If you are
in doubt whether to charter a catamaran or a monohull, go
through these benefits of catamarans.
- level, no heel sailing - sure, it is exciting
and fun to sail at a 25 degree angle. For a while. After that, you
start to feel a bit queasy. Catamarans rarely heel more than 5
degrees, which means offshore passages are less tiring, drink and
food stay on the table, there are no balancing acts on deck, so it
is less tiring, and there are less chances of getting
sea-sick.
- another benefit of sailing a catamaran is its sailing
performance - modern catamarans sail windward as much as
25% faster than a similar length cruising monohull, while off the
wind it can go 75% to 100% faster than a monohull cruiser.
- shallow draft - catamarans have a shallow
draft, you can go and sail in areas where monohulls cannot get
into. Shallow draft also enables more anchoring possibilities - you
can enter shallow anchorages, away from the crowds.
- one important benefit of charter catamarans is
their roominess - catamarans have large wide deck
areas, cockpit is twice the size of a monohull, and a larger salon
that's on the same level as the cockpit, thus providing 360-degree
visibility.
- more space enables more privacy - catamarans
have separate hulls with separate cabins. The cabins are usually
located in the corners of the boat as are the heads, and are
separate from the lounging areas and the galley. This basically
means that everyone can find their corner on the boat and rest
assured no one will bother them.
- probably the most important benefit of a catamaran is its
unsinkability - catamarans are safer than
monohulls. Modern charter catamarans need no ballast and are built
of cored-sandwich construction, most are actually unsinkable. If
for example, the holing the hull happens, a catamaran's sailing
performance is not affected as the boat is sufficiently buoyant
under even these conditions. catamaran still floats. A catamaran's
buoyancy also means that you cannot overcrowd it - so if you have
been wanting to take alongside your own family, your friend's
family, feel free to do so. Not only you will not overcrowd the
boat, everyone will also have their own privacy. The level sailing
enables less motion and less motion minimizes the risk of
man-overboard situations.
These are the most important benefits of a charter
catamaran compared to a monohull - stability (no heel
sailing), performance (faster than monohulls), shallow draft
(sailing in shallow waters and more possibilities for anchoring),
roominess (two hulls and wider deck area), more privacy (cabins and
heads are separate from lounging areas), and the most important
benefit of a charter catamaran, its unsinkability (greater buoyancy
means greater safety).
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