Catamaran speed prediction

The more I read about Catamarans the closer I become to knowing what the right boat will be for my needs. I am leaning more towards the need for speed rather then the need to live on the boat. Although there is still a chance I will end up living on my boat, the more ideal solution for me, for now, is to live on land.

I have recently learned more about how to determine a Cats potential for speed. In a nutshell you want to find a boat with the lowest Displacement/Length Ratio (D/L) and the highest Power to weight Ration (SA/D). The Gunboat, Outremer and Dazcat are examples that tend to rank at the top of it's class when comparing displacement and length which means they have the potential to out sail most if not all of their competition.

Based on my current line of thinking, I won't need a washing machine on board. At my age my sailing will most likely be limited to one or two week excursions. The majority of the time will be day and weekend sailing adventures in the San Francisco Bay area. I envision the provisions needed will be similar in experience to the RV trips that we currently do. So our equipment needs will be small. Space will not be critical and we can keep things on the light side. After 5 or 10 years my situation may change and I can consider upgrading to something more comfortable for long term sailing.

I expect to participate in some racing and will enjoy being one of the fastest cruising cats on the bay. The boat will need to be a good ocean capable boat though. Accommodations need to be functional and comfortable but not extravagant. Heating will be necessary. AC would be nice as well however I am up in the air as to how important it will be. Will have to way the pro's and cons. I want my boat to be green and take advantage of Solar, wind and water power generation. If would prefer not to have to run the generator to stay cool. I will blog more on the topic of going green later.