Great Loop Multihull Trawler Design

[Sundevil]

I did a search for Great Loop boat designs here, but probably wouldn't find something with my specifics anyways...

Boat for cruising the Great Loop

Trailerable Trawler / Troller for ICW Great Loop

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone knows of any designs that would be comfortable to live aboard, but still small enough and sea worthy enough for any conditions that would be found along the loop?

I would like something in the 30-35' range, 1 berth (can be converted during the day), 1 head. Not too wide to prevent fitting into slips (12'?). And something that looks good . I'm undecided on homebuilt vs professional built for a few reasons. I would like to fit a few bicycles onboard if possible will be the tough requirement.

When they make a smaller version of this boat http://dsehybrid.com/index.html, it could be very close to what I am after. (Raise up the middle, lower the back, and open up the back...) I wouldn't mind not having any living space in the hulls if that would make it easier to build.

[Richard Woods]

Sounds like my new Skoota 28 power cat would suit you. At any rate it's what we are having built right now to do a great Loop trip

I suggest you email direct via my website for more information

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

[FAST FRED]

Since the speeds are so limited , most is 10km/hr or about 5K why bother with a multihull?

The light weight construction will be put to the test locking thru a hundred+ locks and the tie up to various locations surely call for robust construction.

In many locks, the lock is FILLED! with boats of all sizes all hanging (and banging) on to each other.

The fuel consumption of a multihull will be higher at displacement speeds than a similar weight mono hull (more wetted surface).

Finally the weight carrying ability of a monohull of the same size could be a large advantage if you have large fuel tanks , as Canadian fuel is expensive.

A used trailer boat will get you on the long ditch far quicker and at 1/10 the cost of a new home build.

FF

[Sundevil]

Originally Posted by Richard Woods

Sounds like my new Skoota 28 power cat would suit you. At any rate it's what we are having built right now to do a great Loop trip

I suggest you email direct via my website for more information

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

The hull design looks good, and I like that it can be built fairly easily using marine plywood.

The tricky part is putting some of what you find on a luxury 40-50ft boat into a 28-35ft one... It is more the above the waterline that needs to work for live aboards and feeling comfortable and relaxing, not cramped and cheap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaKQl...eature=related

I don't need a boat that big, but would like to have a miniature version of it, with the LED lights, smaller versions of the counter tops and seats, 6.5 foot ceilings (min), chartplotter, etc...

Let's say on a boat, the first 1/3 would be a combination of a net/foredeck area, the indoor cabin area would be over half the length, and then you would have 3 to 5 feet for the aftdeck and transom stairs. It would be very cool if you could transport two bicycles in the hulls if they are big enough...

How does the Skoota handle waves? Does it hold at anchor well? I will be interested in seeing how it performs.

[Richard Woods]

Originally Posted by Sundevil

small enough and sea worthy enough for any conditions that would be found along the loop?

I would like something in the 30-35' range, 1 berth (can be converted during the day), 1 head. Not too wide to prevent fitting into slips (12'?).

These were the phrases I considered when I suggested the Skoota 28. But from your last comment it seems my Skoota 36 would suit you better

To Fast Fred

I haven't done the Great Loop, but have taken a multihull through many locks in Europe and also through the Panama Canal. I find a catamaran works better in locks than does a monohull. The hull sides are near parallel and with a wide foredeck it is easy to handle warps to the lock walls and to other boats. Twin engines makes it easier to keep station.

I'm not sure why you say a monohull is more economic than a catamaran. A 36ft power catamaran would only need twin 9.9hp outboards to run at 8 knots, or at 6 knots with one 9.9hp. Which relates to around 10mpg at 6 knots and a minimal initial engine cost, certainly when compared to an inboard engine

But I do agree with your last comment

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

[Sundevil]

Originally Posted by FAST FRED

Since the speeds are so limited , most is 10km/hr or about 5K why bother with a multihull?

The light weight construction will be put to the test locking thru a hundred+ locks and the tie up to various locations surely call for robust construction.

In many locks, the lock is FILLED! with boats of all sizes all hanging (and banging) on to each other.

The fuel consumption of a multihull will be higher at displacement speeds than a similar weight mono hull (more wetted surface).

Finally the weight carrying ability of a monohull of the same size could be a large advantage if you have large fuel tanks , as Canadian fuel is expensive.

A used trailer boat will get you on the long ditch far quicker and at 1/10 the cost of a new home build.

FF

I would like the reduced rocking of a multihull, plus the shallow draft will make it easier to go different places.

I do worry about locks, and some years might try and avoid them by traveling from Nova Scotia down to the Caribbean... Other years I would want to spend a lot of the summer in Northern Michigan.

[tom28571]

Originally Posted by Sundevil

I would like the reduced rocking of a multihull, plus the shallow draft will make it easier to go different places.

I do worry about locks, and some years might try and avoid them by traveling from Nova Scotia down to the Caribbean... Other years I would want to spend a lot of the summer in Northern Michigan.

Both types have advantages and disadvantages but motion comfort is not all on the side of multihulls. The long thin hulls of a cat can make for some serious hobby horsing in waves. Round bottom trawlers can roll too much for my tastes but hard chines and other devices can take care of most of that. A loaded down multi can be just as inefficient as a loaded down mono. No fundamental reason for a cruising multi to be more shallow draft that a similarly loaded mono and many mono are shallower than multis. Locks are nothing to be afraid of. Biggest concern is taking care of your boat during a lift when water flow from below can cause problems. A little experience takes care of that too.

[mydauphin]

What is the tallest boat that can do the loop?

[Sundevil]

15'6" according to this site:
http://www.captainjohn.org/Looperboat.html (music on site)

[Sundevil]

Part of the design above the water line I believe would have to use things like hideable mattresses that could slide under the foredeck or fold up into a couch. Electro transparent glass windows for bathrooms that when not in use would make the boat seem bigger. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass . Or some one way mirrors so that you can look out, but people can't look into the shower/head.

Take some modern design ideas from tiny home, container home, and micro apartment setups. http://www.jovoto.com/contests/life-edited/landing

And if there is a way to hide toilets and sinks when not in use so you can use the space for a shower, that would allow you to fit everything on top of one another and make the boat feel bigger since all three don't have to get shoved into a small area. The same sized area can be used one at a time. (Not the best images, and I don't know if they even exist in real life. On pontoon boats, you get port-a-johns that are hidden under a seat I guess would be one that I can think of.)
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/5898/hideatoilet.png
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/171/slidingsink.png

[Sundevil]

This boat has the shape and design concepts I am looking for. That means it probably costs a lot...

This boat looks good without walls (maybe use sliding walls? Folding walls?). And I would just add an aft deck and transom stairs to the back that could be retracted when underway...

[eyschulman]

There are lots of reasons for power cats but I really don't see a loop trip as a spicific one. I would think one of the many used mono hull designs with a economical inboard diesel motor and a backup kicker would do well. I am partial to multis for certain uses but not to the point of haveing a closed mind as to the benifits of the mono platform. I think the primary rule in selecting a boat is to match its nature and performance to its use pattern as closely as possible. loop-cat I don't see the close match here.

[Sundevil]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISSOsfKTIrU

This is the type of motion that I wouldn't enjoy in a monohull boat (not the best cameraman). I would assume, maybe incorrectly, that there are a lot boats going by creating wakes like that on the rivers, the great lakes, the gulf, and the ICW. (I should add that I would like to cruise around the Bahamas from January-March most years. And along the coast of Mexico and Cuba if things get straighten out there.)

I guess the next thing I assume is that a multihull boat getting hit from the side with waves/wakes like that won't rock as much.

I understand the cost part of it, and realize that a multihull costs a lot more. And that building it yourself is impossible to justify for a monohull boat, and only barely for a multihull one.

[eyschulman]

I am not convinced that a narrow power multi will avoid the roll on a side hit wake. You prety much have to turn into those big wakes. Given a mono with same beam or close with hard chines and a keel or anti roll fins the roll may not be that much more uncomfortable. The mono with a sharp entry may be better at turning and sliceing the wake. I spent 20 years on the inland waterway and I can tell you there is no small boat other than a sailboat in a fair blow that can comfortably take the large wakes thrown by many power boats when hit broadside. You can build your boat around a gyro or use stab. fins or if not you will turn and cut wake or do the rolly polly

[Richard Woods]

On a multihull it is best to take such steep wakes at 45degrees as that makes the effective boat length the longest, and makes the fore/aft asymmetry the most extreme

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com