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How strong is construction of this catamaran in storm?

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by gp333, Feb 2, 2011.

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  1. gp333

    gp333 Guest

    How strong is construction of this catamaran in storm?

    Forget as this is solar boat etc. I talk about this type of construction. This is very close to trimaran, as middle hull very close to sea.. and probably in storm helps...

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I know this cat is fast on good weather... but what can do this 'thin rails' in high storm.. when waves 10-12 meters or more...

    Can more experienced persons say own meaning here...?
  2. luckylg

    luckylg New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2008
    Messages:
    91
    Location:
    Portland, OR, USA
    IMHO, all multi-hulls will suffer in high seas with the significant threat of turning turtle. High waves/winds striking the underside will find a huge sail area to catch. Seen too many tragic results where a monohull would have been fine.
  3. vivariva

    vivariva Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2007
    Messages:
    187
    Location:
    Istanbul, Turkey
    I agree with Luckylg, usually Cats and Tris have more rig failures because they have more sails than a monohull; especially their mainsails exert a lot of pressure on the mast.

    There was a record attempt by Groupama 3 to beat Orange II, however the boat capsized 80 miles off New Zealand. The trimaran's port float broke down on impact. The risk with Trimarans is the high loads exerted on downhill surfing where the boat goes bow-in on the port or starboard side.

    On heavy weather (10-12 meters) however not even a monohull would survive a breaking wave on its beam, but it will right itself if the sails are reefed enough. Downwave control is diminished by wider beam and lighter displacement of many serial production boats, furling sails increase the risk as there is more weight above the water. The boat in the pictures has a wide beam, they would have to plan ahead in terms of bad weather avoidance imho.