Looking at Cats

A lot has happened since my last post. This is not surprising, as I have done a lot since then: First of all I went sailing in the first week of October on the very FP Athena 38 that made me think about catamarans in the first place. Since October I have been a 100% committed catamaran convert. I was fairly sure before then, but now I am 100%.

After the October charter on the Athena I immediately ordered and submerged myself in Chales E. Kanter´s: Cruising Catamarans Communique. It has helped me form a list of qualities I need to look for in catamarans. Prior to reading his book I had a reasonable list of features that I found desirable, but with his knowledge backing me, it's easier to move forward. I also contacted one broker, in order to get the brokers point of view. I know there are many brokers out there and since I don't have the advantage of knowing the American market very well, I talked to catamaran owners and read what I found online. In the end I contacted Phillip Berman from The Multihull Company. He's certainly very knowledgeable and I feel that the information and advise he has given me has been very straight forward and valuable.

In November I traveled to the US and met up with Darrell McDaniel from the Florida office of  The MultiHull Company, as Phillip was busy elsewhere. Before I buy it is essential that I see as many catamarans as possible and Darrell showed me a wide range in the three days I went around with him. We looked at:  Leopard 45, FP Venezia 42, FP Bahia 46, Lagoon 380 S2, Lagoon 410, Lagoon 42, Lagoon 440, Privilege 39, Privilege 395,  Privilege 465, Broadblue 46, Manta 42 MK2, Nautitech 47, Kennex 445 and Voyage Norseman 44. It was very interesting to see all of them and write down some notes and take pictures. It's always tough to get to know a boat without going for a sail, but the initial feeling is something I trust.

After seeing all of them, there were a few boats I definitely didn't like, but instead of listing them, I can focus on the boats I like. My favorite was by far the Manta. It is a boat built for cruising and has a philosophy behind it that I can identify with. I'll write more about Manta later.

The other cats I liked was the Lagoon 410, though I have issues with the lack of storage and counter space in the galley. I also liked the Kennex 445, but it's an old cat, the last one to roll off the production line did so in 1996. The other cats had too much of a charter feel to them and I seriously wouldn't want to live onboard them. My feelings might have been different had I seen the Owner versions of the boats, but for most of them, the only ones I could see was the 4 cabin lay-outs, specifically made for chartering. There are a few cats I would have liked to have seen, Seawind 1160 and the Outremer (though I believe the Outremers will be out of my league budget wise).

A week later I was in Tortola and I walked over to the charter base and looked around at the boats. I basically looked at the entire range of Leopards without being impressed. I just don't like them. I also looked at more Lagoons and a Fountaine Pajot or two. I prefer Lagoons to Fountaine Pajot, but until I see a owners version I'm not going to be convinced.

In December I drove up to Sarasota and met Dan Evans from Manta Catamarans. He showed me around at their factory and then we went for an afternoon sail on a brand new Manta MK4 together with Joe Hanko from the Rhumbline Sailing School. Though we only experienced very light winds, we got the Manta moving with as little as 4 knots of apparent wind. The Manta is so easy to sail that anyone can do it. I also like the lay-out onboard, the storage space and the feel of it ... I think the only thing I would like differently would be windows in the salon to be like the Lagoons. Given that, this boat would be a definite winner.

Now I'm back in freezing Beijing dreaming about warmer weather and fairer sailing. The good thing is that I've sold my house in Norway, so now I'm one step closer to getting a boat. The plan is still to buy a boat next spring, leaving me 1 year to see all the boats I want to see and lock down which I want to go for.

Right now it looks like a Manta ... It'll be exciting to see if I find another cat that changes my mind.

Comments

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[Skipper Theo]

Very nice! I am also very interested in Cats and I am about to look for a proper one for my project.

So Keep on going with your research and publish your thoughts and results in the Internet.
You are not alone out there!

After many years employed as a scientist I have decided to give my life a new turn
and to look for a maritime challenge. I am employed now as a professional Skipper and diver
and I am working on the realisation of a more ambitious maritime project which includes sail and dive.
For this purpose I am looking for a proper vessel and cats have many features which I want to have.

If you want you can have a look to my Homepage, it includes some
more Information, unfortunally at the moment only in german: www.saildiveadventures.de

I would come back to you for some advice.

kind regards
Theodor (yemenis@saildiveadventures.de)