New Designs, Sailing Cats

Sailing multihull preferences

2 Comments

If you could answer these questions and forward the answers to me to help start the design process.

  1. How long should be between charging batteries, once a day, twice a day, two days?
  2. Singlehanding needed?
  3. Shorttacking is fun
  4. The sole should be flat
  5. In light weather the boat should power if speed falls below 5 knots?
  6. Dining seats must be face to face?
  7. Galley should be out of traffic?
  8. Head area should be separate?
  9. All winches should be hand powered?
  10. Transom steps?
  11. Boat should be able to be beached?
  12. Kickup rudders?
  13. Shoal draft important?
  14. Unobstructed inside headroom is important
  15. Leangth of trips planned?
  16. Motor noise?
  17. Sea noise?
  18. Weight/cost tradeoffs
  19. Resale is important?
  20. Interior style? Old yacht-eurostyle-plastic boat style-mega yacht style
  21. Reefing gear type
  22. Frequency of anchoring intended
  23. Frequency of tacking and trimming intended
  24. Racing intended
  25. Helm should be covered from weather
  26. Good raingear is all that is needed
  27. Trimming quality verses helmstation comfort tradeoffs
  28. Most time under sail will be spent where?
  29. Most time at anchor will be spent where?
  30. Previous boats?
  31. Previous voyages?
  32. Previous races?
  33. How important is boatspeed?
  34. Boatspeed verses comfort tradeoffs
  35. Budget
  36. Examples of best multi you have seen
  37. Examples of worst multi that you have seen
  38. Number of persons expected on most or typical voyages, and relationship of those people
  39. Most work will be upwind or downwind
  40. Rotating mast or not
  41. Fractional rig or not
  42. Fuel choice, why?
  43. Engine choice, why?
  44. How good should paint job be?
  45. Are there any other questions that i should have asked, but forgot to?
zp8497586rq

2 thoughts on “Sailing multihull preferences”

  1. Hi Kurt, just looking at your site and thought I’d give my 2 cents worth and give my opinion on your list of questions.
    in order:

    Charging: 2-3 days
    Single handing often
    Short tacking not fun, but often necessary.
    Sole should be near flat
    We motor when boat speed falls below 3 knots
    Dining seats must be face to face
    Galley near dining area
    Head area seperate
    Winches manual except for halyards
    10. Transom steps, for us NO, it’s a security issue for us in third world countries where theft is a common problem.

    Beaching, definitely
    Kickup rudders, or dagger rudders, YES
    Shoal draft, absolutely
    Unobstructed headroom, yes
    Length of trips, circumnavigation via 5 capes.
    Motor noise sucks
    Sea noise sucks too
    Weight/cost, important and difficult to quantify
    Resale important, yes
    20. Interior style, less important than functionality

    Reefing, slab and roller for jib
    Anchoring, 95% if not sailing
    Tacking and trimming, only when needed
    Racing, rarely
    Helm should have protection from weather
    Raingear, see above
    Trimming quality/Helm comfort is a tradeoff but comfort offshore is paramount, right after the ability to quickly dump a sail.
    Most time sailing is offshore
    Most time at anchor is in protected anchorages
    30 Previous boat, Corbin 39, S&S 34
    Previous voyages, 2 times atlantic to Europe, one time to Venezuela from Canada, Caribbean/Bermuda etc…
    Races; Club races, rarely
    Boat speed is important in light winds, average boatspeed over longer distances more important than sprinting to the finish line.
    Comfort very important, Speed is second.
    Budget is relatively small, less than $100 000 for hull/deck and another $100 000 to finish.
    Best Multi I’ve been aboard, a friend’s self built Schionning 49, quiet and sails windspeed up to 12 knots true with a shorter rig than spec.
    Worst multi I’ve been aboard, Endeavor cat
    My wife and I sail alone across oceans and sometimes with guests while coastal cruising.
    Most of our sailing is downwind, but upwind ability is extremely important to us.
    Rotating mast, I’d like one
    Fractional rig, yes
    Fuel choice, diesel (rather electric but cost/repairability is an issue)
    Formerly VW but on our KH45 will be yanmar, both for ease of finding parts and affordability of parts.
    Paint job, should look smooth and clean, not necessarily mirrorlike and bright.
    Missed questions… Many like keels, especially those who don’t mind losing a little speed. I’d love to be able to beach the boat (dry) and get to the hull bottoms for paint/repair. (I’m designing a removable shoe for the daggerboard slot so I can install before going aground for repairs or being hauled on the hard.)
    I guess that’s it Kurt. Nice site.
    Paul Melanson,
    Currently building KH 45 (stretched to 48 with your permission) in Canada.

Comments are closed.