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Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Ted Clements of Antares Catamarans and Shane Grover of Seawind Catamarans for patiently answering our questions. There are a lot of reasons why catamarans are more expensive than monohulls. It’s not just the two hulls. There are many more complicated calculations and structures needed to build the complex shapes. Building a bridge deck and the structures around a pair of hulls is a lot more difficult to design and build than a single hull, and we’ll explore a little about why. Part 1: Forces on the Hulls Load and force calculations on a boat hull isn’t a simple calculation, and even monohulls take a lot of designing to build a shape which performs well and has the strength to hold together at sea. Land vehicles have fairly predictable forces and motion on them, but boats can take forces and stresses in any direction. Waves slam […]

In this episode we talk to Jennifer Meyers of Yacht Closer Financial. We talk about the basics of financing catamarans with particular emphasis on current market conditions and the nuances of financing a catamaran located in the Caribbean. Her contact information phone at 954.816.1818 or email to finance@yachtcloser.com. The website is www.ycfinancial.com where you can fill out an application for marine financing. What is a marine finance agent? What do you do? We are primarily a service company that assists buyers with financing for boat purchases. Financing for boats is really based on the strength of the borrower but there’s so many programs to fit so many different types of borrowers and we have all of them as a service company. We have several different lenders that we work with and once we get someone interested in a purchase we will fit that borrower to the right program. We handle […]

Unfortunately not based on my personal experience and watching others. That catamarans especially help with seasickness is a myth. In fact some catamarans seem to make seasickness worse because of their awkward, more unpredictable motion. I have sailed regularly the last decade thousands on miles in a variety of sea conditions on a variety of types of boats with a variety of crew. I also am prone to seasickness. While there is a difference in the motion of catamarans versus single hulled boats, the result for those who get seasick is usually the same. If you get seasick on one type of boat, you will likely get seasick on the other types. The more determining factors are the ocean conditions and whether you are taking anti-nausea medicine. I remember one of my early offshore deliveries from Fort Lauderdale to Annapolis on a Lagoon 440 and how I hoped I would […]

Frozen snot Description of fiberglass boats by Lewis Francis Herreshoff It is not a debate anymore. People used to consider the advantages and disadvantages of cruising catamarans versus monohulls. Now it is simply a price consideration. “I don’t have enough money for a catamaran, so I am buying a monohull,” they lament. Catamarans have gone from 20% of the market in my home location of Fort Lauderdale to 50%. In the next decade they will go to 80% share of sailboats. They own the charter market. They own the coastal racing world. And someday soon they will own the bluewater racing and cruising worlds (ask Jimmy Cornell). And as their production surges and prices continue to drop, less and less people will be unable to afford them. It is not a debate anymore. It is a present reality; it is a future certainty. Traditional sailors including me (I own a classic […]

I questioned 20 catamaran owners; if you were buying a used catamaran, would you consider a yacht from a charter company or only search privately owned vessels? 8 of the people said they wouldn’t consider ANY boat coming from the land of charters. Ten of the people said they would entertain the idea of buying a pre-owned charter boat and two already have purchased pre-owned charter cats and BOTH had good things to say about their experiences. Read on later in this article about specific experiences from one of the buyers. Searching for your next catamaran can get over-whelming pretty quick. There a plenty of cat’s out there to choose from; between all the different designs, years and location of the boats, one can become bewildered with hopefully choosing the “right” catamaran. This doesn’t even include whether or not the boat was used privately, or for charter. Knowing if your […]

Not yet. But advancements are coming in the next decade, and the long awaited emissions free cruising dream is nearly reachable. It has been a long time coming. Countless sailors have pursued the impossible over the last decade as lithium batteries have been advanced and costs lowered. How many sailors have attempted to power the air conditioning from lithium and ended up with failure or anemic units which act more like dehumidifiers? With power hogs like air conditioners and electric motors, how many wind and solar keep up? The new ServoProp saildrives from OceanVolt especially when doubled on a cruising catamaran give us hope. What They Are OceanVolt’s new ServoProp sail drives do the impossible, free wheel while you are sailing, harness the power your motion through the sea, and push that hydro generated energy back into you lithium power bank. Amazing and great idea executed finally in one integrated […]

It’s a given that catamarans are more sensitive to weight and loading than monohulls. Catamaran builders strive to build the lightest boats they can without sacrificing strength and stiffness, and have adapted new building techniques and materials to meet this target. Cutting weight allows more passengers and gear without sacrificing performance. And the marketing materials reflect it–they load every review and website with polysyllabic technical jargon describing the design and production choices each builder made to deliver the best boat they can. But when you’re reading a brochure and you come across phrases like “hand laid bidirectional GRP” or “vacuumed bagged e-glass with vinylester resin over a Divinycell core” do you know what that really means? All modern production catamarans are made with “FRP” construction (for Fiber Reinforced Polymer). Composites aren’t new–it’s just using materials together to strengthen the whole assembly. Straw was added to bricks centuries ago, and steel […]

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 […]

Catamaran buyers out there in the world have explicit demands and preferences when it comes to the layout of their catamaran. Things like dagger boards versus keels, Yanmar versus Volvo, flybridge versus bulkhead helms and the list goes on. A hot topic these days is that of the buyer of a straight shaft engine, or the other guy who would like a saildrive unit instead, on his catamaran. Traditionally, there are more straight shaft drive monohulls and more catamaran’s built with saildrives today. This rule tends to go out the window on vessel’s over 50 feet. Just to gain some perspective, I drove down to the marina by my house, where there are about two hundred vessels tied up in season and about half that being full time slip holders. The marina is known to be the home for many of the Mid-Bays catamarans. It was a beautiful Saturday morning […]

Quick answer is $300,000 to $600,000. But you could also pay as much as $1 million for a fully loaded catamaran like La Vagabonde’s brand new Outremer 45 or as little as $150,000 for a late 1990’s Prout 45 or Leopard 45. These prices are all considering you are asking about a catamaran in reasonable condition and with appropriate cruising equipment. Project catamarans could end up costing much less initially although very likely much more eventually as typically you pay a premium in sailing for the “refit experience.” The upside is a long escape working in a boatyard that allows you to escape from your wife and children if that is your goal. We do not recommend the approach and this website while offering a wide selection of catamarans prefers to advertise that are in good condition at great prices to our visitors. Another budget aspect to consider is maintenance […]

This article is a dictionary of sorts of common terms used whether slang or professional among catamaran sailors. balsa cored (adj.) – description of a type of building technique common on catamaran used for weight saving purposes. End grain balsa is sandwiched between two layers of fiberglass to stiffen, lighten, and insulate the hull and deck of many catamarans. Usually balsa coring is discussed in terms of concerns about water logged or “wet” coring material which is a significant expensive as well as a common issue especially as catamarans get older. beach platform (n.) – a type of platform at the back of catamaran in particular the Voyage 440. The platform runs the whole back width between the swim platforms and function as a place behind the cockpit combing to layout, fish, and dangle your feet. beachable (adj.) – describing a class of catamaran which can safely be run aground […]

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 […]

Smaller cruising catamarans are an excellent entry level gateway into cruising catamarans and of late have become very popular. This is an effort to select some of the most well respected of these smaller catamarans. This was a difficult task, as many of these boats, designed and built some time ago, are still found in all the popular cruising grounds, and a list like this is subjective after all. All I can do is apologize in advance for leaving a boat off this list. Prout Snowgoose 37 The Snowgoose  (all iterations) was the first truly popular mass produced catamaran with more than 500 built. Known as safe, strong and capable of being sailed off shore, which some say is because of the position of their main mast, they make a perfect coastal cruiser or circumnavigator for an adventurous couple. This is a lot of boat for the money. These boats […]

International Power Standards(Courtesy of ASEA Power Systems,Inc.) Country Frequency Nominal Voltage American Samoa 60Hz 120/240 or 277/480 Antigua 60Hz 230/400 Argentina 50Hz 220/380 Aruba 60Hz 127/220 or 115/230 Australia 50Hz 240/415 or 250/435 Azores 50Hz 110/190 or 220/380 Bahamas 60Hz 120/240 or 120/208 Bahrain 50Hz 230/400   60Hz 110/220 Balearic Islands 50Hz 127/220 or 220/380 Barbados 50Hz 115/230 or 115/200 Belgium 50Hz 220/380 Belize 60Hz 110/220 or 250/440 Benin 50Hz 220/380 Bermuda 60Hz 120/240 or 120/208 Brazil 60Hz 115/230 or 127/220 or 220/380 Brunei 50Hz 240/415 Bulgaria 50Hz 220/380 Burma 50Hz 230/400 Canada 60Hz 120/240 or 120/208 or 277/480 Canary Islands 50Hz 127/220 or 220/380 Cape Verde 50Hz 220/380 Cayman Islands 60Hz 120/240 or 120/208 Chile 50Hz 220/380 China (PRC) 50Hz 220/380 Columbia 60Hz 110/220 or 120/208 or 150/260 Costa Rica 60Hz 120/240 or 120/208 Cyprus 50Hz 240/415 Denmark 50Hz 220/380 Dominica 50Hz 230/400 Dominican Republic 60Hz 120/240 or 120/208 […]