Women want to feel safe and secure
When the decision is made to begin the search for the perfect boat, every one of us sits down and makes a list of the boat features and benefits that are important to us. When I did it, my check list of desired features lead me directly to cruising catamarans like the catamarans for sale by owner on this website.
With their shallow draft, they were matching up to my sailing area better than a monohull and the research showed that Cruising Catamarans have a much brighter interior, (not a cave). They also tend to be the social hub whereever you are, as catamaran cockpits simply hold more people comfortably than a monohull. It’s not hard to see that catamaran galley and salon areas were made for entertaining. From the sailing aspect, catamarans are much better at anchor han a mono (no rolling), and they don’t heel while sailing.
This last bit of information is of particular interest as the wide awake guys are well aware that if they want their lady involved with boat ownership, they have to compromise. Almost all women prefer a stable boat environment and detest heeling.
Come on guys. You’ve heard the stories or God forbid, it’s happened to you. A guy brings his lady down to a marina to see that pristine monohull for sale he’s heard so much about and to go for that first test sail. It’s blowing 15-20 and the boat owner wants to sell the boat so bad you can feel his pain. In an attempt to show how well the boat handles in brisk winds he raises the main and out comes the genny. The boat heels over til the rail is in the water and while the owner is talking boat features and benefits and the perpective buyer is hanging on to every word … the lady .. remember the lady? She’s been hanging on like her life depends on it, as she’s convinced the boat is going over any minute. This isn’t a romantic test sail to her. She thinks the guy she loves is trying to kill her!! Her death grip doesn’t release until you’re back in the slip. That’s the end of the test sail and it’s more likely than not the end of the guy’s dream to own a sailboat. I’ve seen it happen.
I’d say that here’s the bottom line … women want to feel safe and secure in their lives, why would a boat be any different? The Ladies also prefer comfort away from home, so its no small matter that catamarans have more interior room than a monohull 50% larger and enough deck area to have some personal separation at critical times. Those large catamaran foredecks are the lady’s preferred lounging area. Catamarans also have larger galleys than a monohull. They are bright and airy, have full size to king sized beds have a cockpit large enough to entertain guests and your Lady’s glass of wine won’t spill while sailing.
It doesn’t end there. Lots of windows to brighten the saloon and berth areas and more stowage than any guy could ever use. All of which means the ladies are able to feel at home yet add their own personal touch while they customize boat interiors to their hearts content.
All these benefits make catamarans a natural for a couple or small family. Combine these features with their large cockpits and the ability to cover those cockpits with a hard top and voila, they can handle a solar panel farm which generates enough electricity to power large refrigeration boxes and freezers with enough left over to power all boat systems and still watch the telli.
Catamarans are the very definition of comfort afloat. In other words, women love catamarans!!
I’m serious my friends. I’ve spent at least a week aboard a Columbia 45, more than a month at sea aboard a Morgan Out Island 36′ (never again) and another week on a Down East 38′ monohull. (all monohulls) All of these boats are well thought of, safe, dependable boats, yet none of them could entice my admiral to join me, and none compare in comfort to even the smallest of the cruising catamarans. Lastly, none could outsail the boat I eventually bought, (although the Morgan is a bit faster on a reach, and the Columbia 45 will beat me if the wind is over 20 knots…but not by much).
As for boat safety? Recent insurance data shows that cruising catamarans are actually safer than traditional monohulls. Fewer boat losses, injuries and deaths as a percentage of hulls sailing ( data from NTSB). in an article written on Multihull Safety by Sandy Daugherty.
Catamarans are able to sail perfectly well in shallow water with no heeling and have all the comfort of home, making them the Island Hopping boat of choice. In the end, all guys should realize that your goal is to sail a boat so comfortable that women enjoy sailing it as much as you do. Catamarans are the only way to go. I know my admiral was sold, and here I am 15 years later, and we still have the same boat!!
