7 CAT vs MONO Myths Debunked Sailing @ Cape Horn | Must Watch Before You Buy a Sailboat! [Ep.114] 

Regarding comfort and warmth whilst sailing, we have a pilot house monohull with inside steering which allows for the on-watch to stay out of the elements. That’s more about boat design than cat vs monohull.

What made me a cat lover for the moment is the forward dry steering in the catamaran, I am a 72-year-old Beneteau 38 foot sailor now. Sitting inside in the warmth sounds pretty dang darn good.

Very interesting to hear your comments. Certainly big differences between the two types of vessels. I thought your background music choice when showing the inside comfort of Artemis was so cute, almost a lullaby. I thought Tom was going to fall asleep at the wheel. I do often see how much fun you both have and enjoy the sailing with Sweet Ruca. You guys and Sweet Ruca are a match made in heaven. Safe travels

Love your videos! Thanks for making them. Love the beautiful scenes and great actual sailing content. Please keep low key teaching about sailing and sharing your experiences. To respond to this video, some points: 1. J Boats are not typical monohulls. They're almost more racers that can cruise than cruisers that can race. A more typical monohull might be something like a Beneteau or a Catalina. They all sail fine, but J's are more biased to performance, response and feel. (The J's are really wonderful sailor's boats.) 2. Dazcats are not typical catamarans. While they're performance oriented, this particular model is designed to be operated by someone in a wheelchair, so doesn't have the same experience/requirements as other models. More typical cats might be French or even Australian ones. Many of the French ones have tillers or aft helms, even on larger boats. 3. Most multihulls do require going on the foredeck to actually change a sail, just like any other sailboat. 4. Catamaran bridge deck slapping is highly dependent on hull design. It's more likely on low bridgedeck charter cats than higher bridgedeck performance cats, but even then it varies by design. 5. Hobby horsing motion is also dependent on hull design, where the masses are placed fore and aft, how the different hull sections respond to heave, etc. 6. Multihulls in general are more sensitive to being overloaded, since they lack ballast, and tend to get overloaded with cruising gear. Some designs handle this better than others. Since multihulls lack ballast, the fraction of mass from provisions and equipment is larger. 7. Multihulls are easier to overpower with wind because they don't heel very much. For monohulls, heeling is an indication of wind power. Monohulls automatically depower by heeling too much, spilling wind off the sail. They present less area to the wind when heeled too much. Because they don't heel as much, multihulls usually require reefing according to wind speed. Most cat builders provide a highly specific reefing schedule with the boat. 8. For foam cored monohulls and multihulls, the mostly intact multihull will float even if full of water. The monohull wont, due to the ballast. If it fills with enough water, it sinks. A really strong case can be made that a monohull must have a lifeboat for offshore use, but unless a multihull breaks up enough, it's better to stay with the boat even if inverted. An inverted multihull can be its own lifeboat. In the early days of multihulls, there was a survivorship bias. People saw them inverted and assumed they were prone to inversion. In reality, the inverted multihulls stayed afloat to be found and rescued, while a similarly swamped monohulls sunk and were no longer visible to be found. They simply disappeared, unfortunately too often along with their crews. Human perception is a funny thing, and biases are very real. Chris White and Jim Brown have two highly informative books about multihulls titled: "The Cruising Multihull" and "The Case for the Cruising Trimaran" respectively. I can't recommend them highly enough. They are clear, direct and highly reasoned and informative. They're also highly informed by decades of building and sailing multihulls and learning from earlier pioneers.

An Amel 54 or Hylas, Oyster, 59 foot center cockpit with hard dodgers, are always going to be more stable in huge seas, and you are dry. Sea sickness just put yourself on manual steering. And in high gusts which might knock you down in a monohull will often devastating, or damage the rig. Look at SV Delos, in huge seas in his center cockpit..

excellent informative video Catamaran verses Monohall. Personally I think it's just a personal preference. Both have their plus and negatives. Sail safe see you next week sounds like a great adventure awaits sweet Rucca

I don't understand boat comparison videos where they compare a $200k sailboat with a $1 million sailboat. Who is that for? If you do a comparison of a monohull with an equivalently priced multihull, then I think we have something valuable to talk about. Otherwise, good sailing channel, I've really enjoyed your adventures and that you are doing things that other youtube channels wouldn't dare do or wouldn't know how to do.

Fully encased cat deck house although alluring, I have long felt that cockpit enclosures are for those who don’t really want to sail their boats. And, I’m an advocate of clean decks. With that said. And here’s a dirty little secret. We kind of enjoying being a bit warmer and a bit more out of the wind when underway…shush, don’t tell. The compromise, like you have come up with is dodger and Bimini which still provides good visibility and minimal protection. My point being, It’s tempting to sit in the comfort of the enclosure when we should be out on deck dealing with something that needs attention, or just roaming around checking stuff.

All I can say you two are amazing the way you guys work the sail boat safety gear and everything inbetween !Thank you !

Thanks for the awesome analysis! glad you're enjoying the beauty!

Very interesting comments on catamarans, lot’s of controversy in this subject.

There are monohulls with pilot houses (I am from the PNW). Some of them are pretty spacious, though it is probably pretty hard to find one as big as a cat :) Safety is number one: the crew and in particular captain. I have been impressed how crew and captain work on Sweet Ruca. There is not a huge difference compared to what I have seen in other crews but you guys seem to be at the top of what I have seen. Communication seems very good and practiced at all times. I think racing has done you both well. I have a long way to go but it will be a few years before I venture out of protected waters or try something like the NW passage... or even sailing around Vancouver Island. I can't speak for your boat in particular, but some racing monohulls are so wide as to share with the cat the problem of being more stable upside down than right side up. I would think that this is not a problem with most cruiser or cruiser/racer monohulls. Having said that, a knockdown can be serious problem for anyone. See Ming Ming for a truely unsinkable monohull (V-berth and lazarette foamed and sealed).... Which had the skipper sailing half way across the Atlantic with a broken rib(s). I think both Ming Ming and Ming Ming II were set up for "Pajama" sailing, where all rigging changes could be done from the pilot "house" in a comfy gimbaled seat (AKA swing). Having said all that, Ming Ming was purpose built for single handed sailing in northern seas up to and beyond 80 north. For me, the biggest problem with a cat, aside from cost, would be finding mooring. Looking through our marinas, I have not seen any cats. I have seen trimarans on balls... which in this area pretty much means beached sooner or later. Having mooring behind a break water even rafted up at the fisherman's dock is a hull saver. To be honest, the Georgia Strait is so full of monohulls and wait lists for marinas, there is no incentive to build for cats yet.... maybe Vancouver and Victoria.

I like sailing monohulls because I like the feel of it and heeling! Sailing a dingy when young and always liked the heeling part. Sleeping on a mono I love it. Dislike the hobby horse of cats. Cats good for anchorages, but the fun part is getting there on a mono!

Great video. Honest assessment. Different people will make different choices based on their needs and preferences. Clear to see how y’all and Sweet Ruca are a perfect match.

First, really appreciate and enjoy your videos. Second, agree with you on your catamaran vs. mono assessments. We have a Bristol 43.3, 30k lbs, and often catch up and pass comparably sized cruising cats. I've also had the opportunity to speak with cat crews after a long rough rally passage, ~1,500 nm, which we did on our mono. Their description of trying to sleep and move about the boat in 20-25 ft seas sounded much more difficult than our experience. An example they provided was being in your bunk rolling from one side to the other as waves rolled under the boat and the entire angle of the boat changed while on our mono we stayed healed over on one side. Oh, and we were in port well ahead of them. Finally, we just returned from chartering a 46' Lagoon for two weeks in the BVI. All I can say is, and don't mean to offend anyone, what a tub! But there were six of us and once we were anchored it was a great condo. Looking forward to your seeing your future adventures.

I both agree and disagree on most points. My main criticism on your video would be you didn't give enough detail on the two boats (Specs). Maybe your not comparing apples with apples? (as much as that is possible when comparing Monos with Cats). Only just noticed your channel, I'm seeing this video in isolation. Good to see your not biasing your comments with your love of monohulls. I will try to keep my love of Cats out of my comments. You make some good points that I agree with, and you also make some points that I dont entirely agree with. I think it's far to say, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. This is just my humble opinion Point 1: Speed. Yeah, It depends on the boat, and (in particular with Cats) the weight. But for Blue Water sailing boats, The difference is not so great. Point 2: Fun. Depends on what your expectations are. This depends partly what you started with, and if you want the old school romantic notion of what a "Sailing Boat" is. I personally dont like getting Wet and Cold, but most Cats have a way of being outside with that wind in your hair experience as well as the option of staying warm inside. Point 3: Bridgedeck slap. It CAN be an issue, so that should be a considered when you buy a Cat. Clearance of >= 0.8m absolutely minimises this, but that usually means a bigger Cat. Point 4: Seasickness. Cat vs Mono = both different motions. Larger boats have a different motion again. You get used to the motion your exposed to (mostly). Point 5: Cats are just floating caravans?. Apart from the strange wording, generally I 100% agree with you that they are more than that. Note - some Monos have much drier helms than yours, like some/most Cats do require some outside work in a sea. Point 6: Weight Sensitivity. I agree and disagree with you. Providing you dont OVERLOAD your boat, they both perform well. If you OVERLOAD a Mono, it still does not make much difference. But when you OVERLOAD your CAT, the performance suffers badly. Point 7: Safety and Heavy Weather (extreme) sailing: Your right, BIG topic Cat: Relatively easier to flip with no chance of righting and WILL smash the rigging. Need to keep an eye more on not overpowering a Cat, but will almost always still float if capsized. Mono: More forgiving if overpowered, and righting angle is much higher (even if all rigging totaled), but is more likely to sink than a Cat Now going to go check out Ep 113 (cat trip around Cape Horn). Time to find out what cat you used, but I'm pretty sure I know from the video of the helm station.

Yeah, we use to Hate it when our Moms would put a Quarter in The Hobble Horses 🐎 in front of the grocery store back in the 50s, we would get SO sea sick…!!! 😎👍👏👌🥳

Good vidio. Thank stay safe

Thanks for this great episode based on your actual experiences sailing around the horn.

awsome vid nice to see you both clean up good (no googles no weather gear) Personally I like the condo style

That was an enjoyable discussion with a good perspective from both sides. I know you are miles from Artemis by now, but a more in depth tour of the boat would have been interesting along with some more about the setup, i.e. the apparent lack of a main sail and boom. I do, however, recognize the need for privacy and Thomas and Heather may not have wanted the world peering into their personal space. Thanks to them for bringing us along for the ride. It was great.

Hello friends! Welcome to Chile, my country. You are going to navigate one of the most beautiful areas in the world, the Patagonian channels. Regarding the myths, I agree with all but the speed, and the best demonstration is the results of the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) where, for example, one year a TS42 catamaran won with a crew of older adults than in their video they show how they did yoga or cooked during the regatta, and thus, without much effort, they beat the entire fleet. A light catamaran, like the ORC (formerly TS) or the Outremer make an enormous difference in light winds, where a monohull is motoring, these catamarans are under sail at wind speed, and this makes a dramatic difference sailing in the intertropical area. Someone calculated that to go around the world, a light catamaran needs something like one hundred fewer days of navigation compared to a monohull or a heavy catamaran (Lagoon and similar).

What you get with a cat: shallow draught and less or no heeling, less or no rolling at anchor. But the motion in general on cars is not better. For the same $$$ a cat does not have more room. Often a 60ft mono is the same price as a 42ft cat. Cat sailing is definitely sailing by numbers. Most cats don't go fast because of the risk/consequence equation. A cat powered up on a beam reach is terrifying. Many monos, including mine have a comfortable dry doghouse to keep watch. We average about 200 miles/day. Without working hard. On a beam or close reach we will pass almost all cats. Those we don't pass cost millions more. Where performance cats shine is now in that 6-9knot region, if they are light and have $$$$ sail wardrobe. I like cats, but I am more than happy with my mono.

Hi, so thankful for your insight. I would say that if one is living on a boat a very big positive for the catamaran is in my experience and opinion so much less boat sway while being in anchor. It is just quite painful to see monohulls sometimes sway heavily from one side to another while being in anchor. No idea how it would be possible to relax during this. Also what I love about catamarans is that your main cabin is high, so you have big windows to see outside, not quite narrow ones. For sure that for racing, feeling the sea and for fun sailing the monohulls are way way more fun but for living on a boat catamaran is my choice. I wish happiness and love to all sailors!

On the seasickness, I got sick the first time I went offshore in a cat because the motion is so different. After a few days my body adjusted and now I’d say it’s no different to a mono hull.

Hi guys. Being a sailor and riding motorbikes I can compare sailing a catamaran with riding a bike with a sidecar. You can't compare. For me it's a monohull and a bike without a sidecar. Besides, cats cannot right themselves when flipped after a freakwave. Monohulls do. On seasickness: as soon as you feel it coming I advise to drink coca cola (the real deal) in a mix 50/50 with water. It works and no side-effects. Btw.....following the Ocean Race.....a VO65 won the last leg. Imocas, just like catamarans, are designed to go downwind or reaching. They cannot perform upwind.

Really looking forward to your sail up the west coast. Keep up the great work.

All depends on the cat, the Cat you went on is more like a motor sailer, anything 60 degrees off the wind, only if Sweet Ruca can do 15 knots of speed in 20 knots of wind and 12 in 15, verses my 11.8 Schonning Waterline performance cruiser, 6.6 metre beam (dagger boards) does it easy, AHEM, you might keep up. Don't agree with things thing moving inside the boat except with bridge deck slaps, stuff can bounced off the table. I strongly agree that Mono's are better to sail as the give a real sense of sailing and pleasure until sailing dead down wind with the dreaded downwind roll which doesn't happen doesn't happen on the cat. Parking, hands down the Cat with three times the room and stable living. Experience,Yacht owned and sailed, H28 "The Kamiri" 4years. SS 43' "The Seawind" 11 years. 33' Racing Tri" 7 years.The Ark of Infinity". 42 Colvin steel "Hidden Dragon" 6 years which I still own and on the market. And the 11.8 Schonning "Samadi" 6 months, which I am on now typing this. CHEERS, keep up your good channel, you have done more ocean miles than I, age 66.

Very good analysis, thank you...:)

Regarding #7 (safety offshore)…there’s a reason catamarans have escape hatches on the bottom… 😮

In my opinion a very honest assessment. Personally, my definition of a monohull is: life at 15 degrees. And personal comfort is #1. In other words: to each his own to their liking.

I want to start by saying, I am not a sailor. I was raised around motored fishing boats. My input is that you do not HAVE to go further into detail. The reason is whichever you have, mono or cat, will usually be the one you like, regardless of others opinion or even some facts. Do what you love, love what you do. Thank you for this and all your videos.

Monohulls are boats, and catamarans are pontoons with house stuck between them. Great episode,as always. Thanks

Hey guys; A catamaran is a sailing condo!! No thanks! A J46 is the bomb!!

Thanks guys for this review of your experience. I found it useful.

Great info, asking you please show mussels growing on the rocks in the channel, exposed at low tide, having heard they are huge.

It all comes down to personal preference.

I like a Fast Boat speed sailing is or can be like speed shaving with a Straight Razor. The feeling of the POWER of waves and Wind is intoxicating !!! Hi you Two.

Hi... great video. Saw your Cape Horn one on Artemis as well. Just one quick remark. Artemis is a very special catamaran given the design requirements and needs by the owners and can not be seen as a very good representation of cats and especially not of performance cats. Artemis has been build for a very specific purpose, which is why you have a rather low bridgedeck clearance, highly sophisticated steering setup and a very seldomly seen rig configuration. A well performing cat (not floating caravans) would have given you totally different statistics and experience. Am a monohull sailor myself (Pogo 40), but know out of experience from various long distance deliveries that even very cruising oriented cats can have very high average speeds. Just look at the ARC results and you will know. Having said that... your Ruca isn't a standard cruising monohull either, but definitively towards the faster end of the spectrum. So apples vs apples etc... :) Just my 2c.

So can you now try the Cape in a trimaran please! I take most of your points (although possibly a little defensive!). I think the point that would make the Cat sceptics point is a side on profile of both yachts. It seems to me that the potential sail area on your boat is significantly more than the Cat. I also take very personally the importance of weight distribution. My late fathers yacht was caught by a rogue wave off Southern Ireland and thankfully righted (which I do not think a Cat would do). But then again he was in the infamous Fastnet race. Safe sailing to both of you and your dear dog.

Best sailing channel on RU-vid is right here. Really like your all's perspective on the difference between the two boats. I don't think the rounding in the cat was anywhere near as bad as the first in Sweet Ruca. Artemis looked comfortable but I was wondering about safety in really big seas. Big following waves or big waves head on. Keep having fun, stay warm and stay safe. Bill

As an old salt that grew up with nothing but monohulls, my "opinions" were always biased… Your comparison review between two well crafted boats makes sense and I might become more open in accepting the real sailing values of a good designed and built catamaran.. Alas, like with everything there are a lot of inferior monohulls as well as catamarans on the market..

Very interesting. Very balanced. Thanks

I’ve enjoyed watching your experience with a performance oriented mono; many out there are on pretty stodgy rides (cats included). I’ve always (started at 10, now 61) sailed lighter, open decked cats and my experience is that despite the boats ability you will want to slow down when things get lively. We’ve done the 20 knot thing and it’s not good for a marriage nor cuisine! Same applies to the trawler crowd; they slow down too. If you find yourselves in England hitch a ride on a ‘conventional’ Dazcat like Hissy Fit; I’m sure you’ll like it! Cheers

Re: #6, the excess weight on the cat is much more of a problem than on the mono. Primarily it’s about excessive stress on the sailing rig and the structures in the hulls that absorb the energy loads. Sailing a cat that weighs much more than its design specs puts it in jeopardy from high wind and sea state forces, especially as those try to push the boat from the side. The mono will heel over and spill the wind off the rig. Cat has to absorb that high load or capsize. An overloaded cat can’t accelerate and/or make leeway to handle the load surge, hence it’s really risky to overload. Plenty of folks choose to overload their cats, but it’s a bad idea if they’re going to tackle heavy weather. Extra freezers are a perfect example of how to jeopardize a catamaran.

Cat's are great for cocktail cruising and island hopping. Big offshore trips are better suited for offshore. Did the Vikings build cat's?

You guys are legends. Thanks.

Good video. re: cold. Just finishing up a crossing of the North Pacific. I didn't want to sail this route and 'not be there,' so I've spent a lot of watches outside. (We're on a catamaran, Seawind 1260, so it's not like I was getting hit by the waves washing over the deck, or the bimini.) I brought layers of merino wool, a thick Aran Islands sweater, bought a second rain jacket and pants in Japan. (Left my too loose foulies home. Glad I did. Layers should fit.)At times I've worn all of it. Slept in it. (Got a $25 emergency bivy with a $25 Costco down comforter and a sleeping bag liner it's like the sleeping bag I should've brought. (Some who's sailed to Alaska just kept saying, "It's not going to be that cold..." Boy was he wrong.) The real issue for me (and probably the others on board) and cold is not how cold it is, but: _Do you have the layers and can you dry it out?_ One splash working on the fore deck/trampoline and my gear is wet and cold for three days. We've had foggy conditions the past week so the washing machine on board with no dryer is effectively useless. (I washed a load ten days ago and those clothes are still damp and mildewy.) Also important to comfort: Footwear (I've got loose fitting Gil boots which turned out to be the best choice I can add an extra layer of booties and still wiggle my toes) and waterproof Gloves make all the difference. I've got fat rubber gloves with an attached liner. They've been great. Better would've been the thick rubber gloves but with a separate removable liner (with 2 sets of liners). I can't pull the fingers all the way out of my gloves to dry them. I've had a lot of 'waterproof' gloves that were not. I haven't used my sailing gloves even once in three months. My rubber gloves got laughed at for about a week. My poor circulation fingers have had the last laugh. Slamming? It is loud! Because I'm such a good sleeper I love the motion, the sound of the water and I'm able to sleep through the slamming. (Like a 20 mph car accident several times every minute on the rough days, Other times I've been weightless in my berth every two minutes. Slept through it all. Others couldn't. Tip: learn to sleep on your side. Better sleep, no snoring.)

look at the americas cup in san diego? transpac race what boats are faster? multihull boats are 3 times faster the same size proven fact!!! go ahead sail what you like. i have built both and sailed both for most of my 75 years. love sailing get out in the wind and have fun!!

We are really looking forward to hearing about your experiences in the fjords of Chile. You two are a lot of fun to watch and pretty brave to wade into the Cat versus Mono debate so deeply. Keep having fun. (grin) J&J

But... It depends on where your helm station is on the monohull. Inside the dodger completely zipped in with all lines fed back... it would be pretty comfortable and safe.

I absolutely love watching these vids and can't get enough. I see the boat choice as a matter of personal tastes but for me the monohulls seem to be calling to my soul. Too bad i'll never get to own one but i can live vicariously through you guys.

Welp, I wouldn't consider my nacra 5.8 to be particularly slow, but don't think I'd get to Hawaii on it nearly as fast as on a 78 foot Dashew, if at all. Of course neither would be much good in coastal waters full of ice and deadheads. Both could be fun though. The cat is sort of like fast skiing, hang gliding or sex. Lots of predictable power, body motion and feel involved. A heavy keeled boat is relatively dead. A keel-less monohull is just so tippy that you spend most of your attention trying to keep upright. Not fun. Half the reason a Tornado was inevitably faster than a FDutchman in any decent air was that the FD crew was just trying to avoid capsizing.

Nice video and good info.

I like you two think mono is a better experience of sailing. Just what you want in sailing is what its about. I am becoming very much a social sailor, big space for socializing appeals. Place for all as I see it.

knock down on Cat is catastrophic. knock down on Sweet R. is an inconvenience. Is that True? My boat is a 48 ft Swan knock off. The rudder is sealed off with water tight bulkhead which could be done on Sweet R. with not to much effort. U guys r really fun to watch. luv ur boat.

Hi Guys. This "Hobby Horse" Catamaran Motion ? is it like I all it, a weird Corkscrew notion , and Maybe how SV Tonic Boatwives Channel called it after experiencing what they Call a "Bucking Bronco " Motion - may be a better description tbh - when delivering a 51ft Lagoon Catamaran I think it was. This happens in pretty common Sea Conditions where you get the hulls meeting waves at different times. This atamaran Motion in the Irish Sea, finished my plans of ever having a Catamaran. It didn't cause me to get Seasick, as I use quarter tablet doses of Stugeron Seasick Tablets as apreventative, and have done since they came on the Market (for e nothing else works successfully ). But despite that, talk about that notion messing my head up. It is Really Disorientating. Agreed on comparisons up to the Seasickness bit, I've stuck with Minohulls ever since, and no complaints (other than being boatless still at the moment ). Best Wishes and Fair Winds. Bob in Wales. 🤔👍⛵️✨️✨️✨️

You boat is awfully fast, my boat might hit 5.5 knots at it's best. Though I might look at your model boat in the future as I will want something bigger. Sadly I can be a little of an opportunist, so if an affordably priced Lagoon shows up on my doorstep without bulkhead issues I might jump on it. I think that most people want a lot of the catamarans out there because of the expansive living space, and not the ability to make miles. The thing is they don't realize that making miles is important too if you want to get to your next destination in a timely manner. The Sat data puts you near Puerto Montt at least for the boat. Hopefully it is proving to be enjoyable. I had to dig for your video in my feed, and as a suggestion it might be better to schedule them for a US time slot that would cover more evening viewers on a Saturday perhaps. My info says the video is 22 hours old and launched some time around 5pm Friday EST. Might I suggest 8pm EST Friday as it will be in peoples faces on the East Coast during prime viewing times, and will carry over to the Western Time Zones during the next six hours.

Good Comparison. I got intrigued by Catamarans by Rosie Swales adventures in hers (she used to live fairly local to me ) which resulted in me trying one, and discovering that really off putting Motion. Build quality can be an issue that affects both Catamarans and Monohulls, and if intending to live aboard and Cruise extensively, really needs close attention paid to them, whatever you end up getting. Best Wishes and Fair Winds. Bob in Wales. 👍⛵️✨️✨️✨️

It's a complicated subject, but the "cruising" vs "racing" multihull really makes a difference. When sailing my J24 around from Clearwater to Daytona, here in Florida, we came to a bridge that was being replaced and had to wait for a crane to raise the drawbridge, so we had to reach back and forth across the ICW with a Hobie Cat in about 20 kts. of wind, while waiting. We never once had the Hobie beat us in a round trip. It would pass us just before we had to tack, but we were halfway back across the river before he was able to tack. Of course, the J is quick, and briefly, we actually passed a 27' Chris Craft power boat when we finally got through the bridge. I sailed with a trimaran twice, when I had my Alberg 30 (a slow, modified full-keeled cruiser) and both times it involved some tacking over the 50+ mile trips. We were tied up in our slip before the trimaran even got to Ponce Inlet or St Augustiine Inlet. My third time was when I was sailing by myself in my Morgan Nelson/Marek 36 and tacking south on the ICW when there was a catamaran race going on. Once again, none of the catamarans could compete. Eagle was way closer to the wind and much faster on the tacks. So, I suspect, that if we had a strong wind off the quarter, the multihulls would do better by a long shot, but not if the trip involves going to weather. My last experience was in an offshore race (100+ miles round trip) with a student in his Hunter 28.5 against an F-27 performance trimaran. The first leg was to weather, and we easily stayed ahead of the F-27. As we approached Ohio Shoals off Cape Canaveral, a very black storm that you could not see under (going to be very bad) was coming off the shore. We dropped the main and rolled the jib up to about a 30% sail. When the storm hit, as usually happens, we had a 180 degree wind shift and flew downwind in whiteout conditions which, unlike most summer storms, lasted for about an hour. When we looked for the F-27, we couldn't find it, and assumed that in downwind conditions it had flown past us. 3 days later, they found the trimaran upside down in the Gulfstream near Jacksonville, with the crew sitting on the upturned hull hoping for rescue. The part where multi-hulls go from stable to unstable in the blink of an eye was and eye opener.

Can a catamaran point into the wind as high as a monohull

Full tanks do not count when the discussion comes to overloading boats. It's about additional stuff like bikes, fridges, electrical devices in general. And as a naval architect I can say cats are more sensitive to weight overload. Still I have been missing important things to be discussed. First of all the double aft cabins on a cat. I can't get why almost no one talks about the importance of sleeping aft instead of in the bow. Also important to have a crew of 4 well slept people instead of 2 if a Monohull has comfortable aft cabins at all. I'd have a mono with center cockpit and aft main cabin for sure, but then there are only 2 well slept. As crew is the most important redundancy on board, I want 4 people taking the watches and 2 on board being able to repair things. On a mono the skipper may have an accident or be seriously sick and just at that time the wind blows heavily onshore in front of an harbour entrance and the engine fails. In case of an sailing heterosexual couple there's only the woman left to troubleshoot the problem. All systems on board are usually required to be redundant, crew is not. The main mistake. Therefore a cat with 2 cabins aft is the far better option.

If you look at the ARC results, the only catamarans that are significantly faster than the monohulls are the Marsaudon ORC catamarans which are--as you say flat out performance machines. The big cruising catamarans are not faster and generally use their engines a lot.

I've sailed both. Can't stand Cats. They are more like driving a bus. Also, unless you are willing to spend mega-dollars, there are very few that are robust enough to hold up to cruising, they break a lot. Also, the operating expense of dual engines, plus all the other comfort doo-dads people pack on them, is way more expensive than a monohull. Also, two of the top video cruisers, Sailing Doodles and Zingaro both ditched their cats. Gone with the Wynns came close to loosing theirs when their escape hatches in the hulls almost popped out (apparently not uncommon) and they also had ceiling panels fall out while sailing due to hull flex....

Did you guys get a good enough taste for the Cat that you may want one ? They are spacious. You both look well rested in this video.

Ok then it will be a catamaran ⚓⚓

Agree with most your arguments, but.... I think the comparison is not 100% fair.....

Having watched both Cape Horn videos, it appeared to me that the sea was much rougher when you were sailing Sweet Ruca, and I don't know how Artemis would have dealt with that.

interesting. as I understand it, both the J46 and Artemis are very well built boats. do you think that had an effect on your opinions? would you have the same opinion if the cat was a lagoon 45 instead of a Dazcat? or a.. iunno.. Hunter instead of a J?

I watch alot of shows and no one says Cat's are faster but there are tri's that go faster no doubt

Definitely slanted, it was so obvious! Yes you have lots of money for the initial cost and upkeep to us lower class that can't afford or want a Cat!

I think it is kind of cute that you think a weekend trip (where you never even put up the main sail) puts you in a position to compare your monohull (which you know inside and out) to a multihull (which you don’t). Useless silly exercise.

I am surprised you dont have a Webasto or the like for heat down below.

Speed. Whilst I still think cats have the edge in most conditions…. The sea conditions largely dictate how fast you can comfortably go. So not much difference. Then there is the fun factor, sure a wild downwind ride in a mono is exciting, probably because you are the edge of control, whereas a cat takes it all in its stride. Safely, give me a cat any day. Moving around on deck is so much safer. Gybing, no issue. Getting thrown around in the cabin…hardly happens.

Seemed like you were 'along for the ride' on the cat, which seemed pretty big and automated, while you were hands-on sailing Sweet Ruca. You are excellent sailors while I am not, but it seems a very different experience.

Hang on guys! are you making these statements based on sailing on one cat?? Artimis is not a good cat to compare. She is clearly designed for the owner with a unique rig that is certainly not designed for performance. Most Dazcats will sail completely differently (and better) have daggerboards and go like hell. Have a look at Hissy Fit sailing around Great Brittan. My suggestion is try sailing on a decent cat with daggerboards-- in Australia there are some great boats-- mine is a 39' Mark Pescott cat-- 19.6knots two sail sailing on flat water, mid 20s off shore. And feel is absolutely there-- 18knots is regular and a ton of fun! Bridgedeck height, weight, prismatic coefficients and hull/beam ratios are really important design aspects to a decent cat. The lagoons, leopards etc pay no attention to this stuff and hence sail terribly. Yep, you do get seasick on cats! Phil

Probably not the best representation of a performance catamaran since it's a oneoff design with no mainsail. This was designed to be easy to operate for the owner with mobility issues. Normal Dazcats would be a lot faster. I feel mentioning Dazcat brand without explaining the lack of a main and the special purpose of artemis is doing the brand a disservice .

How often have you done 24 to 27 knot in a production cat?

I guess in a capsizing a monohull will self right itself, sure you'll have catastrophic damage demasting waterlogging etcetera but there's no righting a catamaran.

If you are on a good mono designed to CRUISE. Eg an Amel like Delos. Helm protected, cocpit mostly enclosed. On my KP 44 and Cal 46 I never just sat out in weather like you racers do, (even when cruising). I waa always protected by a substantial dodger Bimini combo. And I have made 200 mi days on both boats. So they are not slow. And a much more comfortable ride. You had to really work to get them (especially the Cal) to really pound. But sure, in an all out race your J 46 will win. Ha ha.

You should have outfitted your J for handicap sailing or attempted to drive it in a wheelchair on deck or compared it to a standard performance cat with a mainsail aka something like an Atlantic 42. I like both lead smugglers and cats, but damn this comparison was skewed af.

Extreme conditions😂😂😂😂😂

Nice but you guys forget something ,for the price of a 50 feet cat you can get a 64 feet monohull, and in bad weather i will be rather on a the 64 mono than on a 50 cat ! just alone for the force dynamics, not mentioned sailing close to the wind, a cat will be so much worse .And you guys ARE SAILORS not drifters no 30 knots we had a big storm drama ,

If you look at stats Monos normally travel 6-8 knots and Cats 8-10 tri's 10-18 because of water displacements these are not opinions they are facts..

Hardly a scientific analysis. Do you know about the max hull speed equation for keel boats? I suggest you do a little research before expounding on something you obviously know very little about.

Now that you have 'scientifically' proven that Ruca is the best boat ever and Cats are terrible, maybe you could examine different spacecraft used to fly to Mars. You could use the same 'scientific' methods!

What a total load of rot! I find it incredible that people can be so silly. It looks as thought the Dazcat doesn't have its main up in the second shot, but to have two data points and then say "Cats are no faster than monos" is absolutely stupid. I have cruised my performance cat for 23 years and have been passed by a few performance cats and one very very nice large super fast race mono being delivered by a gun crew. BUt my cheap 38ft cat has done daylight trips of 160 and 150 miles - going at over 10 knots all day. If you pick a slow enough catamaran you can beat them, but a run of the mill cedar strip and plywood Grainger or Schionning will leave almost any mono in its wake whilst the crew are sitting back and doing it easy. Please don't take people like this' word, they must have a huge anti cat axe to grind. Get out and talk to real daggerboard cat owners and find out the real deal. Condo cats are slow but other cats can be very nice to sail indeed.

What a total load of rot! You compare a J boat, designed for speed, with a wheelchair and disabled friendly cat with no mainsail and say that it is a fair comparison. Cognitive bias writ large. How about some proper research before going "Totally False!"? In 23 years of owning a performance cat I have been passed by a couple of fast cats and have passed hundreds and hundreds of monos. My 38ft cat is a simple cedar and ply boat I built myself and draws 50cm with the rudders up. It has done 160 miles in daylight (15 hours in the summer) twice and we avarge 8 knots easily. We cruised for 3 years with a table bought from a furniture store and never even screwed down, it never moved. My kids have made card houses in their hull, my brothjer had just come back from the Farr 40 worlds and we were cruising at 15 knots offshore and he couldn't believe that his son and ours were building card houses whilst we clipped 15s. Our daggerboard cat glides upwind, and is rock solid and speedy downwind. As a Laser racer, who competed at World Championships in my youth, a cat allows me to have the speed of a dinghy without needing a deep keel, I can stow toys and have a boat that is super fun to play on, with great stern steps, great stowage and a boat that makes me smile every time I sail it. For anyone using this video as some sort of research into cruising boats - this is a totally biased viewpoint using only one cat as a data point - rubbish for anyone trying to work out if a cat could be for them.