Fast coastal cruising catamaran

Hello!
I'm looking for a plans for a fast coastal cruising catamaran I with some friends could build at home.
My main requirements are:

It must be able to sail on and off the beach and go into shallow water.
Minimal accomodation, basically hulls must be large enough to sleep 3 people in each hull.
Some offshore capability, my sailing area is Baltic sea, but it is possible we may put it on trailer and take to Mediterranean so it should be capable of reliably going into some open water.
Performance, I don't want a slow boat that takes forever to get anywhere.


Currently I have found 2 designs that more or less suit my needs.
Wharram Tiki 30
http://wharram.com/site/node/15
Woods Skua.
http://www.sailingcatamarans.com/skua.htm
Something around 9 m is largest I could afford to build and also largest that can be trailed behind normal car.
What other options there are from other less known designers that can be built at home without fancy technology?

 

Another great design in that range.

http://www.multihulldesigns.com/designs_stock/30ccat.html


Be very skeptical of build time estimates. These are VERY dependent on your skill level, work space, determination, and how often you have to start and stop your work.

The Skua and the Hughes are well thought out designs. If in need of more volume (thus more build time and more money) the Hughes is an excellent design.

 

Wharrams are still popular but I find it hard to understand why. If you can buy a used one at their incredibly low resale value then yes I suppose they are a valid choice. The Woods Skua or the Kurt Hughes cylinder mold design mentioned are much better value for the materials that you use in building and will return you something at resale time.

How often do you want to put the boat on a trailer? If it's frequently then one of the Hughes trailerable trimarans might make more sense. He does have a rapid construction demountable 30' catamaran.

http://www.multihulldesigns.com/designs_stock/30tcat.html

or the demountable trimaran design the D30.

http://www.multihulldesigns.com/designs_stock/30sdtri.html

in general I'd have to say demountable trimarans make a lot more sense for trailering than demountable cats the floats are easier to maneuver into position as they are lighter there are more components but they are all less heavy to lift and position. The only exception I'd make to that is if you have a trailer like say the one that the Grainger Raider 302 uses with slide out supports for the cat hulls so you can assemble on the trailer and launch full width it's still not a perfect solution but it does work. The same system would work for a demountable trimaran as well by the way but I've never seen a trailer done that way for a trimaran probably due to the base components being lighter to start with.

 

Check out the Woods Saturn. Can be built to be demountable. 3 in each hull of a 9m cat will be tight!

 

Trailerability is a whole other project. Take the time and money and hassle budget for a boat, then make it trailerable, and if it is even possible, it is twice the trouble and cost, with half the satisfaction. I would not even consider trailering a 30 foot cat, except as a one time move it to a new location type of deal. Daysailing is impossible.

And the tragic part is that most people who invest the times 2, end up with a boat on a mouring that they haul with a crane once a year.

Wharrams make better large cruisers. They are heavy boats, and since they are made out of the same materials as say a Kurt Hughes, they just cost more, at every step. The Tiki 30 is a pretty nice boat though.

Without the trailering (demountability is a whole other issue, that can be very practical for a home builder), I think your list can be met. For the most part though, best to cut all your expectations in half and double all your projected costs. For instance in most northern locations you can double your build time minimum if you do not have an indoors locations to build in. It is going to cost twice what you expect, and carry half the peopel in comfort, but that can still end up being a pretty good deal.

 

I'm more looking for a demountable (there is no way I could get 9m cat from my backyard to water in one piece) boat since during sailing season I will keep it in water. It will be put on a trailer only when moved home for winter storage or transported to some other sailing location.

I have also considered trimaran, however cats seem to be simpler to build since there are less parts, less connections and less surface area to finish. Also cats offer more deck space between the hulls.

Nice design, however I want to avoid center cabins as thay add more drag, besides money used to make center cabin can be better used to make longer faster hulls. I'm not looking for much comfort only enough space for sleeping and some protection from rain and spray.
I have done some coastal camping cruising in 6 m catamaran (sometimes 4 - 6 people aboard) without any cabin so anything with a cabin in the hulls will be a luxury for me.

Yeah, it is an issue. Most likely I will have to make as much parts indoors as possible during winter and when spring comes set up some shed in backyard where I could build each hull seperately.

 

Check this cat out, sounds perfect,

http://www.devilliersyachtdesign.co.nz/cms/index.php?page=dvd31plycatamaran

 

You might consider Len Surtees 9m folding catamaran Zeavard. He claims it can be built for under $30K.

 

Unfortunately it looks like that design is only in concept stage and designer don't have full building plans, however a cat like that would be ideal for my requirements.

It looks like the floor of a center cabin would bang horribly into waves killing speed and making ride very noisy and shaky. As I said I don't want a fixed center cabin since it affects negatively windward performance. Besides on a catamaran it is possible to set up large tent between the hulls at anchorage making more protected living space than any monohull or trimaran could have.
A feature I like in this design is single kick up centerboard. Most designs have daggerboards that go through the hulls and are rised vertically. With such configuration sailing in area with possible shallow rocks could easily end up with smashed board or worse - wrecked hull bottom.
My current catamaran have kick up rudders and single kick up centerboard under the mast crossbeam. I can't even count how many times I have hit something with centerboard or rudder - they just pivot up with no damage.
As I understand daggerboard below the hull have less drag than surface piercing centerboard hovever I'm willing to trade a little bit of speed for safety when sailing into area with possible underwater obstacles. Besides centerboard is needed only when going upwind, it can be rised when going downwind and then smooth hull bottoms will have less drag than hull bottoms with daggerboard slots.

My closest interesting sailing area Estonian islands have lots of shallow water and lots of rocks just under water so ability to hit something with no damage is important.

 

The cabin pounding is a concern that everyone who sees Len's design has, but he claims no problem. Since the cabin is relatively low, and the hulls are much lower than for a normal cruising catamaran, it might have decent windward performance -- if cabin pounding indeed turns out not to be a problem. As he's about to start a solo non-stop circumnavigation of Australia with it, we will soon enough find out.

http://www.surteesmultihulls.com/
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/multihulls/surtees-centre-pod-cat-40345.html?highlight=surtees

 

A Ray Kendrick Fish and Chips trailerable catamaran may be adequate for your needs it would be pretty tight for 6 people though (hope your all good friends).

http://www.teamscarab.com.au/7.3cat/design.html

 

I would also check out the smaller Simpson cats particularly the Backslash and the Ground effect.
Good design and sensible materials choices.

 

oops,
http://boatcraft.com.au/Shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=32_33

 

I like the Woods Saturna, I think his boats can be built without the pod cabin.

 

Another consideration is when the cat is demounted and both hulls placed on trailer width must not exceed the legal 2,5 m and weight below 1.2 tons since the trailer that belongs to my neighbor and I can borrow is rated to that weight. Because that trailer is not deigned for boats and cannot be immersed we will have to lift the hulls on and off the trailer and place for assembly by hand so 6 - 8 people should be able to lift each hull and carry short distance or I had to devise some sort of roller system to minimize required brute force.

So far designs that more or less fit are Woods Skua (currently my most liked design), Woods Saturn if built without center cabin, Wharram Tiki30 Boatcraft 9,5 m cat (although a bit overweight) Surtees 9m folding cat although I don't need elaborate folding system because I don't plan to trailer it home after every sailing and there are concerns about center pod slamming and Kurt Hughes 30' demountable cat.

However since I plan to start build after few months I have plenty of time to analize various designs and choose one that fits my needs most.