Stepping over

Multihull practical: changing from a mono to a multi

Stepping over to a catamaran from a monohull is an exciting time but also a steep learning curve, writes Jon Neeves.

One reason you might have chosen a catamaran is its expansive deck and saloon areas. This is a double-edged sword because the first time you take your baby out without the help of an “expert” you immediately feel like the helmsman on Australia’s last aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne.

That massive deck suddenly feels daunting and keeping both bows, which seem terribly distant, and sterns in view can raise a cold sweat (unless you
are up north and then it’s a hot sweat). Be cautious, but do not be scared. Catamarans are immensely manoeuvrable and you will soon find that at slow speeds two engines allow you to turn a catamaran basically in its own length.

Part of the secret is ignoring the wheel. Set it amidships but do not lock it (unless it’s unusually light), and manoeuvre with the throttles and forward and reverse gear. Some entry-level cats have twin wheels, which may be good when you are sailing, but for smaller models unnecessary. For close-quarters manoeuvring twin engine controls would be a better option if you can get it. A second part of the secret is to manoeuvre at low speed (when the unlocked wheel would not move). Resist any temptation to increase engine speed to correct some perceived error — more speed will only make it worse and changing too quickly from forward to reverse gear will do nothing for your gearbox. Having someone with lots of spare fenders is also a good idea. After only a short time the flight deck will have diminished to a size more suited to a Harrier jump jet and you will soon wonder why you worried.

High freeboard

In common with many modern yachts catamarans have a high freeboard and even entry-level cats are really too high to leap off the deck and onto a pontoon. Equally they are a bit high to climb onto (unless you run around with a set of lightweight portable steps). This leaves the transom as the sensible, or only, entry and exit point. If you need to moor bow in, it’s a good idea to drop off a crew member, allowing them to walk to your berth to take lines before you try to enter the pen. Cross winds or tide present new problems, but you will find that even seasoned catamaran owners look for blow-on berths.

When approaching a berth it is obviously sensible to have fenders attached, both sides, in advance — one side the fenders need be low enough for any pontoon the other side need to be high enough in case you need to fend off from the neighbouring yacht. Mooring lines accessible to anyone on the pontoon are another part of the forethought because they might not be easily able to someone on a pontoon trying to reach the deck. Mooring lines attached to an amidships cleat and run forward to the bow, if you are entering bow first, allows someone on the pontoon to take two lines simultaneously. They can then secure an aft spring immediately and control the mooring operation with the forward spring. You can tidy up later. If you are visiting marinas on a cruise they will ask for your vessel length and allocate a berth accordingly. A bow-in configuration means your prodder, whose length you have not declared when you booked into the marina, might mean your transoms stick out — making access too difficult.

That expansive deck again feels like the flight deck of an aircraft carrier if you need to get out to the bow when at sea, especially at night. Jackstays on the foredeck provide that extra feeling of security. You might also want to think about extra handholds in the cockpit (maybe rope across the cabin roof) — the cockpit is much wider than a monohull.

Level sailing

One of the other reasons you might have chosen a catamaran is its level sailing attitude. It’s not quite level, but level enough, but is still subject to swell and does tend to be a bit bouncy when you get out into open water. However, the fact that a catamaran does not heel completely removes the feel you get in a monohull — in that the stronger the wind the more the monohull heels. For a multihull the more wind the faster you go, which can be exhilarating, but if you are on autopilot you really have no “feel”.

The other reason you lose “feel” is the very sheltered cockpit common now to virtually all cruising cats. It is very easy, especially well off the wind and in the sun, to forget how strong the breeze might be and it is essential to check true wind speeds. One of Australia’s catamaran builders has had a number of owners with prodder failures, when they carried the screecher well beyond sensible, or design, levels, simply because they did not realise winds had increased so much. Once you get over 20 knots the loads that develop are enormous — simply because cats do not heel. There is nothing clever about scaring you and the crew and reefing down early and dousing the screecher for a decent overlapping headsail maintains equanimity. The boat-builder or dealer will give you a good idea of when you should be changing down; once you have a few miles under your keels you might feel you can tweak those ideas. Probably the biggest or most common error leisure multihull sailors make is not dropping a gear early enough when winds get up — there is no doubt 16 knots is fast, but ripping the tack out of a headsail makes it expensive.

Some of the highest loads on a multihull are on the prodder kicker wires, the wires that hold the prodder down. The securement points for the kickers are positioned just above the water line in the extremes of the bows and often attachment and reinforcing is in some form of sealed watertight compartment. The hull attachments are subject to hefty snatch loads and are effectively the only load point continuously under, or near under, water. It is well worth checking the interior of the watertight compartment regularly. How often depends on how much you sail — but really at least annually. You unusually might find water ingress and might think to beef up the whole area with bigger backing plates. This is a really critical issue for balsa-cored yachts and is not something to be ignored.

Upwind performance

Sadly that exhilarating offwind performance is part of the catamaran compromise, the downside being that the upwind performance of a cruising cat is pretty pedestrian. They certainly do not point as well as a modern monohull and in any sort of sea trying to point is frustrating. If you must sail close to the wind then the most efficient option is running the leeward engine at medium revs — fuel consumption is very low and reasonable speeds, six knots with a loaded boat, and better pointing can be achieved. Tacking or gybing cruising multihulls is slow and again the best way is to do it is under power. The fastest way to travel dead downwind is to make a series of gybes and when short-handed a gybe is best achieved with an (or both) engine on. Furl the headsail, gybe the main then re-set the headsail. Purists will mock — but it’s meant to be about pleasure, not proving anything.

Personally it’s better to do a bit more fishing or go the other way if winds are against you but then this advice would also be true of a cruising monohull. If you do need to motor because the forecast wind did not materialise or you really do need to collect those Lotto winnings, then motoring on one engine will only lose you 1-2 knots of boat speed but halve your fuel consumption (a significant issue when marina fuel costs around $2 per litre).

When sailing in the company of monohulls, and on the basis you are very sensibly sailing offwind, you will find you will get to the destination first and having more time (because you got there first) and also because you have the bigger saloon — yours will be the party boat! There is nothing wrong with this – or if there is, maybe set off later.

Catering

Catering and entertaining now takes on a whole new meaning, whether you opted for galley up or down you can wash up or cook and admire the view (which might allow you to have both a chef and sous chef). You can also get away from plastic tableware, though not completely — as you might want to keep it for when you eat on the move. But food tastes much better off bone-china plates and cleanskins taste just like expensive wine from a nice decanter and crystal glasses. Catamaran sailing motion can be too much for a frypan left unattended without stove guards. The stove certainly does not need gimbals but the guards and pan clamps are still pretty useful. And keep those non-slip mats handy.

A selling point for catamarans is their low draught — typically a metre. You need to use this clearance with some caution. Many cruising guides, and even charts, were written from yachts with two-metre draught and anything much less was thus of little significance as anything shallower was inaccessible anyway. Certainly if you are going to dry out or are entering more isolated and less used anchorages it is well worth at least inspecting from the bow and in the case of drying out, check the location at the previous low tide. Drying out is not really an option for a monohull so drying out the first time can be a bit nerve-racking. Another thing to look for is depth of sand. Many beaches only have a superficial sand layer sitting over pretty sharp stones and your first choice might not seem as good as other locations.

Anchoring

Do not be beguiled into thinking that low draught means that you can sacrifice anchor rode — often you must anchor in 10m of water simply because the shore shelves very steeply or the tidal range is large. And on being beguiled, a 35’/38’ catamaran has the windage of a 45’ monohull — maybe think of an anchor for that 45’ yacht rather than a 35’ just in case you meet a forecast you did not anticipate.

Walk-through transoms

Most modern catamarans have walk-through transoms which make access to the cockpit easy, but they also allow access for following seas, so keep the saloon doors closed or consider a low washboard if the door sill is near flush with the deck. A well known and respected multihull delivery skipper recounts bailing for two hours — a little water goes a long way! Walk-through transoms are also attractive for children and if you want to keep them on board maybe consider washboards or nets to keep them safe.

It might be a steep learning curve but it’s not that high and you are obviously astute because you have opted for a multihull. You will be impressed how easily you assimilate the differences between a monohull and multihull and will wish you could have made the change earlier. One of the more interesting facets of moving to a catamaran, many step over from a monohull — few step back! Fair winds, flat seas and enjoy the ride!