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Catamarans
History / Origin
Catamarans are quite simply boats with two hulls, which are joined together either by a frame or a solid floor. The two hulls provide for some unique sailing characteristics and allow for much more living and storage space, than similar length monohulls. Despite the futuristic design of catamarans we see in use today, they are one of the oldest forms of boats with one of the earliest recording sightings by William Dampier in 1697 on his expedition around The Bay of Bengal. Indeed the word catamaran is derived from the Tami word “Kattumaram”. Catamarans can be either sail powered or motor driven. Sailing catamarans fall either into racing or cruising categories and are favoured by some long-distance cruisers over monohulls for their space, stability, and shallow draught. The racing community and thrill-seekers advocate catamarans for their speed and acceleration due to less hydrodynamic drag.
Due to their wider width or beam, sailors who have been previously accustomed to the restrictive, “V”-shaped interior design of monohulls are generally astounded by the space available to designers of cruising catamarans. Catamarans over 30ft like those built by Lagoon or Nautitech, feature living accommodation not only between the hulls, but also inside them -as a general rule of thumb a catamaran affords the same interior volume as the equivalent 10ft longer monohull(1). So called “luxuries” that a catamaran sailor takes for granted like having a navigation station with a vista of where the boat is actually going or “carpet slipper” sailing are rarities for monohull sailors, who are used to cramped, dark living conditions and always have a set of waterproofs to hand. Interior volume also allows for privacy, a factor that is not lost on charter companies that charter to large families or groups who require separate sleeping cabins. Peter Johansson from Nautitech says “experienced monohull sailors are always surprised by the space of a catamaran both inside and out. Due to their stability catamarans are suited to novice sailors, families or crew that doesn’t appreciate their boat heeling over in the wind.” This factor is also reflected in their interior design, allowing free-standing objects like stools, rubbish bins, fruit bowls and even vases of flowers to be displayed – where they wouldn’t last five minutes in a monohull. Stability in the water and “one level” living space make catamarans ideally suited to disabled sailing and wheelchair access. Many dinghy-type catamarans afford first-time disabled sailors their fist experience of sailing and many of the larger catamaran manufacturers actively promote their boats as disabled-friendly, for example The Dazcat Power 15 .
Smaller catamarans like the Hobie Cat or the Olympic class Tornado are common sights around holiday beaches and inland waterways. Their ease of transport, rigging and launching mean that they are the darling of recreational sailors. They allow a greater sail area than their equivalent monohull counterparts, which means they are going to cruise and accelerate faster which also accounts for the fact that many speed records are broken by cats. Stability is often aided by the addition of trapezes which allow the crew to stand out on the sides of the boat, keeping the catamaran flatter on the water and providing fantastic sailing for all levels of abilities. However catamarans have a weakness in stronger winds, namely the dramatic phenomenon of “pitchpoling”. This is when the catamaran is sailing at high speed, typically with just one hull in the water and that hull digs in to a wave, causing a cartwheel-like effect which can result in a capsize. Pitchpoling can be guarded against by moving crew weight to the stern of the boat. Capsizing in a Hobie Cat-type catamaran doesn’t necessarily mean the boat will become inverted or that an inverted cat needs outside help to right. Modern dinghy-sized catamarans have air-tight masts which aid buoyancy and therefore righting after capsizing and hinder the boat becoming fully inverted.
