Chasing the Catamaran Dream: 2011

Friday, February 4, 2011

Flotilla's Anyone?

Looking for a Flotilla?. Here is a list that I am keeping for myself. I will add more as I come across them.

Baja Ha-Ha - The Baja Ha-Ha cruisers rally is from (from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas) The Baja Ha-Ha occurs every year neat the end of October.

CW Adventures Charters Sail-a-Cat - This is according to CW their best-selling flotilla voyage of the year and occurred Dec 3 - 11th, 2010. I am assuming they will have another one this year. They report it is a great way to learn about chartering and to try out a catamaran! In addition, they offered lots of extra fun: windsurfing and kite boarding lessons, kayaks and Hobie Cats, and a dive rendezvous or guided tropical water fishing excursion.

More to come.....

Friday, January 28, 2011

Need a Captain or Crew for Your Next Catamaran Cruise?

My wife and I are looking for an affordable vacation aboard a Catamaran. Trouble is none of our friends share our dream yet, so if you are looking for an experienced captain or crew or someone to share expenses please let us know. We will be researching all available options. Money is tight. I realize Catamarans are not cheap. We will have to be creative to make this affordable but one way or another I will be taking a vacation aboard a Catamaran someday soon.

Last year I completed the ASA Cruising Catamaran Sailing and Bareboat Chartering classes through the Afterguard Sailing Academy.


10.5 meter Gemini

It was great but I look forward to sailing without a teacher looking over my back and without the pressure of having to pass an exam. I just want to sail and enjoy myself. I have 1000’s of hours behind the wheel of various types of boats, mostly power, but lately some sailing vessels. I consider myself to be an excellent navigator and driver of any size vessel. Although I have much to learn I performed flawlessly navigating and docking the single screw 10.5 meter Gemini that we used in our 5 day Catamaran class. Photo shown on the right.

Flotilla’s seem like a good way to go. Perhaps there is a catamaran owner that is planning to join one and needs someone to share expenses and crewing duties. The Baja Ha-Ha looks like a lot of fun. The Baja Ha-Ha is a two-week cruisers rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which takes place every fall. I was just reading about the Cruising World Sail-a-Cat Adventure Charter. Prices last year were from $1,700 to $2,200 per person. A bit steep for me so I will continue researching. If I have to save up, then that is what I will do.

If flotillas and cruising rally's aren't for you, charting my own course on my own schedule is definitely in my future. Email my if you need a crew or captain for your next Catamaran vacation. catmandav@gmail.com.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Free TV for your Boat or RV?

OK, This is slightly off topic but you may find this interesting especially if you read my post "HD Satellite TV on Your Catamaran" or if you are looking for a cost affective way to enjoy TV on your boat or RV or at home. I keep wondering how the transition from land to sea can be made as smooth as possible. Having the creature comforts of home on your craft will certainly help although i suspect there will be much more than TV to keep me occupied on a Cat.

News flash! I was reminded recently that TV is free don't ya know. I for one am starting to really question why I send Directv over $100.00 a month. TheFutureofTV.org claims a better future for free TV. Apparently you can help the Free TV cause by signing up here. They claim that 3D could be coming and they already broadcast digitally in HD including moble DTV. Wouldn't it be nice to take those ugly dishes off of your roof and pocket some extra cash? As previously discussed dishes for boats or RV's are not cheap. Oh but wait, you have to replace the dish with an off air antenna. Oh well, I already have one on my roof. Perhaps a small price to pay for Free TV.

But what about my DVR? For 19.99 or 12.95 per month (Monthly price depends on which plan you go with) you can have a full featured DVR with Internet access, On Demand content and much more with your TiVo subscription! Sounds to good to be true and as I found out the price initial price has turned me off.

Here is the summary of my research on Tivo's pricing plans:
I have 4 receivers now, so to replace all of them would require an initial investment of approximately $1,860.00 if I go with the Premium plan. The Premium XL came out to an initial investment of aprox $2078. WOW. Why so high? You have to buy the equipment and they are not cheap. There are a couple other plans where you pay less initially however it ends up being more down the road, at least in my case.

If my math is correct however since the monthly charge would be a measly $12.95 plus $9.95 each for the three extra receivers I would break even after two years and save around $700.00 per year thereafter. But what if you need to replace a receiver? The savings would probably end up being less long term. Plus I would be giving up a ton of extra channels like DIY, Discovery and other outdoor channels. I can live without them but is it worth it? If I only needed one receiver, TiVo is a much more attractive offer.

Another showstopper for the boat or RV is that it requires a phone connection for the program guide and other things I presume. You would need an Internet connection for the On Demand and browsers features as well.

TiVo did mention that the new DVR's are Smaller and more energy efficient and more powerful than previous TiVo generations. This is important for Catamarans and RV's.

The future of TV is so unknown. Who knows what it will be like in two years. You can already watch your favorite shows through the networks web site and TV's now days are internet ready. There’s a thought. Internet on your boat. Sounds like a topic for a future discussion.

You could go with Free TV and not pay the 19.99 per month. This would most likely be the only for me if I were setting up my Catamaran today. You loose the convenient program guide which you don't get with Free TV.

Remember the small TV Guide magazine? Do they even sell those any more? I used to see the TV listings come with the Newspaper. Can't say I recall seeing one of those for a year or two, at least not from our local newspaper.

Additional Resources:
TiVo’s Free HD over-the-air signals page.

If you don't know what TiVo or DVR's are by now (Read Consumer Reports for the low down on DVRs ) you are behind the times.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Mailman Stole my Multihulls World Magazines

I was flattered and surprised when I saw my Catmandreams blog mentioned in the Nov/Dec 2010 Multihulls World magazine. It has been a while since my last post. I have not lost interest. For a while I wasn’t seeing a whole lot of new information on the web. This is partly due to the fact that I hadn’t been receiving the Multihulls World magazine. There is a wealth of information in it.

I think the mailman is a Catamaran enthusiast. I emailed Multihulls World magazine staff recently to inform them that I had not received the last three issues. According to them they were sending them to the correct address. They offered to send them to a different address, but I assured them that I receive mail at my home all the time without issues. They were nice enough to resend them to the same address using a different mail carrier. They also came in a brown envelope so the contents would be disguised. I guess this way they won’t be stolen by the mail man or whomever. After all, the magazine probably goes through many hands between France and the US. Thanks Multihulls World Mag.

Rank	Brand	Model	Aprox Price US	SA/D	D/L	BOA/ LWL	LWL ft	BOA ft	SA sq ft	Min Draft ft	Disp lbs	Bridge Clear-ance ft	Mast Height OWL ft	Payload lbs
2	NG Yacht Design	HIVA'OA 45		44.33	68.11	54.3%	46	25	1667.8	4	14850
2	Outremer	50 Light	$610,000	38.99	55.11	47.0%	50.00	23.50	1,505	4.2	15,432
4	Fusion Catamarans	40	$400,000	33.21	63.30	59.3%	40.00	23.70	900	4.2	9,075
5	Outremer	45	$525,000	34.13	78.56	52.3%	44.00	23.00	1,292	2	14,991		60
6	Outremer	50 Standard	$750,000	32.85	72.00	51.4%	50.00	25.70	1,515	4.2	20,160
8	Outremer	42	$550,000	30.56	80.98	53.3%	42	22.4	1076	1.9	13,440
10	Gunboat	48	$1,600,000	29.79	81.14	50.6%	48	24.3	1371	1.1	20,100
10	Switch Catamarans	51	$825,000	29.91	81.25	54.2%	48.00	26.00	1,378	4.2	20,128		79
13	Dolphin Catamarans	460	$480,000	27.61	91.60	52.7%	45.90	24.20	1,260	4.2	19,842	Good
16	Fountaine Pajot	Salina 48	$1,000,000	28.94	106.17	54.9%	46	25.25	1463.36	3.60	23,149	Good
17	Fountaine Pajot	Orana 44	$780,000	27.92	106.27	57.4%	42	24.11	1177.77	3.94	17,637
18	Knysna	440		33.11	118.24	59.4%	39.67	23.58	1338	3	16,535
18	Voyage Yachts	500 Standard	$630,000	26.48	96.82	57.5%	47.10	27.10	1,320	3.9	22,660	Good	68
18	Fountaine Pajot	Bahia 46	$469,500	27.31	105.67	53.9%	45.11	24.30	1,324	4.2	21,728
18	Fountaine Pajot	Mahe 36	$197,000	26.87	104.60	53.8%	36.10	19.41	829	3.62	11,023
19	PDQ Yachts	Antares 44i	$775	25.88	94.26	50.2%	43.6	21.9	1086	4	17,500
19	Robertson & Caine	Leopard 43	$385,000	27.90	109.89	53.8%	42.60	22.90	1,238	4.2	19,030
21	Aeroyacht Edel	H42		24.42	85.02	51.9%	42	21.8	888	3.00	14,110
22	Robertson & Caine	Leopard 46	$459,000	30.58	120.99	53.9%	44.70	24.10	1,593	4.5	24,206			13,271
22	Chantier Catana	43 Ocean	$750,000	39.49	130.60	56.6%	42.40	24.00	1,948	3.9	22,300	2.70
23	Lagoon	410S2	$350,000	25.67	105.47	57.2%	40.70	23.30	1,012	4.2	15,928
24	Alliaura Marine	Privilege 445	$635,000	27.09	116.97	55.0%	42.15	23.20	1,227	4.43	19,620		62
24	Alliaura Marine	Privilege 495		26.84	113.80	52.2%	46.06	24.05	1,425	4.43	24,910	Good*	65
25	Chantier Catana	47 Ocean	$884,000	33.51	132.55	55.8%	45.30	25.30	1,905	4.1	27,600	Good	64
25	Fountaine Pajot	Belize 43	$700,000	26.71	116.08	54.8%	42	23	1195	4.30	19,264
25	St. Francis Marine	50	$760,000	27.27	118.50	56.0%	47.00	26.30	1,549	4.2	27,558	2.80	71	9,500
26	Admiral Yacht Manufacturers	50	$595,000	24.20	105.44	55.0%	49.30	27.11	1,399	4.2	28,300
27	Gemini	105Mc		26.39	118.27	43.9%	31.9	14	690	1.5	8,600
28	Maine Cat	Cat 30	$174,000	24.30	106.49	61.4%	29.30	18.00	500	2	6,000	2.20	48	2,250
30	Admiral Yacht	38	$395,000	22.79	103.00	60.4%	38.10	23.00	775	4.2	12,760
31	Nautitech Catamarans	47	$592,500	23.75	111.96	56.3%	46.00	25.90	1,244	3.11	24,411	2.60
31	Broadblue Catamarans	385 Sport	$380,000	25.16	119.79	51.0%	38.60	19.70	971	3.5	15,432
32	Broadblue Catamarans	435	$570,000	23.33	110.43	50.5%	43.60	22.00	1,088	4.1	20,502
34	Fortuna Catamarans	Island Spirit 401	$310,000	24.71	122.19	57.2%	39.50	22.60	1,012	4.2	16,868
36	Chantier Catana	52 Ocean	$1,311,200	27.43	155.63	56.2%	50.20	28.20	2,131	4.5	44,100	Good	71
36	TomCat Boats	9.7	$150,000	19.52	103.54	50.0%	32.00	16.00	470	4.2	7,600
39	Robertson & Caine	Leopard 40	$309,000	25.20	141.26	53.5%	37.60	20.10	1,030	3.1	16,820		61	16,820
39	Voyage Yachts	440 Standard	$426,000	24.22	131.10	61.2%	41.00	25.10	1,120	3.5	20,240		62
39	Nautitech Catamarans	40	$355,000	23.37	124.69	54.9%	38.80	21.30	936	3.11	16,314	2.50
40	Maverick Yachts	380		25.73	147.50	69.2%	35.11	24.28	944	2.62	14,300	Good	49
40	Broadblue Catamarans	415		23.67	129.94	53.7%	41.00	22.00	1,088	4.1	20,061
41	Royal Cape Catamarans	50	$635,000	22.05	118.51	58.4%	49.30	28.80	1,378	4.2	31,808
42	Seawind USA	1160	$389,000	22.86	125.29	56.3%	38.00	21.40	881	4.2	15,400
42	Lagoon	440	$500,000	24.74	148.54	61.6%	41.1	25.3	1249	4.3	23,100
43	Broadblue Catamarans	385 aft	$371,000	21.71	119.79	51.0%	38.60	19.70	838	4.2	15,432
44	Maine Cat	Cat 41	$394,000	22.31	128.08	56.7%	40.60	23.00	996	2.6	19200	2.67	60	7,000
44	Alliaura Marine	Privilege 395	$476,000	21.88	122.29	55.1%	39.20	21.60	883	4.2	16,500
45	Lagoon	500	$710,000	23.30	137.71	53.2%	51.00	27.11	1,722	4.2	40,920
45	Seawind	1160		22.86	135.73	57.8%	37	21.4	881	3.90	15,400
45	Lagoon	500		23.73	142.82	57.1%	49	28	1659	4.7	37,639
47	Manta Catamarans	42 MkII	$389,950	20.64	123.23	53.7%	39.10	21.00	833	3.8	16,500	2.00	60
49	Fountaine Pajot	Lavezzi 40	$288,750	22.09	140.73	53.8%	39.00	21.00	969	3.5	18,700	Good
50	Nautitech Catamarans	44	$460,200	22.31	141.50	56.0%	40.00	22.40	1,033	3.11	20,286
50	Dean	441		23.10	160.59	55.8%	43	24	1345	4	28,600	High
50	Lagoon	380S2	$280,000	21.80	136.83	57.9%	37.11	21.50	850	4.2	15,664
51	Royal Cape Catamarans	45	$600,000	22.43	148.87	63.6%	45.30	28.80	1,378	4.2	31,000
57	Multihull Manufacturing Group	Jaguar 36	$230,000	21.28	179.33	63.6%	36	22.9	935	4.2	18,742
58	Lagoon	420 diesel	$380,000	20.01	166.82	61.1%	40.4	24.7	1055	4.2	24,640
58	Admiral Yacht Manufacturers	40	395000	18.30	163.82	64.7%	37.10	24.00	804	3.9	18,739
60	Lagoon	420KW		17.73	199.74	61.1%	40.4	24.7	1054	4.2	29,503
	Manta Catamarans		$389,950

SA/D= Sail Area / (Displacement/64)2/3 Higher is Better.
D/L=(Displacement in lbs/2240)/(0.01* LWL)3 Lower is Better.
Disp lbs=This # will vary and has a significant impact on the Ranking. Displacement empty VS loaded is not always avail.
SA=Total Sail area of the Main and Jib/Genoa
BOA=Beam Overall
BOC=Beam Over Centerline
LWL=Length at Water Level LWL is not always avail and as a result may be an estimate
OWL=Obove WaterLine
Formula Source=Catamarans, The Complete Guide for Cruising Sailors. Tarjan
The stats are subject to change and may not be 100% accurate. Report mistakes via email. Include a url to substantiate your findings.

Force	Name	Description
0	Calm
1	Light air.	Or just sufficient to give steerage way.
2	Light breeze	Or that in which a man-of-war, with all sail set, and clean full, would go in smooth water, from	1 to 2 knots
3	Gentle breeze		3 to 4 knots
4	Moderate breeze		5 to 6 knots
5	Fresh breeze	Or that to which a well-conditioned man-of-war could just carry in chase, full and by	Royals, etc.
6	Strong breeze		Single-reefed top-sails and top-gallant sails
7	Moderate gale		Double-reefed top-sails, jib, etc.
8	Fresh gale		Triple-reefed topsails, etc.
9	Strong gale		Close-reefed top-sails and courses
10	Whole gale	Or that which she could scarcely bear close-reefed main-topsail and reefed foresail.
11	Storm	Or that which would reduce her to storm stay-sails.
12	Hurricane	Or that which no canvas could withstand.

Resource:	http://www.sizes.com/natural/beaufort.htm

Chasing the Catamaran Dream

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Friday, February 4, 2011

Flotilla's Anyone?

Friday, January 28, 2011

Need a Captain or Crew for Your Next Catamaran Cruise?

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Free TV for your Boat or RV?

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Mailman Stole my Multihulls World Magazines

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