Living inside

Picture: http://www.john-shuttleworth.com/Dogstar50-article.html

Inside need not be large or luxurious. Nor do I think that the airconditioning or TV is necessary. The boat is supposed to be sailed and navigated. Then it's food or sleep concerning.

Minimum requirements are two good sea berths, a kitchen with a two burner stove, a navigationsarea and a toilet. The toilet may well have a sink that is large enough so I can wash clothes in it.

How the interior layout will look like depends largely on the choice of the space only in the hulls (type MV 50), or space in a central pod (type Avocet 50) or if there is a bridge deck salon (TS 50).

Dogstar 50 has a fourth version where there is a small cuddy on each hull, so that there is a protected navigation area with views in front of both steering positions.

In addition to the minimum requirements I would like another 4-5 berths to be able to take guests sailing in home waters.

Links: Dogstar 50

To small - but interesting

Picture: http://www.designcatamaran.com/page.asp?lg=en&pg=presentation

Toro 34 is to small for an extended adventure but still interesting. All new and they are working on the moulds i Canada.

How would a Toro 50 look like?

Links: http://www.designcatamaran.com/page.asp?lg=en&pg=presentation

How large should it be?

Picture of MV 50 from: http://www.class-multi50.org/bateaux/mv50.html

The size depends on how many you have to be on board and how far one should sail at a stretch.

With water makers and dried food, the weight you need to bring are radically reduced. Earlier may be counted by 4 liters of water per person per day and 2 kg of food. Now, the weight reduction down to about one-third and one has still a safety margin.

The smallest ocean-going catamaran, I expect to fifteen meters long. Multi-class 50 gives a good indication of a successful blend of performance, safety and cost already in the class rules. So it becomes the basis to start from. Holding to the Multi 50 so is also some resale value secured. It is possible to increase the volume of the boat slightly without the difference in performance is especially great for an amateur sailor.

I have found five boats that competed in the Atlantic sailings except pure cruising boats. It is, Avocet 50, Delirium, Victorinox, Freydis 50 and Outremer 50. There are new MV50 to be launched this year and Haro 50 and Dogstar 50 that exist only on paper so far. Links to information about the most interesting boats are on the right side of this page.

The beam of a Multi 50 catamaran is a bit different. Freydis and Outremer has been slightly modified production craft and the beam is about 7.5 meters. The others is usually a little over 10 meters wide. A wider boat must be built heavier to withstand the forces from the rig and the designers seem to have stopped at 10 meters as a good compromise.

Link: MV 50

45 questions before...

Picture of an Hughes 49 cat from: http://multihulldesigns.com/designs_other/49cruisingcat.htm

Kurt Hughes has a blog about multihull building and sailing. There is a list of issues important to consider before building a new boat. The list is too long to copy here so you can read for yourself.

Links: Hughes list

Size of the rig?

Picture of TS50 from http://www.xlcatamarans.com/

A racing sailing boat with full crew can have lots of sails both to the area and the numbers. Short- or solo sailor must choose carefully. It should be easy to reduce sail so we really do what is necessary.


To get good performance even in light winds the rig must be big enough. Then it should be easy to reef the mainsail and switch to a smaller foresail. A mainsail with three reefs are almost standard on all multihulls these days and foresail on a roll.

I've thought of a 110% solent as standard sail on a fixed forestay with roller. Aft of it to hoist a heavy weather jib on a roller a bit behind of the fixed forestay and if the wind increases switch to the next roller furler with the storm jib.

In front of the fixed forestay should be a couple of attachment points for a Code Zero and gennakers. Overall, it will be six sails to handle.

The rig will be pretty similar to the image of TS50 above. The height of the mast may be about 85% of a racer to become manageable solo.

Links: TS 50

Trimaran or catamaran?

Picture of Avocet 50 from http://www.mattferon.com/acceuil/acceuil.html

First, I want to say that I'm aiming for a racer-cruiser. The boat will then be a little more furnished and more spacious than a pure racer, but it should certainly not be a floating summercottage.

Most racers are trimarans nowadays and it is probably right for a thoroughbred racing sailboat. I want a bit less demanding boat and a bit safer sailing. I read an interview by Bruno Peyron and his words about a catamaran in rough weather convinced me that it is the way to go.

The weak point of the catamaran are loads from the forestay, but with a technology that of the catamaran Avocet 50 you can solve that great.

A catamaran heels less than a trimaran, and thus becomes less tiring for the crew. My choice is a catamaran.


Links: Avocet 50

What should I choose?

If you want to sail over the oceans in a Multi-hull - what should I choose then?
One of the more famousdesigners once said that he can provide the customer with two of three criteria: economics,speed and comfort. For me comfort is the least important.

Maybe it will be an adventure...

This blog may open soon. But yet there is nothing to write about ...