A big consideration when purchasing a catamaran is how much it will cost to moor or dock it. The cost to dock a catamaran will usually be higher than a monohull since their greater beam means they take up a lot more room than a monohull. The cost of moorage can vary greatly between different areas of the world however. Rates can also vary depending on the season (winter vs summer) if peak season is much more popular than the off-season.  Besides just the cost, the availability of moorage in your desired area is something to consider as well. Since most marinas are designed primarily with monohulls in mind, they may not have much room available for catamarans. In some places, marina moorage is in such high demand that there are waiting lists to get in. If you’re looking for transient (nightly) moorage while out cruising, it will likely be […]

Catamarans these days have many options for their engine based propulsion, even more than monohulls due to the more diverse configurations of a catamaran. The traditional twin diesel engines is a popular arrangement, and dual or single outboard configurations are also becoming popular. When choosing an inboard engine, you then often have a decision to make in drive shaft configuration: traditional straight shaft, or a saildrive.  The drive type has long lasting consequences for how you use and maintain a boat, so it’s an important factor. It affects how much power you have for motoring into strong winds or against current, fuel economy, reliability, maintenance needs, and purchase plus maintenance costs. And let’s not forget noise level and liveability – the choice between diesel inboards vs gas outboards can have a big impact on cabin storage areas and engine noise level. Single Gas Outboard Outboards have always been common in […]

The decision of what size catamaran to buy is an important one, and also a surprisingly difficult one. The best size catamaran will depend a lot on your needs for the boat – how you plan to use it, how many people you’ll typically have onboard, and what your expectations are for boating liveaboard life.  A larger boat will be more spacious and comfortable for living onboard, capable of comfortably housing more people, but has higher costs for purchase and maintenance – and a larger catamaran can also require more skill (or crew) to safely sail. Choosing what size catamaran to look for is the first key step in your purchasing process because it will narrow down the field of options, and can have a big impact on how happy you end up with your decision. Costs The biggest factor that typically comes into play is cost – the larger […]