Learning curve on a cat?

[Steve L22188]

We're contemplating our 5th trip to the BVIs this coming winter and, after chartering four monohulls - and sailing our own monohull for the last 26 years - we're thinking about chartering a catamaran. So we have a couple of questions for the folks who have moved from a mono to a cat:

1. How steep is the learning curve? Assume the basics are the same? (I have heard a cat won't tack like a mono and have been told they "sail like a sailing a couch")

2. Is it any more or less difficult to dock?

3. Any more or less difficult to pick up a mooring ball?

Thanks in advance to all of you who can enlighten us a bit.

 

[capta]

A cat is a lot easier to dock or handle under power as they are twin screw and the screws are far apart.
Most bareboat cats won't sail their way out of a paper bag, so if you are taking this trip to 'go sailing', stick to the monos. Almost every cat down here has at least the leeward engine running and in gear when they are going anywhere. Most have their shrouds so far aft you can't ease the mainsheet enough to actually run, so you are tacking down wind, which can be a bit frustrating when you just want to go a few miles to the next anchorage. The sharp, jerky motion can be quite unpleasant, though you probably won't run into too much of that in the BVI's, unless you are motorsailing (or powering) up the Sir Francis Drake Channel in the trade winds.
I'm not saying there aren't performance cats out there, but they are rarely in the bareboat fleets. Who's going to rent a boat that can consistently sail at 12 knots or better to an unknown skipper?
With 4 trips to the BVI's already under your belt, why not choose a destination a bit farther afield this time, like the Grenadines? You certainly won't regret it.

 

[Boomer54]

We chartered a cat last year. We consisted of four couples. I too was Leary of chartering a cat but was pleasantly surprised. It was a 43' Leopard. Don't know that it would be considered a performance cat. Having said that, it sailed beautifully.

I agree with Capta though that it might be time to spread your wings to another venue!

 

[Ed Caldwell]

After 6-7 trips to the BVI and 2 to St. Vincent and the Genadines, all in monohulls, we decided to charter in the Abacos and took that opportunity to charter my first catamaran (Lagoon 420). Unfortunately we reserved for the week after Sandy went through and sucked almost all the wind out with it by the 2nd day of the charter. We sailed the first day in 25-30 kt winds with double reefed main and about a third of the jib and took advantage of the twin engines to allow crabbing into a 20 kt crosswind blowing across the entrance to Man-o-War Cay. The wind dropped to less than 15 kt on the second day and to 0-5 kt after that, so that was the end of the sailing. Docking was a breeze if you just pay attention to the very wide beam. Anchoring and picking up a mooring ball were easy with competent crew at the bow to do the hard part.

This spring we chartered a Lagoon 440 in the BVI, and proved capta wrong by sailing almost everywhere we went.
Pictures are approaching Anegada and after we picked up a ball.

The cat is a good choice for larger groups, we were four couples on both trips. We had generators to power the air conditioning and weren't ashamed to use it for cool night's sleep.

 

[Gunni]

Everything Capta said...you'll be fine.

 

[Steve L22188]

We've considered other destinations....but we like the BVIs and - most important our wives like the BVIs! As one said the other day - "I was worried the first couple of times we went. But I'm not worried any more." There's something to be said for keeping the admirals happy.

 

[jwing]

You are overthinking this. Rent a catamaran. Enjoy, you have no worries. Cats are way better than monos for Caribbean vacations. There's no more learning curve to sailing a catamaran than there is for any boat you've never sailed. My experience has been more like Ed's and less like capta's description. We sailed catamarans everywhere and motored no more often than we did with monos.

How often do you bring a charter boat to dock? I don't remember ever doing that.

 

[Justin_NSA]

We have a 47' Leopard reserved for our Fall trip. Never been there before or sailed a cat! Looking forward to a whole new type of sailing

 

[sailcrazy1]

Just out of curiosity, will they rent a cat to someone who has never sailed a cat before....even with mono experience and credentials? After sailing our 43' mono for 17+ years we've been thinking about a cat, too, but have no experience on them and wondering how we could get some.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Just out of curiosity, will they rent a cat to someone who has never sailed a cat before....even with mono experience and credentials? After sailing our 43' mono for 17+ years we've been thinking about a cat, too, but have no experience on them and wondering how we could get some.

I'm not sure. One couple in our sailing party has sailed one before. And the first time they did, someone in their party had sailed them. Call one of the charter companies and see what they say. We are required to buy insurance but we don't plan on trashing someone else's boat.

 

[Ed Caldwell]

Just out of curiosity, will they rent a cat to someone who has never sailed a cat before....even with mono experience and credentials?

Yes they will especially with your experience. If you are concerned just arrange with them for a half a day of a rent-a-captain and pay extra attention at the boat briefing.

 

[Roland5048]

Everything everyone had said. I've sailed charter boats from the BVI to St. Lucia. Both monos and cats. The 48 cat we sailed in the BVI, three couples, was perfect. As mentioned above, not much of a learning curve and very easy to maneuver under power. That Big A$$ main, however, was something to be reckoned with. You're only going to want to deal with this once a day unless you're looking for a good workout. Do pay attention at checkout. Especially how to use the bridle. Don't be intimidated. Go have yourself a hell of a good time. If sailing further down the trades, though, I'd prefer a mono due to usually increased winds and the 'balls to the wall' sailing. Just my preference.

 

[AWalker]

I have chartered both. The last couple times was a 45' cat. I motored out of the harbor, then threw a fender overboard to have a few practice runs at catching a ball, docking, etc. the twin screw made it pretty easy.
I had two times I was frustrated. One was docking near Saba rock, at the far end to get ice and water. There was a surprising current and a cross wind. It took me a little while and a few tries to get square. The other was in a tight marina, I forget where. The boat was riddled with electrical gremlins and I had to pull in and get a couple fuses. Since it was getting late we decided to get a slip. It was one where we had to motor in, spin ninety degrees, then back in at a slight diagonals due to other boats. I got it close, but just wasn't right. One of the guys from the marina hopped on board and did it without thinking twice. Experience really helps in tight quarters.
If I had it to do over again I likely would just have anchored or grabbed a ball and taken the dingy ashore. My wife wanted the shore power to run the a/c though. It is very expensive to take a slip for the night there, especially in a cat. Fortunately the charter company reimbursed us for that due to the boat problems.
One other thing to be aware of that we didn't notice on prior trips was the amount of dingy theft. It seems the locals were "finding" dingies and returning them to the charter company for the reward. The couple guys I ran across that lost them all state they were tied securely to the back of the boat. I took the precaution of putting the dingy in the davits at night. Could have been a problem because it was in October and there were not a lot of charterers and the local economy was slow.