After 40 some odd years of sailing mono-hull boats yesterday was my first experience sailing a catamaran. The boat was a Hobie Getaway launched off the beach. The wind was 10 to 15 knots and there were three of us. My first impression was that it felt more stable than I had imagined. I guess I've not pursued sailing a beach catamaran because I haven't wanted to deal with a capsize and trying to right the boat. No worries yesterday. My second impression was that it was fun to sail. It took awhile to work it to windward but when the wind was in the 15ish area it seemed to go much better upwind. My third thought was that it didn't seem to be overly sensitive to sail trim. Maybe that's due to the greater apparent wind due to the greater speed over a monohull.
I wasn't comfortable sitting on the trampoline - I couldn't find a comfortable way to sit that didn't involve tucking my legs in. We didn't use the outboard seat (Rail?). But I'm reluctant to move around much due to balance issues I have. And I couldn't see a way to easily cross sides because of the mainsail which is boomless. And I kinda missed having the boom to grab for balance or helping to get to my feet from sitting. I can't see going around forward of the mast. I think you have to cross under the main basically on your belly. Next time I'll have knee pads to protect my very knobby knees kneeling on the trampoline.
The tiller is very long and during a tack problematic because you have to raise it vertically and try to pass it aft of the main. I was tempted to throw it backwards to drag in the water, steer thru the tack holding the bar and retrieve it after on the new tack - thoughts?
The first tacks were a problem because near shore the wind was light. Even with some boat speed it was a problem because I tried to turn too hard hoping to get the bow thru. I think I just stopped the boat. I guess I need to carve a turn and rely on the jib backwinding to bring the bow across. But I was surprised at how little momentum helped to bring the bow around.
When we furled the jib I brought the boat mostly into the wind and got stuck in irons. I tried to steer the boat going backwards as I would a monohull. It didn't work because the two hulls track pretty straight - like on rails. Next time I would furl the jib going off the wind shaded by the main.
There's more to learn but I'm looking forward to another session on the getaway.
I
I wasn't comfortable sitting on the trampoline - I couldn't find a comfortable way to sit that didn't involve tucking my legs in. We didn't use the outboard seat (Rail?). But I'm reluctant to move around much due to balance issues I have. And I couldn't see a way to easily cross sides because of the mainsail which is boomless. And I kinda missed having the boom to grab for balance or helping to get to my feet from sitting. I can't see going around forward of the mast. I think you have to cross under the main basically on your belly. Next time I'll have knee pads to protect my very knobby knees kneeling on the trampoline.
The tiller is very long and during a tack problematic because you have to raise it vertically and try to pass it aft of the main. I was tempted to throw it backwards to drag in the water, steer thru the tack holding the bar and retrieve it after on the new tack - thoughts?
The first tacks were a problem because near shore the wind was light. Even with some boat speed it was a problem because I tried to turn too hard hoping to get the bow thru. I think I just stopped the boat. I guess I need to carve a turn and rely on the jib backwinding to bring the bow across. But I was surprised at how little momentum helped to bring the bow around.
When we furled the jib I brought the boat mostly into the wind and got stuck in irons. I tried to steer the boat going backwards as I would a monohull. It didn't work because the two hulls track pretty straight - like on rails. Next time I would furl the jib going off the wind shaded by the main.
There's more to learn but I'm looking forward to another session on the getaway.
I
