Why You Should Hire a Catamaran?
At Performance Multihull Charters we are regularly asked why you should hire a catamaran rather than a yacht or a caravan. Like everything, there are pluses and there are minuses and we try to give the person a balanced answer. Of course the pluses and minuses are more or less compelling for different people depending on their circumstances and their sailing ambitions. However, a growing number of people are coming down heavily one side and becoming firm catamaran converts. Like reformed smokers, many are passionate advocates of two hulls over one. For the cruising sailor the advantages are many.

1- Level, Stable Sailing
Leaning over at 25 degrees can be exciting and fun for a while. In a very short time the novelty wears off and the attraction of level sailing is pretty obvious. The cruising cat rarely heels more than 5 degrees and most often less. This makes offshore passages less tiring, helps drink and food stay on the table, sleeping doesn't involve a balancing act and reefing in heavy weather is not done on a rolling slippery deck. Consider the safety of your friends and family. The advantages are endless.

2 - Great Sailing Performance
In most weather conditions, todays modern production built cats will sail at speeds 20 to 50% faster than a similar length monohull.

3 - Space / Roominess
The modern cruising cat is much roomier than its equivalent length monohull. In fact to get the same facilites as on the 33ft Seawind 1000 it is estimated you would have to go to a 45ft yacht.

4 - Shallow Draft
Even without daggerboards, the cruising cat will draw less than 3ft allowing access to areas that would terrify a monohull. Often getting in close means better protection and a safer, more comfortable anchorage. With shoal draft keels, such as on the Seawind 1000, the catamaran can be beached without damage. This a real bonus for visting parks and beaches on your catamaran.

5 - Manouverability
With twin propellers set 10 to 15 feet apart the modern cat is a pure joy to manouvre and is superior to most powerboats, let alone any monohull sailboat.

6 - Unsinkability
The modern cruising cat, built of light weight FRP/foam construction is virtually unsinkable offering a level of offshore safety not available to monohulls with a ballasted keel. In the rare event of holing the hull the monohull sailor has only the liferaft for survival. In a catamaran the same damage may not even seriously affect the sailing performance as the boat is sufficiently bouyant under even these conditions. In extreme damage the catamaran will still float offering a high level of safety to its crew.

The list goes on and from these advantages grow many others. For instance, we have witnessed amazing changes to how families sail together on a catamaran. For many families the catamaran has meant the kids can bring their friends without overcrowding the boat. Guests do not have to be yachties to enjoy the day and entertaining can be done with style and without stress.
The most compelling argument of all must be this: monohul sailors are converting to multihulls by the truckload. It is rare to hear of any of these ever going back. Once a cat sailor and you're hooked for life.

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