What Are The Advantages of A Catamaran?
Catamarans are one of the most popular vessels we can see in the famous sailing destinations. Nevertheless, have you ever wondered why cat sailing boats are liked that much? And why are they more attractive than sailboats? We can answer that question further by addressing the pros and cons of catamarans.
Catamaran Advantages
Speaking of a modern catamaran, the vessel has more advantages than disadvantages and here is why:
1. Catamarans are comfortable
They have much more space than monohulls. This means the cockpit and living room between two hulls allow comfortable space. This is very important, particularly when traveling from one to another longer destination. This is also of great value when children come on board.
2. Are Catamarans More Stable?
If you have more stability, you would have less floating. Cats are built in a more different way than monohulls, therefore there is a little floating on waves. These movements are rather an upside-down, which is a piece of good news for crew members that have problems with seasickness.
3. Sailing Cats Have Bigger Speed
The side length of the yacht is twice as long as in the traditional sailing yachts because they have 2 hulls. Thanks to that they can sail much faster monohulls. They are generally lighter since they do not have kneel which weighs usually a few hundreds of kilograms.
4. They Have A Smaller Draft
Speaking of catamaran benefits, lack of keel results in a smaller draft. In comparison to sailboats, catamarans draft is 1 – 1.2 meter in comparison to the sailboats whose drafts are 1.9 – 2.3 meters long. This gives a real opportunity to sail closer to the beach or even to put hulls on the ground when sailing in sandy bays.
5. Are Catamarans Safe?
The two separate engines give absolute comfort moving in narrow marinas. You can turn around the whole boat in one place while you set one engine forward and one engine backward. With this, there is no risk that the wind will push the bow to the left or right without any control since you can always use two engines to flawlessly navigate forward or backward, bow or stern or left and right.
Catamaran Disadvantages
1. Premium Price
There is a bit higher price to be paid for charter with catamarans thanks to all of the advantages mentioned above. Charter of catamarans is a bit more expensive than yachts of the same length, but it is definitely worth it.
2. Hard to Find a Place in Marinas
Since catamarans require two times more space than yachts in the marina it is not simple to find two free places one next to each other in crowded marinas. So for this case, it is best to book the marinas earlier before coming, of course, if you want to be sure you will find a place there.
3. Availability
Despite the higher price for charter and a smaller number of them in comparison to sailboats, cats are extremely charming. That’s why when you want to charter a multihull always book them early.
Many catamarans are attractive in the Caribbean, Seychelles, Thailand, even in Croatia, Greece, and Italy. Even though monohulls are still higher than cats, the trend is stating that these vessels become more and more popular as time passes!
