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Thanks guys.
My preferred boat would be a 40 - 48 ft Grainger Catamaran but alas my Lotto numbers didn't come up this week so I have to work.
The Macgregor will get a lot of use, for our first holiday we might put in at Brooklyn or go to the Myall Lakes for Christmas/New Years.
Gotta remember the crab traps.
Glenn
Nice Schooner JD!
My Parents' neighbour in Brissie has built a lot of boats. I still have the scars from when I helped him move one of the (partially completed) hulls of a 34ft cat...
A friend/colleague has a benetau (28 I think?). It is quite short and fat, but has plenty of room in side. I think he still wishes he has his 43 footer though...
Might buy/build a boat one day, but I don't know if we could afford a berth anywhere near Perth!!!
If you want some room go for cat – I would love a Fusion 40 but for now this one will do... We have now had several very comfortable 2 and 4 week trips. Pic 2 was at the Percy Isles 50nm East of Sarina – we didn’t see another boat for 3 days, heaps of fish great coral – brilliant. 33ft cat has heaps of space must be 3 to 4 times that of a 33 ft mono. Must add I do hate the way a lot of cat designers use outboards.
Cats are appealing. Especially along the Qld Coast when you cant get out of the slop and you get plenty of time to look at them from a distance all tucked up and comfie in the shallows. I also race on a trimaran and nothing brings a smile to your dial like tearing along at 15 knots plus with a big kite up.Quote:
Originally Posted by harlie
Jamo
I am a proffesional boatbuilder who has sailed thousands of miles offshore - Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Med, Atlantic, east Coast of Australia etc. Almost all my long offshore trips have been short handed on boats in the mid thirty foot range. I think that a later S&S 34 would make a fabulous cruising boat, keep it simple and dont overload it with gizmos and you will have a great ocean cruisng bost that will take you anywhere on earth where there is enough water to float it. Multis are great on the barrier reek but do have, IMO, serious limitations offshore.
What would I like to get for myself? a 35 footer capable of sailing safely offshore
PM me if you would like to discuss matters further
Christopher
I can't disagree. While a number of times while sailing inside the reef in Queenland I have thought that I would be better off with a cat, I would not like to have been in one in Bass Strait for example (I have twice sailed from Melbourne to north Qld and back and sailed in the Bass Strait are for twenty years). And steel construction has its real advantages (and disadvantages).Quote:
Originally Posted by C H T
John
True – and for the exposed waters of WA a mono may also be better suited. On our last trip (4 weeks islands Yepoon – Mackay) we travelled with a couple in a 38ft steel mono and several days we sailed in 25+kn winds. Our 33ft cat was faster in light conditions but once the gusts got above 20 I reef the main and since he didn’t need to - he left us behind every time. The strongest day we travelled I didn’t even raise the main. The steel mono (at 2.5 times the weight) just disappeared into the distance... However we were all dry, warm and relaxed, under the protection of an enclosed Saloon and covered cockpit – they were dressed to the hilt in protective gear unable to leave their post – cabin boards locked in and no protection from the greenies coming over the front. My crew would just say “that was big” and go back to reading their book!Quote:
Originally Posted by JDNSW
Once at the next destination the 6+1 total people were flat out fitting in the cockpit of his mono to enjoy the destination. Whereas happy hour on our 33’ cat could easily accommodate 12-14 with out being crowded. The monos in all anchorages (unless completely calm) would also rock all night and a lot more than I would have ever expected.
The other huge advantage of the cat is since it doesn’t lean under sail – so life can go easily and comfortably while covering the distances to start and return from our holiday, crew/guests can move about, shower, cook, dine, sleep, allowing us to entertain inexperienced friends and family and happily travel through the night with watch shifts.
For us - I really don’t think we would be able to go cruising with a small child in a mono – she’s now 18months, and also consider the skin cancer factor - we are all really fair.
If I ever had a chance to live long term on a boat I would be picking a Cat over a mono, to me they feel right.
It takes really bad weather to break the gimbels out for the stove when sailing a Cat, they are a permanent fixture on a mono hull, living on a 30 degree heal in a mono hull for days on end is tedious, dangling your legs over the side for hours and hours to get a quarter to three quarters of a knot extra speed out of the boat all the time getting cold and wet from the green it is a personal choice thing, some people don't mind.
Yes our current trailer sailor is a MacGregor 26X mono hull, the first mono hull we have owned, we have owned trailer cats before the largest being a Jarcat. one day we might eventually make a Jarcat 6 from resin infused foam sandwich instead of ply, that would make a lighter, stronger boat.
Glenn
The problems with a cat in areas of rough water are twofold -
1. Cats have two stable floating attitudes - mast up and mast down, monohulls only have one, mast up.
2. In rough seas the stress on a cat structure with diagonally opposite corners in the air are enormous, and give the choice of risking failure or having a very heavy boat.
Consider the current forecast for eastern Bass Strait -
"Winds: South to southeasterly 40 to 50 knots, reaching 55 knots at times, decreasing below 50 knots during the morning then tending southerly 30 to 45 knots around midday then decreasing below 40 knots later in the evening. Seas: Up to 6 metres decreasing to 5 metres around midday. Swell: Southeasterly 2 to 3 metres increasing to 3 to 4 metres late this evening. Swell: Southwesterly 1 metre. Isolated thunderstorms with hail this morning.
Please be aware
Wind gusts can be 40 percent stronger than the averages given here, and maximum waves may be up to twice the height."
Note that this is an onshore wind, so heaving to is not an option!
John
Yes - I will freely admit that in conditions as this a mono is safer than a cat. However since we go boating for enjoyment I simply don’t go in these stupid conditions. If we are away we seek shelter and always have multiple contingency plans dependent on the 4 day forecast. The Picture I posted above was taken while we waited out gail force conditions in Late May, tucked safely and comfortable in a beautiful island bay. Everyone I’ve met who was currently or has done long range cruising has got so much time they are prepared to sit out poor conditions for weeks or more – they are out there to explore and enjoy – and yes I’ve met many who have travelled the world and crossed oceans in a cat.Quote:
Originally Posted by JDNSW
Actually - That’s exactly why we are home this weekend – with S-SW at 20-30kn (Brisbane) the boat is tied up in its marina birth.
Everyone I’ve met who was currently or has done long range cruising has got so much time they are prepared to sit out poor conditions for weeks or more – they are out there to explore and enjoy – and yes I’ve met many who have travelled the world and crossed oceans in a cat.
The cat v mono argument is a personal one, If you like living at more than 30 degrees that’s great – I don’t. If you like being wet and cold – that’s great. I’ve even been told that sailing a cat is not “real sailing” – that’s fine too. For the family that goes boating for recreation (unless one is really stupid) a cat will not pose a problem – who sets out or stays out with a 50kn forecast??
How many cats have been abandoned at sea off the east coast this year? I can think of at least 6 monos.... Mono might have only one floating attitude but many fail to stay floating after a really good knock down - like the big Bavaria off sydney only last month... My point is - Stupidty will cause problems in all boat types.