I really would like to be able to stow a picnic cooler on board, or sail across a lake with camping gear and set up camp, or...
You get the picture. Where do you store your stuff on a catamaran?
Jonathan
Store stuff. Out of the way would be best. It would depend on your boat. I had a Hobie 18sx and the wings were great for loading stuff on. I would sail out to some island off Norwalk CT. set up our site and day sail from there all day as friends would come by for ride on the wild cat. You know most non catsailor think anything over 8kt is fast. Dry bags are a must.
Please look at http://www.magicmarine.com/ they have numerous solutions for wet and dry bags.
I had the local sailmaker sew on two large zippered pockets either side of the tramp centerline, up near front crossbar. That location seems to be Out of the way most of the time. I also sewed some straps on the tramp, between the pockets, one near front beam, one about a foot back. These straps can be tied to a small Igloo cooler, or other objects that don't fir in a pocket.
There is a bracket thing that someone sells to hold your ice chest just in front of the mast, just above dolphin striker level. And there are bags designed to fit inside the access port covers in the hulls.
Out of the way is a good description of the need. When sailing, it has to be out of your way, plus not interfere with any control lines you need to sail well/safely. Centering the extra weight on the boat can also minimize the negative performance impact.
We stuffed the hulls with dry bags like the Sealline 15 liter bag. Fits in a Hobie 18 port and left the deck clean. Clear plastic dry bags snag inside the hulls and leak. We tied 48 qt ice chests at the front cross bar but hard to work the jib. Several softsided ice chests work better. Use one for 1st day and another for the 2nd day. The 2nd chest can be wrapped with a cheap space blanket.
The best way I found to carry the stuff was to make a simple front tramp. When I camped with a wife and two girls we would carry quite a bit of stuff on my TheMightyHobie18 mag.
I found a mesh tramp half then went the Depot and bought 2 lenghts 1.5" alum. tubing. 1 - 2in. alum. angle. I took the tubing and using a spare tire mounted on my trailer, tweaked the 2 pieces of tubing until it matched the contour of the main beam. Then I cut 4 pieces of the alum. angle about 1 foot long taped them to the inside of the hulls on the shear at about where the tramp would be. Then trimed the ends of the tubing until it would butt up against the inside of the angle. Took the boat to a welder and had him weld the tubing to the angle. I then carpeted the inside of the angle to protect the boat from scratching. The tramp already had grommets along one edge. That was laced to the front to the front tube. I added about 6 grommets to each side and ran large shockcord with plastic hooks attached. The hooks attach to the outside of the shear pulling the sides tight. The rear tube was tied in three places,ends and center to the main beam. I added gromments to the rear of the tramp and laced it to the rear tube. At the front I replaced the the clevis pins at the bridles with shackles. I then ran a continuous line from the center of the front tube to a shackle back to the tube then to the other shackle. I used a clam cleat in-line to tension the whole thing. It very light and takes about 5 min. to rig or remove. We would stack the dry bags and coolers on it leaving the tramp mostly empty. My daughter could lay on it and it supported her. In fact I left it on all the time. I'll see if I can find a pic.
I'm starting to work on one for my M6.0. Its going to be similar to one I saw on the ARC 30.
Mike
On my Nacra 6.0, (same as 5.8's etc.), I use a soft sided, well insulated cooler sold commercially.
I tie it to the Over-rotator traingular shaped bar that's on the front of the bottom of the mast!
Always out of the way completely, EASY to get to while underway, [color] 
without altering your boat trim by going aft to get in those ispec. port holes.
If you're lashing things down, of course take into accout things such ease of getting to sheets and rigging, boat trim, etc.
Yes, please post picture(s). I especially like the removable aspect of your concept.
The best drybags for storing staff on the tramp are made by
Stearns AmphibiGear IMHO.
http:/
http:/
They are expencive, but tougth and have wide round solid opening with "screw-in" caps similar to the hatch caps.
Very easy to open/close underway and watertight. Bags can be inflated and used as additional flotation, backrest or racing mark.
I got two (square ones) last year, and made over 1000 miles of coastal trips this year. Never regretted spending $120 on the bags
Vladimir
I periodically join a group that organizes seasonal sailing and camping on an Island that's about 30 some-odd miles off the Southern California coast, (i.e., Catalina Island.)
Some of the old "salts" point out that keeping stuff dry and on the tramp is only half the issue; especially in an unexpected capsize. In that case, the extra weight, tied to the tramp or carried inside the hull(s) can make self-righting the boat very difficult or impossible.
These experienced off-shore beach cat sailors give some sound advice:
1. Understand that the extra weight will likely rest between your mast head and the supporting hull when you are capsized. This, of course, puts lots more weight, just where you don't want it when trying to right the boat. The stuff, it's placement when capsized and its weight may even be sufficient to cause the boat to turtle.
2. Load the boat with all the stuff you intend to carry and configured as you intend to configure, place and secure it. Then capsize the boat where you can get help or help yourself, then see if you can right the boat....BEFORE you venture far from help.... "fore-warned is fore-armed."
3. If you can't right the boat, with all the stuff loaded as you intend.... (or even if you can) ensure each piece of gear, stowed in its water proof container floats....or put it with some gear that does float in its container (dry bag, cooler, etc.) Then tie a lanyard to each container containing gear. Each lanyard is about ten feet long and has one end tied to a gear container and the other end of the lanyard is secured to the boat.
The lanyards are stowed under or tied to the container they each service.
The purpose of the lanyards are so you can jettison the gear if you can't right the boat, and still have the gear floating and attached to the boat.
Once the boat is back on its feet, one simply pulls the lanyards to retrieve the gear and the gear is again tied back onto the tramp.
This is some pretty good advice, born out the experience of others.
Just some thoughts....
Tom H.
Sorry, but I forgot to add one of their other tips....
When you are expereimenting with righting the loads cat, if you have trouble righting the boat.... you may consider tying a second and shorter lanyard to each container. This second lanyard is short enough so it suspends the gear, above the water, if the gear is jettisoned over the elevated hull of the capsized boat.
The configuration actually adds some wight to help right the boat, if you need it.
Best regards,
Tom H.
i use duffel bags with drybags stuffed inside and a soft cooler. i read a post on the h16 thread about a guy who rigged a ladder-like system from pvc, mounted fore and aft on the centerline, attached to the dolphin striker and extending forward to just forward of the forestay bridle, suspended just below the bridle. he had bungees attached to the front of the ladder and each bow bridle fitting to stabilize it side to side. he lashed 2 48 qt coolers on it side by side close to the mast and drybags in front of that, i think its a great idea and plan to try something similar for my next extended trip.
Sorry, but I forgot to add one of their other tips....
When you are expereimenting with righting the loads cat, if you have trouble righting the boat.... you may consider tying a second and shorter lanyard to each container. This second lanyard is short enough so it suspends the gear, above the water, if the gear is jettisoned over the elevated hull of the capsized boat.
The configuration actually adds some wight to help right the boat, if you need it.
Best regards,
Tom H.
If you are talking about camping gear and supplies why don't you just TOW the stuff?
You could use a kayak, a small dinghy or an inflatable.
It would give you something else to do if the wind died.
They make something called a Hydro Trailer which is designed for high speed towing behind a PWC.
Actually, you take a PWC and throw out the motor and pump and turn it into a usefull trailer 🙂
Does towing slow you down more than putting stuff on board? How does it affect the handling of the boat?
Jonathan
When I have towed exhausted novice wind surfers I found it very difficult to tack upwind with my Hobie 16. Just as I would start to repower after tacking the towline would pull me into irons frequently. It turned out to be much more efficient to just throw the guy's board across my hulls up forward.
Greg
H14, H16
It depends on the boat, how much gear(weight), how many people(weight), and water conditions.
You could load a Nacra 6.0 with 100-200lbs of extra gear and it's handling would suffer a little. Put 200lbs of extra gear on a Hobie 16 and it becomes a slug.
Towing is also detrimental to boat handling. There is no free lunch.
Just an idea...how a towed load could maybe help you tack...
Tie on an extra piece of line, from maybe 10 feet astern on the towline, long enough to reach to the mast, with 4 feet left over.Do not thread this loose line between the tiller bars. Let it lie on top of the slave bar, and tie the very end of this line to the mast. The regular towline is tied to your rear beam, and since there's slack in your "extra line", your towline is taking the load.
Now when you tack, you just take the 'extra line" with you to the old windward aft corner, and camp out there, as in a standard roll tack. A little pull on the 'extra line, from over there, and you'll help your boat bear off. It's a lot to manage, solo, though.
A neater implementation would use two 'extra lines', tied to the shroud adjusters, each loose enough not to go tight when you use the other.
Or how 'bout this? much simpler, and automatic, too.
Tie two tow lines, equal length. route each one through a turning block as far outboard as possible on your rear crossbeam. (You should in many cases be able to just tie a couple on.) The inwale should be okay, the Gunwale would be better. Then tie the ends of the towlines to the slave bar, right next to the tiller mount, If they slip, take 'em right across to the opposite tiller bar. Now when you throw the rudders hard over, i.e. to turn to starboard, you'll shorten the starboard line by a foot and lengthen the port one. By varying the distance behind your boat you set up in the first place, you can amplify the effect until it's not upsetting ordinary sailing, but assists you to come about. With a couple extra turning blocks,(tied to each tiller bar) you could increase the action 1:2, (by taking the ends of the towlines through the new blocks and back to their own side, tying them off near the first set of blocks, at the inwale or gunwale.) for a 2 foot increase and a 2 foot decrease on the other side, and all this without touching a thing while underway.
A four foot differential in the towlines' lengths will put the load firmly on the old windward hull during the tack, so long as you re-set and harden up your jib BEFORE you straighten the rudders, all should be well.
Way, way cool, no?
Waddya think?
That is a cool bag, Vladimir! Do you think that you could jam a sleeping bag in there, through that small hole and then still have enough room for some clothes and food?
I carry a foward cargo tramp when I cruise. I am part of the group in CA, that Tom House mentioned. The Mystere 6.0 has so much buoyancy and freeboard that a cargo tramp ahead of the cross bar works well.
The way I built mine is basically a triangle of nylong netting wihta 3/4" nylon webbing border. The webbing extends at each of the three corners.
One side of the trianlge runs just ahead of the front cross bar. It is stretced taught by the extensions at each corner. They tie to the pad eyes that are riveted on the cross bar for the barber hauler blocks. There is a piece of webbing at teh center with a buckle that snaps around the mast base. This could just as easily be rope, rather than webbing with a buckle.
The third corner extneds forward and has a loop that goes up and arond the spinnaker pole, near the forestay. That corner's extension has a 1/8" rope attached that runs all the way forward to the end of the spin pole and is drawn tight there.
About 18" ahead of the front cross bar, is a 3/4" carbon tube that lays on top of the decks and is sewn to the tramp. This tubing is the lower part of a graphite surf casting fishing pole. Each end of it has some rubber hose covering it to keep it from scratching the decks.
Where the fishing pole crosses under the spin pole, there is another webbing with buckle that attahces there too.
I carry to watertight bags (wall mart $20 -$30) and I have a rip cord system that allows the bags to be released by yanking on a light line that dangles in the water when sailing, hangs from the center of the cargo tramp to the wetted hull when (no, IF) capsized.
Here is how I did the rip cord deal. In the center of the tramp I sewed in some webbing to reinforce the skimpy netting. Inot this webbing I pressed in, two grommets, one per cargo bag.
I have a webbing strap for each bag that has an adjustable buckle, such as a car seat belt. The strap is fastened two places, both on the outboard side of the cargo bag. The center of the strap passes through a loop of bungie. This bungie loop is folded and pushed down though the grommet.
On the bottom side of the tramp, a piece of batten is passed through the loop of bungie and prevents the bungie from raising up through the grommet, unless this batten or rip cord pin is yanked. Finally, one string (bright pink dynema) is tied to both rip cord pins and the rip cord is long enough to reach the wetted hull when the boat is on her side.
Picture attached.
GARY
Thanks Ed,
Neat solutions. My thoughts are that your first solution will definitely work, but I am not so sure of your second trick. I suspect the drag on the rear would inhibit forward progress and cause you to weathervane back into the wind. I may not be thinking straight about this.
Greg
H14, H16
Every case of a catamaran trying to tow his supplies that I have heard of has ended in either catastrophic failure or having to move the trailed load onto the catamaran before continuing.
GARY
You may be right Greg. What if we took those two towlines through turning blocks on the shrouds, then back to the back beams, then across to the opposite tiller bar and finally back across to tie off and backbeam ends. Now the load during tacking is on the shrouds, but the unloaded towline will probably foul the old leeward rudder... hm... I think the beam ends or the gunwale at the transom is as good as it gets.
Why don't you get a trawler to carry all your gear and tow your sailboat behind it?
>Do you think that you could jam a sleeping bag in there, through that small hole and then still have enough room for some clothes and food?
Yep. Round hole 8' in diameter isn't a small one 
I sailed solo a small home-rebuild Russian-made catamaran(Hobie Wave dimension and perfomance-alike) on three weeklong trips, one from Manistee, Lake Michigan to Alpena, Lake Huron, one from Tampa to Everglades, Fl, and another one along Maine East Coast this year. I had two bags next to front corners of a trampoline. In one I store sleeping bag, all my clothing and tent (I use tarp-over-the-boom setup)
all my food, flashlights, stove, pot, first aid kit, drysuit when not in use, camera goes into second bag. I pack light thougth
I can right my catamaran fully loaded, I have "Bob" on top of the mast. And I have set up and used oars for windless days - Oops, I shouldn't say this 
Vladimir
"The Ugly Duckling" Russian catamaran,
Unicorn old wooden A-cat
That is most impressive, Vladimir. I especially respect the fact that you are able to right the boat, even while it is loaded.
Yes, 8" is a pretty large hole. For some reason I was picturing a 6" opening. Those bags are really neat and I must go check them out! 
I have been using the Tex-Sport brand waterproof bags. If you have seen them, can you comment on the comparison of the durability of the canvas used in yours and in the Tex-Sport? I have noticed small spots on my bags, where they often bend and fold on the same line, are beginning to loose their rubber coating and beginning to leak a drop or two of water at these spots.
What I really like about those bags you have is that they have flat bottoms. This would be much more stable while underway.
I'd be interested in hearing more about your experiences in these catamaran camping trips. Some questions that come to mind, follow:
What is your choice of stove?
What hot foods do you find work out best for you?
Are you able to look into the bag opening and then grab what you need; or do you have to dump out all the bag's contents and then repack it each time you need an item from inside?
Do you ever have a problem with rain or dew?
Do you lay a tarp down on the tramp or are you able to place your sleeping bag right on the tramp? (mine would never be dry enough)
By the way, I understand the advantage of the float BoB! I recently did some capsize righting lessons on a boat that had one. Just make sure it won't leak and take on water because they can get very very heavy. The buoyancy that they provide is a great safety measure!
Vladimir,
You mentioned tarp over boom. Did you have no problem with mosquitos?
Greg
H14, 16
>I especially respect the fact that you are able to right the boat, even while it is loaded.
My cruising boat is light. It's 160 lbs only. It's collapsible boat with inflatable hulls. 
Sounds strange isn't? It's not a fast boat, but I can take it on airplane in bags, take a taxi to nearest boat ramp, sail all week long, get out at a town, walk to car rental and get back to airport. Once I been feeding my boat INSIDE of Ford Escort I didn't try it since 9-11, can be a hassle now. "What is inside of your bags, sir?" "Don't worry, it's a sailboat"
Since it's so light, I can drag it on shore. And I don't care about hitting rocks, boat will bounce back,it's inflatable. It performs OK, I've been sailing it with Hobie Waves equally. Also I've taken it in really rough conditions( jib furler and three reef points on the main) I love speed trill and performance of my second boat, A-cat, but I will never take it out of protected bay and sight of land.
I'll try to attach some pictures of the boat now
I started as a kayaker, then kayak sailor, then I got my inflatable, and, recently, A-cat. I've done a lot of cruising in small boats and used different brands and types of drybags. Those drybags superior to any design I used before. Fabric is thick, more like inflatable boat fabric. Unless bag is fully packed, you can open and search for things inside without repacking. On the down side - bags are heavy, and lid's rubber O-ring got loose on one bag, it's staying in place, but I have to watch it for watertight closing
> What is your choice of stove?
It wasn't my choice - I got two Coleman Apex II stoves http:/
as a birthday's gifts. I like it but my choice would be Coleman Exponent Multi Fuel Stove
http:/
It has less parts
>What hot foods do you find work out best for you?
I'm not picky about food. For hot meal I use instant soups and oatmeals. I carry a telescopic fishing rod with me, It folds to 18 inches for storing and have no problem to catch a fish or two for supper. Usually I don't take a pan, but always take a yard of aluminum foil. I grow up in Russia and I know eatable mushrooms and plants, and use them for food. For meat I use dried smoked sausages and jerky
On my recent trip to Michigan I discovered the best jerky I've ever eaten.
http://www.dublinstore.com
I will order some more for my next trip
>Do you ever have a problem with rain or dew?
Congestion is always a problem on the water. I usually sail in drysuit. And I use brands of clothing designed for outdoor, ones which dry fast
>Do you lay a tarp down on the tramp or are you able to place your sleeping bag right on the tramp? (mine would never be dry enough)
Until recently I just lay my sleeping bag on the tramp and used mosquito net http:/
I bought camping hammock this summer http:/
Sail safe
Vladimir
Russian inflatable cat;
wooden A-cat
we towed a rec kayak loaded with gear, we kept it tethered close to the rear crossbeam, actually lifting the bow of the yak slightly. handling, tacking, was fine . when the wind picked up we felt like we were being slowed too much, kindalike being on a mono...aarghh!
I agree. I would only tow in an emergency.
Greg
H14,H16
Vladimir,
What a great posting you have presented here! I'm sure there are many people who have appreciated it as much as I have. One can learn a lot from your knowlege and experience!
The stove is tempting.
The Jerky is priced about half of what you normally have to pay for cheap jerky and far lower priced than what I have personally seen in a similar store which specializes in jerky. $20-$40 per pound is not unusual. Your find of $10/pound jerky is great.
The hammock tent looks very interesting and I will have to go see one in person sometime. Looks to be a very good choice for all different purpose camping. Great inovation there!
I've seen picutres of the inflateable Russian catamarans and have wondered about them. I sincerely appreciated your posting and comments on this boat. I think your posts are a great testiment to its usefullness and versatility. Wow, fly and rent a car with your boat in tow? That's fantastic! 
Tell us more about other places you intend to visit with your camping catamaran. You could be starting a new fad. You know how big kayak fishing has become; at one time there was only one guy doing it! You may just be one of the first of thousands.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience! I'd like to invite you to visit here in Los Angeles where you can probably sail your inflateable to Catalina Island. I'll let you be the judge of that; you can crew on my Mystere if that sounds like a beter ride.
Hope to see you on the water some time. ![[Linked Image]](http://www.catsail.com/santacruz/trip7/sci7-27.jpg)