You purchase your boat for the way you will use it today, not 5 or 10 years from now. Too many guys buy the perfect boat to sail around the world only to disc  over that
it's too large and impractical for daily use from a mooring or marina. If you
go about the boat buying process with this in mind, you'll be fine. Next,
list your requirements and then
began looking for a boat which comes closest to meeting them.During what turned out to be many months of reading and research, I was actually considering buying a monohull. Cruising Catamarans kept popping up in my research, and I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't even aware of these boats at the time. The only catamaran experience I'd had was on a Hobie Cat. However, in reading the check list of desired features, cruising catamarans were matching up better than a monohull and were definitely of interest. Wouldn't anyone be fascinated by the fact that they have more interior room than a monohull 50% larger? Cruising Catamarans were said to be much better at anchor than a mono, and they don't heel while sailing. This last bit of information was of particular interest as most guys are well aware that women prefer a stable boat environment. What was equally important is that recent insurance data showed that cruising catamarans are actually safer than traditional monohulls. Fewer boat losses, fewer injuries and fewer deaths as a percentage of hulls sailing ( data from NTSB). It's amazing what can be found on the internet when you sit down and actually do some research. In the end, the conclusion was that anyone should want one of these boats. It was settled, a Cruising Catamaran was the boat which best fit my needs. |
| It didn't take very long to learn a couple of things during this information gathering
period. First, what affect 2 hulls had on boat pricing (ouch) and second, the trend
in the industry to make newer cruising catamarans
roomier
and larger for the charter market. Every year they seem to be getting longer, wider
and had multiple bathrooms just to meet these charter market requirements. Most
people aren't
looking to buy a floating condo, they have more basic needs and would like to
locate an affordable boat to learn on, with enough usable space to go cruising some day,
while holding it's value. My search was on. This wasn't as easy as it sounds. Every weekend during the winter of 2004, through the spring and early summer of 2005 was spent in most of the marinas and boat storage facilities in Florida. It's one thing to be convinced of the benefits of a cruising catamaran, and quite another to be determined to keep the boat purchase cost reasonable. Obviously, this limits one to looking at older, pre owned boats. Florida was definitely the place to look for cruising catamarans as ... Caribbean aside, it has simply has the highest concentration of cruising catamarans. Still, it became apparent that boat choices were pretty limited. After months of armchair research, Gemini catamarans seemed the logical choice. On paper they met all the criteria and the company was still in business. This bias began to change as the boats which came up (that were in my price range) were in disrepair, requiring serious refitting investment. This wasn't limited to to the Gemini as every cruising catamaran regardless of make or model was scrutinized. Overall, it was pretty discouraging, but as in all endeavors, it was important to maintain focus and keep at it. On a trip to yet another South Florida boatyard to see yet another Gemini, Linda (the admiral) came across a slightly smaller Cat for sale in the same yard called a Catalac 27. Compared to the Gemini we'd come to look at, the Catalac looked practically new. This was really surprising as the Gemini was a newer boat. The admiral was excited by her find. Although interested, I resisted, as I'd never heard of a Catalac, (Admittedly ... I'm also stubborn), and on our return home began doing  the research which eventually became this website. There is a real knowledgeable man by the name of Charles Kanter who wrote a couple of books on cruising catamarans which were very helpful. Mr. Kanter has been involved with boating for decades and earns his living as an author and boat surveyor. He sailed a Catalac 8M 1000 miles to windward to the USVI from Florida which made him the closest person I knew of who could be called an expert on cruising catamarans in general and obviously had intimate knowledge of Catalacs. This quote from his book ... Cruising Catamaran Communiqué pretty much sums up his view of Catalac Catamarans... : "Catalac catamarans, with over 600 units built and sailing, have probably brought as many hours of happy, comfortable and safe boating to more people than any other vessel. It is hard to find any comparable production vessel that has so well achieved its design objectives. One that comes close is the monohull, Morgan Out Island series, the most popular cruising boat ever." Catalac Catamarans now had my undivided attention. I was very fortunate to speak with Mr. Kanter about Catalacs at one of the Seven Seas Cruising Association annual meetings, which are held once a year in Melbourne, FL. He explained that Catalacs, with their short rigs, aren't particularly fast boats but they have lots of room, they're safe, are well thought out designs and are quality boats which are built like battleships. Mr. Kanter went on to say that the Lack family could have sold many more boats in North America, but the issue was in fact a poor marketing plan. He shared an anecdote from the 1980's when these boats were actively marketed in America. Attending all the major boat shows, they had mediocre response from potential boat buyers until the release of the Catalac 12 Meter. Mr Kanter went on to say that even though sailors were impressed by Catalacs, no self respecting sailor was willing to return to his yacht club after a boat show and announce to his contemporaries that he had just bought a Catalac. They were afraid to hear "you bought a car at a boat show?" Mr. Kanter insists that if the Lack family had listened to him and changed the boat brand name here in America, the boats would have been a huge success. Few boats at the time had so many features packaged into a reasonably priced package. Digging further into the history of these boats I discovered what could be called a product line upgrade which occurred around 1980. The Lack family was convinced their approach to hull design was correct, but there had been many early complaints about windward performance. The Lack family responded with the addition of skegs and updated skeg hung rudders which directly addressed the weak windward ability of the earlier design. The boat we had stumbled across was the updated model. It would be fair to say that Catalacs are a mature design. Howe  ver,
anyone who has ever taken the time to look one over, will be struck by the excellent
condition of these boats. Catalacs have solid fiberglass hulls and thick laminate
decks built to a Lloyds standard which is the
primary reason these boats age
so gracefully.Notice the tabernacle in the photos? The Catalac 8M and the 9M have deck stepped masts, resting in a tabernacle, which allows the unassisted unstepping (lowering) of the mast. A terrific feature, as this is an expensive procedure in any boat yard and tabernacles are rarely found in this class of cruising catamaran. This feature made the boat very popular with Dutch and French sailors. The entire line of Catalacs feature large cockpits and the 8M has a cockpit with the same usable area as some 40' catamarans I've seen. Another great feature included in all Catalacs are the cabin windows. They actually open. The first position is 1/2 open which allows airflow in rain storms without allowing water in the boat. The 2nd position is completely removed, and 
window screens can be fitted into the window openings. This sounds so petty unless
you've owned a boat in the tropics. This is a perfect example of the thought that
went into the cabin design. Airflow remains constant leaving the cabin comfortable
in tropical climates. Incidentally, all windows in a Catalac are tempered
glass and look as good today as the day they were installed 25 years ago. Yes, this
is a rare and rather expensive feature when compared to the plastic windows in most
cruising catamarans, yet it's entirely worth it as it's another reason why these boats
seem to age gracefully.Boats are a product the British understand very well and they build good ones. What's almost as important is that these boats are reasonably priced as very few people in America know what they are, as a passing look at modest cruising catamarans will lump Catalacs with Gemini catamarans. The lightly built Gemini can not compare to a Catalac at all. When my research was completed, it became clear to me that Catalac Catamarans are well respected boats, very popular in Europe, and almost unknown in America. Their shallow draft allow them to go just about anywhere, while the twin diesels can motor practically forever, while charging as large a battery bank as you'd care to install. Large cabins (and beds) make these boats extremely popular with the admiralty, while the boats are built to take whatever nature can throw at them. These are terrific reasons for choosing a Catalac Catamaran. Surprisingly, there aren't more than 40 Catalac 27's (8M) in the USA, and many of these boats were sailed here from England. Quite a feat for such a small vessel. I became more and more interested in the Catalac after reading what I wrote above .... but the tipping point for me was stumbling across the story on the Queen's Birthday Storm disaster, (and here as well). An event where a Catalac 12 meter survived 100 knot winds and 30 meter seas (that's not a misprint) without dismasting in a storm where every monohull rolled and was dismasted causing many injuries and lives were lost. We all have to keep in mind that the number one job any boat has is to keep her crew safe. If the Queen's Storm doesn't scream build quality and durability, then what does?. Go directly to the top of this page Most folks new to sailing have the initial impression that a cruising catamaran is a big Hobie cat which cruises at power boat speeds under sail. This simply isn't true in most catamarans unless we're speaking of one of the Big Catanas or Gun Boats. In other words the $1 million and up market place. For the rest of us, we find that catamarans are safe, stable, sail flat, are roomier and more comfortable compared to a mono hull up to 50% longer. Cockpit entertaining was redefined by the entrance o f Catalac
Catamarans into the boat marketplace. Even the smaller Catalacs can motor at 8 knots, but with their short rigs, it takes a lot of wind to get them sailing at that speed. Newer cruising catamaran designs are a bit quicker and point a bit higher, but are lightly built, and seemed to be laid out for the charter market and built for the calm waters of the Caribbean. There are issues with these thin laminate boats of which a person has to be careful. A man who makes a large investment in a delaminating catamaran, is not going to be a happy camper. After examining many delaminating catamarans, I most definitely prefer the solid fiberglass hulls of the Catalac. If you're familiar with monohulls, you're going to be very impressed usable room of a cruising cat. I know this totally blew me away as the Catalac 8M had more interior room than my buddy's 38' Morgan. The first time aboard, it's like entering Dr. Who's TARDIS. One look at the interior of the Catalac 8M and it will be evident that she has plenty of room for two people and could sleep 5 comfortably. She's a well built British boat, respected in Europe, solid fiberglass hulls, dual inboard diesels, and built to cross oceans. A person would be hard pressed to find any other cruising catamaran in her price range that compares to the Catalac in layout, features or build quality. When my research was completed and I realized what she was, even though she was on the wrong coast of Florida, and knowing full well that bringing her home to east central Florida was going to be an adventure, I decided this was the boat for me. Looking back, I would say that the trip home 'was in fact an adventure, and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a single thing. No matter what his age, every man needs an adventure. I know I'll always remember two days at the helm while a hurricane roared across Florida. No matter what life has in store for me, I'll always have that memory.  It
would be fair to say that a result of being caught in a hurricane with the boat, I
developed confidence in the Catalac 8M immediately, but that doesn't begin to tell
how strongly I feel about the excellent design and build quality of these boats.
Then again, this might be evident after all, as I did author this web site.Read about our attempt to outrun hurricane Katrina on the trip home. (talk about baptism by fire!). When I finally arrived home I made the appointment for a bottom job at a local boat yard. When I arrived at the haul out I was met by an Irishman with an accent so thick you could cut it with a knife. He began smiling ear to ear as I tied up. I later discovered that he worked in many English boat yards before relocating to America, and he was smiling because he knew exactly what a Catalac Catamaran was. He asked me if I knew how lucky I was to own one? I thought about the year of research and searching that went into my decision. I thought about the hurricane Catalpa had just brought me through. A range of emotions washed through me... yet all I could say to him was ...." Yes sir, I do". Time Passes We've now (2011) had 6 years of Catalac ownership and yes, my brother
began speaking to me again (see Sailing through a hurricane).
The boat has exceeded all expectations. Not only is sailing her a blast, but when
at the dock in the marina ours is the boat our friends choose to gather on. At times
we've had 10 people aboard (yes, our beer bill is considerable). We know One last comment as I wrap up this page. When I started emailing and communicating with other Catalac owners via email and sailing forums a startling fact emerged. Catalac owners are a dedicated group who love their boats, and hang onto them forever. As you investigate these boats, I'm certain you'll discover the same thing. Perhaps this isn't unusual at all, but.. if people hang onto these boats, wouldn't you think that there's a very good reason? That's all for now .. I'm getting ready for a raft up with a bunch of boats this weekend, and my Catalpa will be the center boat and entertainment center for the raft up. I'm going to have to begin some kind of a beer fund soon as sailors have been known to tip a few (smile). |
 |
Catalpa's quirks and her strengths very well. In 10-15 knots of wind I regularly
see 6-8 mph of boat speed, and once or twice have touched 8 1/2 mph, in a puff. All
speeds (SOG) measured with my GPS. 
e
than 1 pint an hour. With twin 12 gallon fuel tanks, this works out to a power cruising
range of 600 NM, farther if you run on one engine which I commonly do when on flat
water. These engines also allow tremendous maneuverability in crowded marinas. With
the engines spaced about 12 feet apart, and new Morse engine controls, this boat
turns on a dime.
