Choosing a design can be difficult so I hope that this introduction helps clear the way a little.
I've taken particular care with the balance of construction methods in my designs, making them light and strong yet easy to build in small sections, most of which are manageable by a group of friends when they need turning over and moving.
The blend of strip planking and light flat panels kept in single plane form, makes building easy and quick and produces a finished catamaran of classic good looks which will not date quickly, giving you very good investment security.
One of the first steps in changing this dream into reality is figuring out whether you can afford the boat (or more likely, how much money you don't have!).
Two realities here are:
Firstly, two similar sized boats with similar displacement, built of similar materials will cost the same to build overall. Designers estimates of materials are often inaccurate and sometimes minimised to lead one to believe their boat will be cheaper to build. This is definitely not the case, similar boat, similar price! Your choice should therefore be towards the boat that suits you best and offers you good backup and is a good investment.
Secondly I know a lot of people who could not afford their boat at the onset so don't be discouraged. Once you start building it is surprising how you focus your interest, spare time and money into your new project.
With our new owner-builders we suggest they start with the smaller items which can be built in the garage, carport, (lounge?) etc. These initial items use very little material and money but use a lot of time, so at the early stages you can get a lot done while you wait for your old boat or car or house etc. to sell. These items are; daggerboards and cases, motor pod, forward beam and catwalk, cabin roof, rudders, dinghy etc.
The experience and confidence gained building these bits speeds up the second stage of larger items and gets the whole project finished a lot sooner.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD MULTIHULL?
Cat design is not just a matter of two hulls floating a cabin above the water. Only in fairly recent years have the basic elements of design and an understanding of their effect on the use and performance of the finished boat been understood.
The basic principles of good design should all be present in the boat you're considering building or buying. These will be blended to produce the best boat for the intended use.
The basics elements of a good design:
1. Good Engineering our boats are well proven.
2. Flat Decks
The flatter deck lines have a number of advantages. Secure footing while reefing, anchoring etc. in rough conditions, life lines are at a sensible protective height instead of set down a level. A flat deck is great for socialising, sunbathing or as a kids playground.
3. Buoyancy
Buoyancy distribution is the placement of buoyancy in the hulls. Our designs have between 50 and 60 separate buoyancy tanks built into every shell so they are almost unsinkable.
Most old designs hobbyhorse a lot making them uncomfortable and inefficient. Modern designs have the buoyancy pushed towards the hull ends damping down the hobby-horsing tendencies and giving a lot more safety downwind where the buoyant hulls stop nosediving. Coupled with a lot of reserve buoyancy higher in the forward hulls this adds an enormous amount of safety and gives you confidence off the wind.
A soft V'd entry, quickly picking up reserve buoyancy with high reserves higher up is ideal.
4. Bridge-deck Clearance
High Bridge-deck Clearance is essential. A short cabin length with long hull overhangs is a good safety feature. Good clearance on a cruising cat is 600mm to 800mm, a Performance cat 700mm to 900mm and a Racing cat 800mm to 1000mm. Chamfer panels add high reserve buoyancy and need less clearance than a similar cat without them.
5. Sailing Ability and Performance
Power to Weight Ratio
Power to weight ratios show how well a cat will sail in light conditions. As wind strength increases, one reefs the power to stay at safe acceptable speeds (this is different for different people). The Bruce Number is a commonly used value and very useful in comparing cats, displacement is not always reliable and will vary with load.
A Bruce Number =
1 is very slow, 1.3 to 1.4 is a good cruising value, 1.5 to 1.9 reflects a very fast cat. Boats like the French 60ft Tri's and Club Med are running to extremes like 2.3.
Sailing ability is important. I feel that good performance in a sailing cat is a real safety feature. A light and efficient cat can often sail out of trouble and out run severe weather patterns, shorten passage times and avoid bad weather by getting there in the existing weather window.
Most good designs will tack through 90 degrees at a speed of 8 - 10 knots while reaching at 10 - 13 knots comfortably with Main and No. 1 in 15 knots of wind. Daggerboards are efficient and allow very shallow draft for beaching. With a strong reinforced bottom as per our designs, it's easy to run the cats up on any old beach. Should you want shallow keels to protect inboard motors, then a combination of shallow keels and fixed rudders are a good option, daggerboards would still be fitted as usual, giving the best of both worlds.
6. Low Drag
This is a good characteristic. Slim hulls reduce drag and are efficient. A good cruising cat would have a Waterline beam to length ratio of 11.5 to 12.5:1. A performance cruising cat 12.5 to 14:1 and a racing cat 14 to 20:1
It is important to note that ALL these elements must be present in a design to make any of them valid. For example, a design can be really good looking, have high bridge-deck clearance, a powerful rig and sail plan and be built reasonably light and show a fair displacement, but then have an 8:1 Beam to Length ratio. She'll be a good looking, powerful boat but it will be impossible to go forward, except slowly!
There is no reason why a good modern design does not have all of these features. If you find some of these lacking it is usually for the wrong reasons. A lot of cats have very little bridge-deck clearance because the designer is concentrating on a low profile cat which looks good or being dictated by interior accommodation and ignoring the fact that the boat will pound badly at sea. This is not only noisy and uncomfortable but can well be the cause of structural problems and increases anxiety in the skipper and crew and have a demoralising effect on all concerned.
Added Safety Features
A lot of the features mentioned above, I consider to be essential for safety. Besides these, the following are extra features you'll find in our designs.
- Escape hatches, one in each hull accessed from inside and out.
- Flat safe decks and semi-enclosed cockpit. (Great for small kids)
- Food is set in dry, mid height, lockers. Water tanks do not lose water if
inverted and by simply switching outlet and breather, full easy access is possible.
- Daggerboards and kick-up rudders are designed on all my boats. I feel this
is a safety feature in case of collision with floating or submerged debris (and
fish traps) and when raised they allow the boat to side slip in storm conditions
which is a good safety feature so she won't trip over her keels and flip over.
- A Storm eye is built into the forward beam for the Para-anchor brindle.
New materials have brought very strong light boats into everyone's reach. The epoxies and cores are easy to use and a home builder can easily produce the same product as a professional boat builder.
Also important is the feeling of security one has in a boat. Cats are very noisy at sea, we've found that carpet damps down sailing noise and a little attention to detail like stopping daggers rattling etc. will add to one's psychological sense of security. Confidence in your design helps a lot too and I feel you'll find this in my designs.
Our plans are easy to follow and being builders as well as designers we have tried to make the building process as painless and simple as possible. We are continually improving our plans and our new CAD plans are among the very best in the World. We offer a continuous backup service to help builders and remain interested in your project to the end.
Good luck with your project and decision. I believe we have the best possible designs and backup service to offer and hope you find something in our design range to turn your dream into reality.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.