questions about building a catamaran

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by chevyman, Jul 3, 2012.

  1. chevyman
    Joined: Jul 2012
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    chevyman Junior Member

    I have a bunch of questions but im looking to design my own catamaran.I want t be able to fish off of it and go cruise to beaches i was thinking of making it in the 20 to 24 ft range. How shallow of water could i get to in this i want to use a design like this one i saw on here. http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/at...ed-help-building-small-catamaran-tornado2.jpg

    I would like to make sme changes to this boat as in adding a sail and adding a cabin coming up from the small wall and leaving between 5 and 8 foot of open deckspace.

    I am stuck on designing the size of the hulls and what i should put on the bottom. i would still like to have a small motor on it eventually. has anybody ever put a live well on a boat, how do you go about it.

    One last question would this turn out better if i built a small 16' cattamaran first to kinda gain some experience.

    I look forward to getting a boat in the water that ive built and designed myself.Any help is appreciated
     
  2. Silver Raven
    Joined: Oct 2011
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    Silver Raven Senior Member

    Gooday 'Chev'. Draft is a weight - thingy. We built a 40' x 17' very fast sailing cat - that fully crewed - with 2 weeks cruising gear for 4 people that had a maximum draft of 12".

    Sure you could do much better than theat - with todays modern materials - if you choose to make the effort & spend the money.

    Wish you much good fortune with your project. Ciao, james
     
  3. messabout
    Joined: Jan 2006
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    messabout Senior Member

    Chevyman. You have typed; "any help appreciated". You will find many forum members, here, who are both knowledgeable and generous with good council.

    Your OP suggests that you will need more design help than you may realize. DO build your own cat if you wish to do so. DO NOT design your own boat. Buy a set of plans from an established professional multihull designer. You will save time, money, disappointment, and possibly your own life.

    Yes, I know that is not the advice that you want to hear. It is, however, the most sensible and proven advice that you are likely to get. Explore the multihull section of the forum. You will see that multihull design is a much more complex exercise than merely drawing a boat.

    Stay with us. Let's see what others say.
     
  4. Wavewacker
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    Wavewacker Senior Member

    Hi, search for Richard Woods designs and Skoota, Ray Rutlidge has a nice cat too. Check out Little Cindy. There are several small cats as you describe, Jar-cat is another. There is a small cat build in the design thread titled WTEOTWAWKI something or aruther as an end of the wold as we know it boat, by Hoyt.

    The hull design needs to relate to the intended purpose, where and what kind of use there will be, more sailing than motoring and capacity expected...I found that they need to be very light in that size and fail to have the utiity I desire, but they are nice....
     
  5. chevyman
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    chevyman Junior Member

    I have looked at many of woods designs and if i was looking to buy a boat i would buy one of his in a heartbeat I like the wizard but its not exactly what I want so I figure if Im going to take the time to build this boat Im going to make it how I want it to be rexactly what I want.

    I thought about designing and building a small fast little catamaran to mess around on between 12 an 16 feet to try my hand at it. I just would like some opinions from more experienced people to make sure i do it right.

    I understand most of it except the sail rigging and the bottom of the hull such as keel or daggerboard and the different options.
     
  6. Wavewacker
    Joined: Aug 2010
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    Wavewacker Senior Member

    Figure out what you really must have, not wants, but musts, select a design that is close to that and buy the plans as you'll likely not find one that meets all of your musts, much less your wants, as all boating is a compromise.

    I'm sure I can build a cat that floats, might even go in a straight line (that is an accomplishment) but I doubt I'd really be happy with it, it wouldn't be a work of art and I may not like all the finger pointing and laughing. So, I'd get plans! Better yet, buy an existing boat! Build some nice seats, dinning table, spice racks for an existing boat.....that's my Plan A now. :D

    Lots of failed project boats out there too.....with plans.
     
  7. hoytedow
    Joined: Sep 2009
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    I agree with messabout and welcome you to the forum. If you have not built one before you will encounter all kinds of different questions when connecting the hulls. These will have already been amswered in a proven design. It will save you a lot of time that will be more enjoyably spent sailing than building. If you like building and solving riddles, then fine, build it yourself.
     
  8. chevyman
    Joined: Jul 2012
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    chevyman Junior Member

    K so I have decided that I will build a 16 foot catamaran to start with it will have and 8 foot beam Im going for speed here so really light im thinking 4 or 6mm ply.

    The beam of the hulls will be 12-14" I have seen things that argue daggerboards are better than centerboards and viceversa what are your opinions.

    I am looking towards a rounded v for the hull shapes is that doable with stitch and glue?

    I would like to put two masts on it so I can have more diversity with the wind I have seen some called a racing sloop but only on large monohulls like the puma boat. What would be a good sail setup for this size I want to get as much speed out of it as possible if that narrows it down.

    Im am deciding btwn making it cartopable or trailerable but I was wondering hw hard it is to make a trailer or find a trailer and make it able to tow yur boat.

    Also one more thing sorry I have so many questions I was thinking the trampoline for the deck because i know weight slows it down but If i used slats of wood with spaces between them for part of it would it slow me down much say i do half of it trampoline and half of it wood slats?
     
  9. chevyman
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    chevyman Junior Member

    k I am looking at doing a kinda of mis between a slider and La Chatte 16. I like the features of the seats in the hulls and the wooden deck on both but would it be possible to add a trampline or net on the bow of them instead of the empty space.I like the sleeker look of the la chatte also.

    And would it be possible to add two masts to a boat of this size or 2 sails with just one mast.

    slider cat
    http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/aldridge/slider/index.htm

    La Chatte 16
    http://www.glen-l.com/designs/sailboat/lachatte.html
     
  10. upchurchmr
    Joined: Feb 2011
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    upchurchmr Senior Member

    Chevyman,

    You really need to build something from plans first and research for the eventual design before you design your own.

    A few comments. the original boat you showed was built from an old very high speed sailboat. The original design was tortured plywood - 4mm marine ply. So you shouldn't need 6mm at all. But that depends upon the way you build it and all the junk you add I.E., the additional weight. Too much weight and the hulls will be sunk down into the water making them not work well.
    Dagger boards work better if you want the absolute best performance, provided you have a proper airfoil shape. Centerboards work well - the tornado in your original picture had them and was the fastest daysailor for 20-30 years.
    Nets at the front will work, but if you are sailing they may cause you to flip the boat over the nose if you drive the nose underwater - entirely possible if you have typical sail area - ask someone with a Hobie cat.
    If you do the Lachatte, don't even think about the wood center deck - use a trampoline for sailing. The wood deck will keep you from sitting as far out to the edge of the boat as possible, which is necessary if you are sailing fast. A hard deck is also more uncomfortable. If you wanted to use this as a fishing boat sometimes, make a hard deck to stand on which can just be set over the trampoline, resting on the crossarms and decks - a separate add on piece just for fishing. Put the motor mount on this also - that might be a little tricky.

    Build something first. I suggest Richard Woods Quattro 14 at http://www.sailingcatamarans.com/ go to Designs then pick Quattro 14 in the middle of the page. This is cheap if you can use the digital download. I was able to get digital drawings printed at Office Depot for $3 per page for 2'x3' drawings. I like the paper.

    The Quattro will not give you experience of building a dagger or centerboard, but it will get you a good performing boat that is reasonably easy to build, and get you experience.
    You could probably build a separate rigid deck and see if the original idea above would work for you.
     
  11. chevyman
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    chevyman Junior Member

    K I looked at it and I was wondering if it is really worth that much for the plans i cant find any pictures of any ever built or sailed. has anybody built one or seen one in action?

    Would a boat like this be able to cruise around on a lake like lake pal or lake pleasant in arizona if anybody knows where that is at because that is were most of my use would be and in smaller lakes around the mesa and pheonix area.
     
  12. chevyman
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    chevyman Junior Member

    Btw how do you go about getting the mast and sails with the rigging.

    Ive looked at building the mast seems doable but i dont know where to start with the rest of it.
     
  13. upchurchmr
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    upchurchmr Senior Member

    Chevyman,

    That is a cheap price for plans. I spent as much on plans for a kayak which is much simpler. And I have wasted several times that amount building things to my own plan.
    The value you will get is having someone who has done this show you everything you need.

    Do you want an aluminum or a wood mast?

    A bare aluminum mast can be purchased then build up all the fittings. The plans should show you what is needed. The rigging also. You can make your own rigging using a $20 tool from Home Depot or Lowes and the thimbles, swages, and wire.
    Some of the running rigging - the ropes and pullies to control the sail need to be store bought, one source is West Marine by mail order.
    Another way to get something like the mast and sails is to buy an old boat and use as much as you can. A Hobie 14 might be the right size, or you can modify from there, if you can find one cheap on craigslist, etc. There is also a company called Sailrite who will make up a kit so you can sew your own sail, they also provide directions.

    you are looking at a big job. Buy someones plans (not all are equally good).

    Another place to look http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans.htm there is lots to look thru here.
     
  14. messabout
    Joined: Jan 2006
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    messabout Senior Member

    A tip of the hat to Wavewacker for his "Musts and Wants" comments. That is the smartest information that you can ever get. As he says, you can not have it all. Boats are ornery and you are forced to trade one attribute for another. Boats do not care whether you like it not. That's just the way it is.

    From this distance it is clear that you would do yourself a favor by buying a Hobie 16 or something similar. H16s are all over like sparrows on a horse turd. They can be had for cheap, far less that any build that you might do. Now you can go sailing right away. If you need to drive hundreds of miles for pickup, it is still a good deal. The H16 will go like a bat if sailed well and it will go pretty good even if not sailed with the greatest of skill. There are other possibilties...maybe a NACRA or something similar.

    Back to must or want. If go fast is your pimary aim, then Hobies, Nacras, or Tornadoes are your cup of tea. Maybe even a derelict A-cat. If comfort has anything to do with wants then forget cats and get a decent mono like a Lightning, Thistle, Highlander, Flying Scot, O'day Day Sailor (has a small cuddy). None of them will go like a cat but none of 'em are dogs either. Fishing, picknicking, romantic moonlight cruises are much better "in" a mono, than "on" a cat. Expect to pay more for a small mono than for a small cat. Does that tell you anything?
     

  15. chevyman
    Joined: Jul 2012
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    chevyman Junior Member

    I want a boat that will go fast to sail arund on but i can fish off of also comfort isnt a big thing for me
     
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