I was reading an old cruising thread elsewhere...sorry I don't have a link to it. But it raised the point that lots of people dream about the versatility of quite large catamarans being conveniently beached, and safely left to dry out in beautiful locations which are inaccessible to almost all other yachts...
...and the suggestion was clearly made that some catamaran builders are keen to promote this image of large cats being easily dried-out in idyllic spots, whereas doing so may actually endanger the vessel's structure, not only because of obvious risks like occasional rocks on a sandy beach holing the hull, but because big cats require carefully-judged placing when drying out, as their structural stiffness may be compromised when all the vessel's weight is only supported on three corners.
I'd be interested to read owners' accounts of drying out in catamarans over about 35ft - particularly if these stories demonstrate or disprove the claimed danger.
How safely can large catamarans dry out?
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Posted: Jun 20, 2019 - 08:37 AM
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Posted: Jun 20, 2019 - 02:41 PM
Off the top of my head, most big cats do not seem to have swing up rudders. I am not sure what models you have in mind.
I could see something like a Tiki design easily beached. Its flexible which would allow an unleveled surface as well as the rudders being somewhat protected. Still probably not that practical though.
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Greenville SC
Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
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Posted: Jun 20, 2019 - 03:51 PM
In the 70s and 80s there were several 30'+ cruising Cats made with long fixed shoal draft keels in each hull that were designed to hold the weight of the boat in low tides or very shallow water. Sailcraft, Prout and Seawind were probably the 3 best known manufacturers of this type of cat. They were considered "beachable" in their time compared to equivalent sized monohulls. When I "beached" my 1998 Gemini M 105 it was still in about 1.5ft of water but the rudders were not kick up and 1.5 ft draft was very often not enough to be truly beachable as in step off onto dry land.
I could not think of any 30'+ cats that I would consider "beachable" as you described so I went down the road to a very large long-term storage facility that has 100+ Catamarans from 30' to 70'+. None were beachable in the sense that you could get into skinny enough water to step off into dry land with any certainty.
Hope this helps.
Brad in Jacksonville, FL
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Posted: Jun 20, 2019 - 04:07 PM
i don't realy understand what is being asked "dry out" but this cat is able to pull up to shore
this is my buddies fountaine pajot 37'
somewhere near st pete florida -
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Posted: Jun 20, 2019 - 08:20 PM
https://www.google.com/am…m-sailing-Australia.html
I’d say that’s dry
Edited by jalex on Jun 20, 2019 - 09:21 PM. -
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Posted: Jun 21, 2019 - 08:42 AM
wow!!!!
even crazier "Mr Knight, a former farmer, meticulously built the catamaran himself ahead of the planned journey of a life time " -
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Posted: Jun 21, 2019 - 10:15 AM
This HAD to be turned into a trophy for some sort of race...
Edited by raisehull on Jun 21, 2019 - 10:16 AM.
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1978 H18
1983 H18 (some of it)
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