Why We Went From Catamaran to Monohull | Cat vs Mono | Sailing Kittiwake 

I agree with all your points having had both types. Still would love to have a big wharram catamaran though.

Thanks heaps for your honest appraisal . Now I can sail my armchair around my living room..LOL Cheers

Agree. “ you gotta love the way she looks”.

Like you we went from a Cat (Lagoon 470) to a Monohull (Wauquiez), with almost as good a view as the Cat from the salon, which was one thing we would not give up. We moved for similar reasons, being in the Med for a year we found getting into a marina a real problem and always just when the forecast was bad, made the misses real anxious being turned away all the time. But the three main reasons are, firstly the heavy weather handling of the Cat did not inspire confidence compared to the Mono, with worrying levels of noise and slamming. And the Cracks at flex points on the hull always needing repairing. 2nd, was loading, by the time we had a generator and AC fitted she was getting so low in the water her sea keeping was noticeable worse. 3rd, we wanted to head north, and it did not take long to realise condensation was going to be a problem with the thin hull, and with her already being low in the water did not want to get her insulated. So now we have a cozy fully winterised monohull, no problems getting a berth, still have a view and feel a lot more confident when things get sporty.

Your experience sharing is both detailed and pragmatic. I have learned a lot, thanks!

I appreciate your very honest review. I like the fact you were comparing an older catamaran to an older monohull, both boats you’ve owned and not entirely indicative to the more modern vessel. Definitely a matter of personal tastes and priorities.

Positive points of a Monohull along with your sweet and calm voice made it top notch Elena .

Grandma old saying "Less is more". This video shows exactly that! Cheers from Brazil.

I came to much the same conclusions and bought a very similar boat, a Shannon 38. And I won't lie--her physical beauty played a role in that decision.

I went from mono to catamaran 23 years ago and have never regretted it, I have a 38ft Wharram Tiki design, plenty of room and is a brilliant sea boat. The rig is so simple to use and is also a low stress rig....great. I have sailed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans with no problem.

What a lovely yacht, I would say it was a great decision to change to a mono hull

All sound reasons to switch to a monohull in your situation. I love the feel of a monohull at sea, but not so much at anchor. About 2 years ago I sailed a 45' cat and that was it, I am now building a 48'' cat to retire onto as I would rather live on the sea than in a house on land, and truth is, most cruisers spend 90% of their time at anchor, not at sea. Also, that 45' cat handled 2 meter swells with no problem, had tons of room, and nothing fell off the counters. We also sailed at between 8 and 10 knots most of the time. But I think for anything under 38', or if sailing in Europe, a 36+ monohull is best, for the reasons you gave. Thanks.

I have been waiting for your take on this question. I own catamarans as well as keelboats and trimarans. The question is not which is better in absolute terms, the question is what serves your needs. And you made the points perfectly clear when it comes to your priorities. Thanks.

Love your narrations Elena..always so clear and to the point and you have a lovely Anglo/Italian accent ...I'll miss you explaining stuff! Good luck for the future 👍

Your reasons are 100% valid. You did forget one key point. As sailors no matter how careful we are, no matter how we monitor the weather we are going to run into stormy seas. The only thing we can truly control when we sail, is the boat we are in and the time we leave the dock. A Well designed, well built mono is safer in heavy weather than cats. Period! Your Tayana 37 is truly a go anywhere full keel Bluewater cruiser. Be happy, be safe.

Thank you both, an excellent comparison from the situations you found yourself in! Good that you have at least tried out both cats and monohulls! Be safe and happy, and please keep up posting your journey.

Now you’re even more my heroes than before! I’ve got a monohull and would never trade for a cat!

Thanks. Great help for those who are looking at making a decision and have not had the experience of living on either of the options for years.

I have been on both monohulls and cats and between them all of my yachts have been monohulls, When it comes to looks, it goes hands down to the monohull. Really enjoyed your video and such a pretty classic little boat.

Well done and well said. At the end of the day it is a subjective choice and for a great many of sailors it is driven by their pocketbook.

Nice summary,,,,personally i agree wholeheartedly about the looks of a boat. In the end the space of a modern CAT is mighty seductive but you cant beet the traditional looks of a beautiful boat from the 80s and 90s or before. I go for it every time! And if you are not in love with your boat it becomes worse than a pain!! All the best to you.

Back in the day I loved the big trimarans like Gulf Streamer and Three Cheers, and thought that was the way for me. Eventually, I got to sail across the Channel in a small trimaran. It was the only time I have ever been seasick, and at the time death was preferable. I know it is different when you have a large boat, but that really changed my preference in favour of monohulls.

Awe you guys are awesome. I have missed you guys . I haven’t been on here in a while . Hope all is well. And happy new year !!!!💥💥

We have crewed on a catamaran, and we agree with the movements at sail. We have described the movements as "Spastic" in a blog post on our website. Our 41 foot monohull has a far more gentle movement through the water.

Thanks for your sharing of why you changed! Hope you are staying safe n are enjoying your experience on living on a boat as my husband did live in a camper for a few years which I know it not that same but we did enjoy that!

You've made some fantastic points! I'm in love with my Prout 33. It is a bit narrow in the hulls, but the headroom in the hulls is well over 6ft. In the setee area, its 5'10. I have an inch to spare 😂 I fully understand why you choose a mono. They are certainly cozier and more comfortable inside than a small cat. My problem is that I make friends everywhere so I wanted to ability to invite loads of people out for a sail, or to sail with crew. Either way I'm happy you found the boat that worked best for you. The Tayana 37s are awesome boats, and absolutely beautiful. My Prout looks like a sailing brick, but that's part of its charm. At least, that what I tell myself.

Great information and well done!! Thanks for sharing your adventures!! 😎⛵

One of the best comparison videos I have seen really well done 👍

Thanks for the data, it made me consider a couple of things I had not thought of. Fair winds.

I like how you started, and what you are comparing ! great video!

I love the 70's long keel mono-hulls. They have always been my preferred boat. Our boat weighs in at 27000 lbs and you can tell when you are beating in a choppy sea. Most wake created by small power craft just crashed on the side of her hull and she doesn't even move. I'm not a fan of the new hull designs of boats...The newer model of our boat went from a full keel to a bolt on keel and it improves speed and tacking ability at the sacrifice of ride comfort and structurally not as sound. Our boat can be taken off shore where the newer model it's not recommended. I really don't care what type of boat you own because if you are living the dream your my type of people and I understand what works for me might not for you.

Great vid!!! Hope you're both keeping well!

i live on a heavenly twins and yes its still small and cramped .. and the slamming to windward barf but shes nice for day sails downwind ! and my twin electric drive is amazing manuverability

Hi , very well explained , do it your way and enjoy the moment and the time . To many people spend to much time ,saying if we ? . I admire your plan simple approach to life and have enjoyed it from the start , stay safe and thanks for the trip .

One important point not mentioned is the safety factor. In the case of a knockdown, catamarans will not right themselves, while monohulls with ballasted keels will always right themselves. Catamarans can be more vulnerable to puncture as they have to be built extremely light to have any kind of performance. Those items alone swing my choice.

Excellent explanation. Learned a lot.

There is NOTHING like having experience to become fully informed AND more importantly what you cannot put up with. This is my first article on your channel and I just about freaked seeing that cat you had. One of the big reasons why people go to cats is the accommodation area. Here there was NO UNDERCOVER external protection from wind, sea spray, rain nor sun. This protection is very important. I see you have a dodger frame on the new yacht. It’s definitely worth getting the combo version made up. To be completely enclosed is even better. Combo zipped canvas and clear zipped for ventilation as well. I could not believe an amazing yacht I saw for $35,000 in central US. Obviously, anything you are seriously looking to buy should be inspected with written report detailing ALL “systems”...for example engine propulsion system, safety systems, water storage and making systems, rigging etc etc. Personally, I would even pay to hard slip her, water blast and inspect the hull as well. This is nothing like buying a house and an unbiased experienced report is very much worth the money and can even help you sell her once the various system repairs have been done over time. There is a maintenance cost over time that you must consider very seriously. Nothing lasts forever. You are both very young and I know you will learn lots by saying hi to your neighbors at anchor and picking their brains about their experience with their yacht. There are some very well costed monohulls out there, which is great for the younger sailors. Personally, I would never go under 40 foot not including bowspit. I know they are a bit more. I would rather spend money on a slower heavier older full length keel ketch/yawl with cutter rig than a younger sloop with fin keel. A well built ferro cement yacht is a nice place to be....I grew up on a 42 foot ferro cement yacht here in Australia. Our later 46 foot hi tensile steel mast head sloop, fin keel was so much fast, but being steel the slapping waves and outboard motor sounds were not the best, but tolerable (had no choice)! Speed is not a high priority, safety with a strong yacht lowers accident risk. I wish you both well on your sailing journey.

I just picked up a Prout Snowgoose 37 Cat. I'm a mono guy but I do love this boat

This was very helpful!. No need to answer my question from one of your first few episodes.

Great video and some really good points

I could tell from your first few videos of sailing Skua she was way better, faster and versatile than Kittiwake. And I'm not a sailor. Also, as I have commented before, I think Skua is a great looking boat! I'm sure her next owners will be able to get much pleasure from cruising her.

Excellent job again 👌

Bonjour Elena and Ryan. i trust that you two are well and happy. it's a gray day here in Lille, France. We have presently a high temperature of 5 degrees C. i thank you for the latest video and the comparison. personally, i believe for me, i'd like a mono hull sailing vessel. skua is quite nice and there's room for you two. have a great week, and cheers

Love the sailing lifestyle, you two are living the dream!🌊

I think you made the right choice / love your boat

At the end of the day budget is always an issue and I’m glad you discussed it. Outside of budget there is always arguments over cat and monohull and it’s all basically personal preference unless you’re buying million dollar boats made for one specific purpose...

I’ll soon be exploring the east coast of Australia on an f32 trimaran that I’m currently refitting, I’m moving the insides outwards to give it much the same inside people space as the wider “X” models and putting more thought into what was close to useless storage space (even at mock up stage it looks liveable whereas before it looked like a weekender: once I’ve done the fast shallows and reefs I intend to live aboard full time: I wanted a cat (minimum 36’) but can’t justify the cost, specially for a decent one I’d have to add over $100,000AUD on top of the tri’s value when I can buy a +40’ monohull and have over $50kAUD left over... or spend it on an even better one. I like my tri, it’s fast and will fly the centre hull, a cat is faster than a mono but not enough to warrant the cost, add that I like heeling over, it just plain feels good... olds cool good and I won’t miss the speed because I’ll be sailing blue water where I could of but shouldn’t of before. A cat would suit a family with two or more kids, this is just me and at 65, soon to be 66 I’m in no hurry or do I wish to spend my time on moorings and sitting in marina’s just in case the weather turns bad. In a storm you can batten down a good mono, get blown down and survive without too much input if any, you can’t in a cat no matter what anyone says (a lot of people need to justify their purchase regardless if right or wrong) The people who cruise known waters can do it in anything, in unknown waters you need the skill that most of us don’t have: I wouldn’t sail my tri to many places I’d sail a mono, a cat is somewhere inbetween, they’re nice but I’d have to sell my house and would loose the income from rent... nah!

Great video!

This video is very well done 👍

I would prefer a monohull over a catamaran in hurricane country. You can easily see that catamarans in the 30 to 60 foot range became "kites" flying through the air falling upside down during Cat 5 hurricanes in the Caribbean. It is also known that catamarans are for mid latitudes and dangerous to sail at latitudes in or close to the poles. Monohulls seam to handle better waves from behind when entering an inlet .... and safer when you exit an inlet with breaking waves. In the 80s I met a man that sail around the word in a monohull like yours. A small over the side flopper stopper can help at anchor.

Essentially what it comes down to is that catamaran design has only in the last 15 to 20 years started to be decent, since designers didn't have a couple hundred years of experience to build on. And unfortunately, catamarans are significantly more expensive to build and buy than an equivalent length monohull, so unless you have the money to buy a relatively new cat, a monohull is going to often be the better choice. Almost all of the problems you mention are issues that modern designs have addressed. Well, except for the looks department... Modern cats generally look like they do because it's a better design for a cat. Axe or even reverse bows, a flat or reversed sheer line, etc... are all things that help with how cats sail to make them more comfortable and perform better (even many modern cats hobbyhorse terribly because they maintain the front overhang and wide bows of more traditional monohulls, which results in a rapid increase in buoyancy up front as the cat dives into waves, which causes them to pitch up rapidly, responding much more sensitively to wave motion, which results in the hobbyhorsing). Honestly.... if money were no issue, I feel like having both would be great... though not really practical for a liveaboard, lol. I've love to have something like a Hallberg Rassy or Najad center cockpit, or a Sirius 40 deck saloon. But at the same time, I want a performance cruising catamaran that is light (but not ridiculous, fly a hull light) and quick with lots of space to lounge inside or out. I've spent the last few months working on a 14 meter catamaran design, incorporating elements of each boat I love into one "perfect" cat for me... but yeah, it would probably cost around a million bucks to have built, lol.

Great explanation, thanks! Well balanced and inoffensive, not like a lot of the more contentious videos out there by some of the recent converts to one of the mono v. multi camps.

I thought your reasoning well balanced. What it comes down to is which boat best suits your needs for a given amount of money. For ocean travel, size counts irrespective of mono, cat, tri. Good second hand cats are expensive. Good second hand monos are not. Thank you for your explanation.

awesome vid thank you

We must be the only two who went to a monohull....lol

Ah, Im thinking very few Tayana 37 owners even think about cats. A boat like a Tayana is a certified "Gets you there and back" boat. I have a similar boat and love my fort on the water...

Good stuff!

I wonder if there has been any experiments with deployable stabiliser pontoons to reduce rolling characteristics of monohull while on anchorage?

I will always love catamaran s, are so safe to sail

Very interesting perspective. Monohulls get poo-pooed a lot these days mostly due to youtubers and bloggers getting paid to market some company’s new catamaran model (which some companies have been focusing on more the past 15 years) and listing a bunch of cons for monohulls but hardly any of the pros, the “hobbyhorsing” of cats isn’t even something I’ve heard of until now. It’s nice to see a different and honest take that dares go against the latest fad and comes from an unsponsored opinion with no marketing intent behind it. Anyhow monos will probably become “cool” again in about 5 years anyway since in the past couple years there’s been an increase of R&D towards them and the same bloggers and youtubers will start talking about how you need to ditch your cat for a mono with a foil-assisted keel. Anyways just sail the boat you feel more comfortable with no matter the trends, I live near the Great Lakes and plan to get into sailing soon and I got my heart set on an old Catalina or old Hunter for my first boat, there’s this old Hunter 30 I’ve been eyeing which I hope I can get sometime this summer.

I liked kittywake but Skua seems to fit ur needs best and Ryan can stand up🙂I love cats but in ur case the mono is best, good luck stay safe and loving.

agree with most of it . If you analyze it properly , you will find that unless you buy a true light weight performance oriented catamaran (DazCat , Marsaudon Composites , Gunboat) , there is only one benefit to production cats : they sail flat , no heeling , but are just as slow (or sometimes slower) than a monohull . Production cats (FP, Lagoon , Leopard) should basically be called double mono's as their fat beamy hulls are still subject to max hull speed (bow wave drag) . Once this sinks in , a mono makes much more sense value wise than a production cat

Yep... all correctly said! A mono hull is also way safer in storm conditions!

Nice Video 👍

Skua's bowsprit alone is enough!

Sweet video.

Interesting that overloading was not mentioned. That would be my biggest worry about owning a multi hull. Not only does such lower the bridge deck structure, making it more vulnerable to waves, but it also puts additional loads on the rigging, in almost exact proportion to the added weight. I read one book written by a couple who owned two cats and one tri. They frequently mentioned the need to seriously limit what they brought on board. They saw the additional potential speed worth trading carrying capacity for.

85 degrees seems truly horrendous for upwind angle. I was considering a HT26 for a Bahamas boat for family due to space, but that is barely even upwind! Hmmmm Thanks for your videos btw. Great information

Now That was a great description of just why you kids made the switch. Having grown up with only mono-hulls, I prefer them way above the cats, even the big ones of todays designs. The costs have gone through the roof of the newer cats as well, putting them way out of reach for the "common man"! Is SKUA still up for sale? Remind me again of just why you are selling, please.

Yes a 48 foot aluminum catamaran would be so nice to liveaboard. But added running cost and price point. just my situation is all. I see it much better to invest In backups to your backups. Then to put it all on the purchase of your new to you cage.

Agree . To circumnavigate a 37 French cat is perfect. I had a a Snowgoose and hated it.

Un voilier dans l'eau, qu'il soit multi ou mono passera plus de 80% de son temps au port ou au mouillage... Les 20% restant sont en moyenne composé de 3% de navigation à la barre et 17% au pilote auto. Donc, si on considère que la cata est nettement plus agréable que le mono au mouillage (plus de place, pas ou peu de tangage, etc) et que le plaisir de barrer est inexistant lorsque on est au pilote, il reste effectivement 3% du temps passé à la barre durant lequel il sera souvent plus agréable de barrer le mono que le cata, souvent bien avare en sensations. Reste le sujet du prix : Dans la vidéo il est dit qu'à taille égale le mono est moins cher.... Mais si on compare un cata et un mono qui propose la même surface de vie, les prix se resserent... Pareils pour les ports : Il y a 10 ans, la différence de prix était un frein, mais de nos jours les ports ayant bien compris le succès du cata, les prix ont tendance à se rapprocher du mono, certains ports ayant même commencé à privilégier les cata. Bref, c'est surtout un question de goût... Pour ma part, vivre en biais et à la cave j'ai donné ! Manger de travers, dormir de travers, cuisiner de travers, se doucher de travers, faire ses besoins de travers, être les uns sur les autres et sans aucune intimité, j'ai donné ! Et puis il y en a qui vont venir avec l'argument de la remontée au près serré difficile pour les cata..... Mouarf, d'une part les cata modernes sont bien meilleurs dans l'exercice, mais comme le multi va nettement plus vite dans toutes les autres conditions, l'argnument ne servira que pour les béotiens ! A noter aussi que sur 10 marins qui sont passé du mono au cata, moins de 2 sont revenus au mono..... A bon entendeur ! Bref, pour le grand voyage, vive le cata !

Monohulls are just sexier. Multis look more like spaceships than boats, they are just ugly. All my opinion.

You can't beat experience can you? I'm amazed that Ryan - at 6ft 3ins - put up with Kittiwake's cabins for so long. I agree with all your points - apart from possibly the teak deck which for maintenance can be a pain in the ass. Today's big cats look like gin palaces - Hello magazine territory. I'm lucky I don't get sea-sick and the rolling action of mono-hulls helps get me off to sleep. My preference is for steel construction. That's basically because I can be a bit clumsy and I don't want a small mistake to go nuclear. The weight of steel is regarded as a disadvantage by some, but if Skua weights 12 tonnes she's as heavy as a same-length steel boat (are you sure she's that heavy? you must be including water, diesel, everything). She sails very nicely anyhow. Hope you're both OK. I wouldn't rush back to UK, due to COVID there's nothing much going on here!

I agree👍👍👍👍👍

Love the tiller - not the wheel.. there's a story

Good to hear your reasons. Kittiwake v Skua is comparing apples and oranges. I would think if you are happy with a 37ft mono, a 30ft cat is more the equivalent. I recall you were lucky to get Skua at a very good price, she is beautiful, so can see that. If money was not the issue would you go for a cat?

I have owned both. We switched to a cat for room for our children to have their own cabins and stay under 50' LOA. When said children left the nest we downsized to a Leopard 38' catamaram. I noticed that you were not likeing the rolling at anvhor on the monohull, a cat would of made it a lot eaiser to live with.

You make very good points, keep up the good work 👍🏻.

Motion. Of course those who are happy on a cat, find the slower motion of a mono make you seasick! One point I may beg to differ, with a mono in a beam sea there is a very snappy motion as the wave passed through. Very easy to be knocked off balance, and a significant hazard. A cat does not suffer this.

Ryan is very blessed with you. You made the right decision

Monohull fan here, I just love sailing to windward waaaaay to much.!!But Robertson and Caine Leppard 48ft cat did not hardly move in the anchorage, had hardly any hobby horsing

❤️

Valid opinions

I never thought that you would need to explain why you moved to the mono. Your little cat was just that , very little. I really like your mono and it is so much bigger inside than the cat. Good luck in your adventures . You did say in a few video's ago your were selling her. What has become of that?

My uncle bought 41 foot. With 4 people going around the world.

I used to love sailing Hobies, the windier the better, but I wouldn't sail my mono boat in those conditions. The berthing and maintenance gets very unfriendly when you move up to the 40-45 foot range in cats. Also the only boat I ever felt seasick on was a cat. There's also the naming conventions. They have to be feline based. Fluffy Pussy anyone? There is one in the Whitsundays called Fluffy Bunny though.

I'm a classic monohull guy. I love the sleek look and feel. My wife would prefer a catamaran for the space. At a bit of an impasse here. Lol

Price,price,price.I can get a very seaworthy boat for third the price of the same length cat. It may not have quite the room,but I can go now.

What about the ability to stay in a harbour that dries out at low tide? How important is that to you?

que modelo de catamaran es similar al del Kittiwake? No entendi esa parte

Why not a fin keel, getting closer to the wind ?

Next? get a lifting keel mono, there, problem solved, best of both worlds...

first

Smart move, monos are more seaworthy.

monohulls go through the waves while cats are somehow of 4x4 making them horrible and uncomfortable in slightly bad weather

You really don't need to give so many disclaimers before stating your opinion, it would be better if you just left them out, people aren't babies and the points you make are completely reasonable.

la bonne réponse au titre : Ben parceque vu ton mono tu n'as pas les moyens d'avoir un bon cata.... Après on peut faire une vidéo de 15mn pour trouver d'autres arguments, mais est-ce bien la peine ?

You been in 50kts in a cat ? Believe me a mono is a lot more forgiving .

Can't compare that outdated cat to a modern cat. I will choose the modern cat over a mono any day. Safe sailing!