Tips on How To Sail a Catamaran

Sailing a Cat as Opposed to Sailing a Monohull

Sailing catamarans make a great alternative to monohulls. There are a few benefits of sailing a Cat:

- they are more stable and they do not rock back and forth making everyday activities more pleasant.

- they are faster than a similarly sized monohull.

- most catamarans have twin engines which makes them easier to dock.

- they have shallow drafts so they can anchor almost anywhere.

There are also a few disadvantages over a monohull in that, when underway, monohulls do not pound or slap, under sail, a monohull preforms much better and  they are much cheaper to haul and slip.

Catamaran Sailing Tips

There are a few tips of sailing a Cat, which is slightly different than sailing a monohull:

Sail-powered Catamarans

Cats do not go upwind as well as monohulls. You won't get much closer than 45/50¾ to the wind, going upwind.  However, going off the wind is what the cats are all about - you should sail at a speed of about 50% of the true wind.

There is no heeling to give a feel that the boat is over-canvassed.

Because a cat offers less resistance to the water, it takes more time to slow down than a monohull.

Engine-powered Catamarans

The main difference with a monohull is that a cat has two engines, one in each hull which makes maneuvering extremely easy.