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On The Bookshelf By William Wallick CATAMARAN SAILING by Derek Kelsall |
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"Britain's harbours are enriched by a wide variety of yachts and small boats that have been produced during the last one hundred years, including everything from old gaffers to the sleekest racing yachts. It has, however, taken catamarans (or cats) a long time to reach their present level of popularity, but they have now earned their rightful place among this wonderful mix of styles." Well this is certainly good news to us in the catamaran fraternity, but viewing the recent fracas around the number of, and choices of, catamarans for |
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the recent olympics there
are probably quite a few catamaran sailors who may may still feel that
their class is consistently overlooked by the BBB (blue blazer bunch).
But I digress. I only mention this because the above quote is the
first paragraph of the introduction, and it hit me right away.
But, in fairness, this book has nothing to do with the politics of the sailing world. If you have ever yearned to go cruising on one of the bigger cats, bare boat or otherwise, or simply want to learn a bit more about these bigger brothers of the catamaran world - this is a very good introductory book. Reasonably priced at $16.95 (soft cover), this book is a bargain. In the first chapter, History of the Catamaran, Kelsall talks about the differences between the racing catamarans, "...spidery machines, with long slim hulls, the minimum of beam structure spanning a very wide beam...", and the cruising cats, "The cruiser looks totally different and in no way should it be classified in the same category as the racing craft." Kelsall begins with the early history of the catamaran (did you know that in 1876 Nathanial Herreshoff designed a 25' catamaran in the U.S.? "Other designs followed and managed to beat much larger yachts but were banned from racing by the New York Yacht Club as having an unfair advantage.") and covers the evolution of these boats up to the modern multi-hull. In Chapter 2, Why A Catamaran, he makes the case for cats over mono hulls. He talks about efficiency; space; comfort, motion and upright sailing; handling; and draft. Chapter 3 discusses differences in the cruising cats, explaining various hull shapes, plumb sterns, bow bulbs, keels, rudders, helm positions, headroom, nacelle (you have to buy the book), bridge-deck clearance, length of bridge-deck, transom steps, lifelines, and instruments. Chapter 4, Rigs and Engines, covers, as you might expect, sail plans (and some interesting information about rigging loads) and various engine configurations, inboard/outboard, diesel, and propellers. Chapter 5, Performance and handling, is excellent - but may be a little "mathy" for the less serious sailors. Kelsall, by the way, was the first person to sail a trimaran in the 1964 OSTAR, two years later he won the Round Britain Race, and he is considered one of England's foremost catamaran designers. Chapter 6, Safety, is quite informative. He discusses wave action, what happens when you capsize a cruising cat, fires, running aground, collision with another vessel, falling overboard, lightning, breaking up, parachute sea anchors, drogues, survival compartments, escape hatches, and self-righting systems. Chapter 7 is Family Cruising and Long-Distance Sailing, and Chapter 8 is a short chapter on Catamaran Racing, for those interested in racing the big cats. The ninth chapter, Production Catamarans and Custom Designs shows the layouts of various makes of boats. This may be dated, I really don't know the large cats well enough to say, since the original copyright is 1992 and designs/improvements in boats change so quickly. It will certainly give you an idea, however, of how these big cats are laid out and designed. Chapter 10, Home Built Catamarans, delves into some of the considerations of making your own catamaran. Sounds like a good project for an ON THE WIRE article, eh Bill? Chapter 11 concludes the book with tips on buying your own cruising catamaran, which sounds like a great idea to me. RECOMMENDATION: While not necessarily an in-depth book, it covers
so many areas that would be of interest to new cruisers and bare boaters
alike, that I feel this one definitely goes ON THE BOOKSHELF.
CATAMARAN SAILING by Derek Kelsall. Published by
Helmsman Books, Great Britain. Copyright 1992. Price:
$16.95, soft bound, 128 pages.
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