (and the massive power requirement they have).
And honestly, at the end of the day, most of the common opinions about cats are just unfounded and in most cases have been proven over time to not be an issue. One I see a lot is that cats can't self-right if they capsize, but it's never mentioned that a cat is significantly less likely to capsize than a monohull. If the sea conditions are such that a cat rolls over, the monohull has done so several times already, probably been dismasted, and possibly taking on water and sinking in the worst case scenario. Meanwhile the overturned cat continues to float there as a nice large bright thing for rescuers to spot. Of course, we don't live in the 1800s anymore, so something like that should be pretty easy to avoid for either boat, lol.
Hell, I've seen video of a cat that got pulled away from the dock when a storm came through, and it drifted in 4+ meter seas completely unmanned and it came out the other side (about 100 miles down the coast) with no major damage, not even water in side.
If I were going to liveaboard (definitely a life goal for me) it would have to be a cat. I can see myself living aboard a mono, but to match the same living space in a mono you really need a decently bigger boat, which means it's harder to short/singlehand, so it becomes less of a possibility. But also having a mono somewhere to get those heeled over thrills is definitely also on the list of "when I win the lottery" lol.
cats are floating lofts. They are not meant to sail in light rough seas :- \
@ Try telling that to all the people crossing oceans in catamarans... Or hell, the polynesians who were crossing the pacific a few thousand years ago on catamarans.
I’m planning on going mono for many reasons but one big reason: I’m on the Great Lakes. I’m not sure how familiar people here are with the great freshwater seas, but the wind shifts a lot and you often experience light air especially during the summer months so windward and light air performance (which monos take) are going to be the most important aspects. Also during summer intense thunderstorms that often cause tornadoes, hurricane-force winds, and hail in the American Midwest often whip up out of nowhere and cross the lakes which are typically much more severe than the oceanic “squall”, and during colder months cyclones can cause the lakes to churn up into a high choppy hellscape in mere hours, so being able to tank storms (which monos excel at) is also important.
I think cats make the most sense in the tropics where wind is persistent and predictable and weather doesn’t get bad except for a couple tropical storms or hurricanes on hurricane season. It not only depends on how you want to sail, but where you want to sail.
For speed in light winds, and windward performance, check out trimarans!
Good points. Even though I'm personally a monohull fan (I actually like both) I would slightly disagree with your point about the monohull being faster though.
Unless there is a *huge* difference in boat length the cat is going to be faster 80+ percent of the time if you are doing a westabout circumnavigation because it will be downwind. It's also going to be much easier to raise and lower light wind sails and probably less rolly.
they are used to a shitty cat. its slow.
True, it's a Lagoon, not a Catana or Outremer... now those fly!
It’s because cats often get weighed down with so much lavish luxury shit it completely negates their speed advantage, people and manufacturers see “moar room” and then put in a wine bar, complete kitchen with an island and granite countertops, a full sofa, big screen TV stand, and bring 10+ people on board and get surprised when their cat isn’t going as fast as advertised. It really lends to the idea of “cats are sailboats for people who don’t like sailing”.
A lightly loaded specialized cat is generally faster than a monohull, though, however I’d prefer upwind performance to speed (which is circumstantial anyway) which is why I’d go mono.
Having owned both the motion of a heavy displacement mono is way nicer than a jerky cat that bounces off the waves. The constant acceleration and deceleration on a cat is surprisingly tiring. A mono is less sea sickness inducing in most conditions. Monos are for people who like sailing.
Have never really thought of the acceleration and deceleration, yes that would be tiring and add one more dimension to the changes in motion. Yes our preference would be for a heavy displacement bluewater yacht with a v-shaped hull, ideally one with a lifting keel to allow access to shallow anchorages! Any ideas for brands?
@@Expedition_Tranquilo Check out Southerly Yachts ! They all come with a retractable keel and are highly regarded true blue water yachts
That's true and because cats have very little draft they can't go through the waves and go over it instead.
Being stuck in a teak cave and heeling are the main reasons I prefer multihull’s. For extended living, having multiple levels and distinct spaces is healthier for the psyche than one monotonous space. The dual motors provides *Redundancy* 🥳 and a greater amount of maneuverability, which when you consider you spend ~80% of your time in and around anchor, that’s priceless.
Dinghy Davits .
I prefer to have situational awareness and read my environment than have my vessel tell me I should reef because I didn’t pay attention and now the sails are under heavy load and it’s much more difficult, gets stuck, or something breaks. 👍 that’s the skill that gets lazy with monohulls. They are different creatures. An suv doesn’t handle like a truck, sedan, city car, sports car… awd vs fwd vs rwd…
They require different skills. If you try to apply one vessels skill set to another, it will fight you and you won’t enjoy it.
It’s about what skills you like to use.
Love the imagery... yes spot on!
I am about to buy a Hallberg Rassy. At the end of the day i think its a personal preference. I know a lot of people say at sea a Cat cant sink and that might be so but in serious weather and you will eventually encounter it unless your sailing around a duck Pond i would fancy my chances every time on a Monohull in High seas.
True! If we were sticking to the tropics, a fast cat would be the way to go - waves don't get too big to roll you at least if you avoid the big storm systems and with a fast cat you can dodge them. But if you are looking to go into the higher latitudes, we'd go with a good solid heavy displacement yachts with a v-shaped hull... like a Hallberg!
Hi Guys. I think for me the deal breaker is capsizing....mono hull will self right in most circumstances whereas once a multihull tips that's the end of the game.
Also multihulls have a greater propensity to break up given the enormous strain from a) greater speed and b) multiple impacts for each wave at different moments and places on the hull.
I realise weather tracking is much better nowadays but give me a monohull in a blow any day compared to a multihull.😊
Yes, that's exactly the reason we discounted cats right from the start!
If it can right itself…. Monohulls will sink more than cats will (incident depending, obviously if it grounds out and both hulls are ripped open it’ll sink)
Not accurate.
A few points not mentioned but important regarding the disadvantages of cats:
A catamaran will not right itself when upside down. A keeled monohull always will.
A cruising catamaran is usually lucky to sail 45 degrees off the wind. A monohull will generally do much better.
Most marinas do not have spaces wide enough for cats. Moorage is often a problem.
100% on all your points Terry! Your first one is exactly why we discounted a catamaran right from the start.
To your point about marinas, very true. We would not consider a cat for cruising certain coasts of the Med for that very reason, the only safe harbours are taken up mainly by marinas. On the other hand cat's shallow draught does give you more options in shallow waters, we're thinking southern coast of Cuba and Bahamas?
I have always been a monohull guy but for for long term cruising a cat is preferable hands down. A lagoon is far from the ideal catamaran and many with more performance characteristics will outperform a monohull on all points of sail with the exception of hard on the wind. How often is one sailing hard on the wind when cruising? On long downwind ocean passages a comparable sized cat will far outperform a monohull, get there way faster and will be much more comfortable while doing so. Light displacement cats are a lot of fun to sail reaching speeds in the mid to high teens often.
Totally, agree with every one of your points Alistair! Yes if we were to choose again, a fast cat would be high on our list!
@@Expedition_Tranquilo Love your boat and your vids. Enjoy your adventure!
I might consider a monohull when I get older and will need more stability.
Sea sickness is a real concern. Cats definitely have a distinct advantage at minimizing and sometimes totally preventing sea sickness.
Question: How often are you sailing in rough weather? Are you safer on a boat that's in the water or on top of the water? What is more important: safety or convenience? It's very normal to rationalize your personal preferences!
If you have good weather forecasting software like Predict Wind, then it's unlikely you get caught out often.... so far we've always known what we're getting in to.
Good episode guys.. But often not mentioned the double effort of cleaning and maintenance the cat over mono.. And it's a deal breaker for me as I prefer to enjoy cruising vs cleaning the huge dam thing all the time.. Unless you get to clean it by somebody else for you..? Kids maybe..??
Yes excellent point. Chris and Elissa are definitely in the water more often cleaning their hulls!
All boats have trade offs, it really just boils down to what your goals are and what your plans are.
That's exactly right, there's no such thing as the perfect boat that can do everything!
Having spent four summers sailing the med and observing other boats - cats - noticed they rarely have their sails up (always motoring whereas I had my sails out every time) and they are jerky in even small waves at anchor and the dreaded slapping must be much louder than we can hear on the outside. Having spent this summer sailing the Cyclades meltemi which was relentless this year, the sea state I experienced would not want to have been on a cat.
Having being in the Cyclades in a meltemi, yes totally agree!!
Lots of monohulls have dinghy davits and crash bulk heads and a deck saloon will give you a galley up floor plan. As for motion, I think it depends greatly on the boat (not all monos are the same and cats have their own motion issues.) For me it is about purpose. Cats built for Caribbean charter are not generally strong enough for off shore sailing, let alone long term off shore sailing, without some significant reinforcement. But then monohulls made for racing or coastal cruising aren’t either! Buy a monohull or a cat designed for your purpose.
Nicely put, agree!
And you left out trimarans. Trimarans are the safest sailing boats because they point as high as a monohull plus they are fast enough to outrun bad weather. Check out the Hammerhead 54 and you may reconsider your verdict!
You're right, the Hammerhead looks phenomenal! The Tri Rapido was impressive as well!
Sailing Tranquilo I checked Rapido out and you are not wrong... impressive. You need to also check out Sailing Spirit too. Surreal videos of one of the best cruising/racing trimarans on UA-cam.
I hate how cats look but they prevent some of the sick motion of a monohull.
Perhaps at anchor, but we've heard from some that the motion of a cat at sea can be worse as you get the double motion from the waves...
Great video , the market has moved slowly towards a focus on cats , speed wise they are mainly the same Cat vs Mono in reality, however there are still a lot more running and holding costs with owning a catamaran.
Yes we've definitely noticed this over the recent few years! And there's nothing for speed like one of the new bread of lightweight fast cats! 15 knots over water in 20 knots of wind is spectacular!
Love both, but I'm 60, and a Cat fits better, especially an older fiberglass cat, much more sturdy and not so high out of the water. Ive got a 2000 leopard, solid as a rock. I've sailed on various new ones and they feel flimsy.
Yes we've heard that from others that the older Lagoons were better built cats.
the problem is that they compare boats of differente sizes. A monohull should be 10 feet or more longer compared to a cat
45 foot monohull vs 38 foot cat? That's pretty close!
Dry door 14
Cat. More stable, less heel, more room, more storage, two engines, and on and on.
"Openminded jet 76
Yep, that'd be the key reasons to go with a cat!
Great to see Aiden make a poignant comment as well
Yes he's become quite the sailor!
Monohull being faster ? No man :)
Yeah, not against the likes of Gunboat, Catana or Outremer... but your standard cat - Lagoon, Bavaria, etc - definitely. If you look at the results of any ARC, the fast cats are nearly always first across the line, the rest of the cats are coming in towards the end, alongside the small heavy displacement yachts.
Sailing Tranquilo Lagoon are sometimes in excellent position , but hey you like monohull and that fine :)
@@Expedition_Tranquilo Check out Ocean Rider Catamarans previously kown as Marsaudon Composites . They produce(d) the TS42 now ORC42 , TS5 now ORC50 and a new ORC 57 . They are lighter and faster and cheaper than a comparable Outremer . The TS42 won the 2019 Fastnet Rolex race in the multihull category . And the TS5 won the 2019 ARC . Their interior is a bit spartan though , like the older Outremers . As for speed , TS5's have been clocked at 30 knots and can go faster than windspeed . Website : www.marsaudon-composites.com/en Basically you get the performance of a DazCat for a much lower price and near Gunboat performance for a fraction
ua-cam.com/video/SVsXZwM1tr8/v-deo.html
@@smulismuli7976 yep.. well know situation .. upwind .. Delos with a deep keel, the cat no. So let’s start having a cat w daggerboard or centerboard to compare
when i see Cats sailing the North Atlantic i might take this discussion a bit more seriously..if day sailing in the bahamas is your thing and you have not much ambition to see the world, and are a bit of a lazy sailor, and you like motoring ALOT...Cats are for you..
Hello tranquilo, for me no comparison. two styles and two sailing philosophies ! Bye bye
Yes, and why we didn't make a call on which one we prefer!
@@Expedition_Tranquilo 👍👍
I love the good old fashioned nasally accent 😆
Oh be nice :-)
Definitely a monohull for safety and beauty..cheers and I cannot wait to hear about your Atlantic crossing, safe sailing for you all..Cheers
Yes all that! And stay tuned!!
Jeanneau Yachts 55
Yes, almost there in terms of an ideal compromise between mono and cat, they just need a version with an aft owners cabin for comfortable ocean crossings like Harlberg and Contest have.
Tall savior 67
Neither. A Tri!
Yes but why?
@@Expedition_Tranquilo Speed to get to where you want to go quickly = safety, so long as u don't sail too hard and flip it, very shallow draft u can get in close into small protected shallow creeks and anchorages, drying out or beaching it at low tide is not a problem and comfortable inside, foam glass construction will not sink even if all three hulls are flooded and If I ever finish building my Farrier F22 it will fold up, go on a trailer, stick it in the shed when I'm not using it and forget about it. No Marina fees, no ongoing maintenance issues with sitting in the salt water for long periods, Massive deck area, Faster on all points of the wind and points higher. only downside is pretty expensive and complicated construction compared to an equivalent mono, can't carry as much weight .
Get a dark brunette girlfriend is my best advice to you.
Keep the monohull. You all are way too cool for a catamaran.
Never thought of it that way, good point!