Whats better for Pacific ocean cruising, a monohall sailboat or a catamaran?

Question

Why one is better of the other?

Answer 1

We cruised the Pacific for four years on a mono hull a Cheoy Lee offshore 40. We met many people sailing both type of hull and there are positive and negative aspects of both designs.

Mostly you will be anchoring out just about everywhere you go anyway. You can anchor closer to the beach with a cat and you can beach her let the tide go out to effect repairs and paint the bottom. This isn't feasible for most mono hull designs. (big savings on your cruising budget) There is a lot of deck room on a Cat which maybe a plus for you.

The motion of the boats are different, the Cat having a quicker "shimmy" to her and the Mono hull having a slower rolling motion. Just something to be aware of, you'll get used to either.

The cat will probably use less fuel while under power as you have less to push through the water.

Passages were always fast for the cats from island to island usually beating us by a few days to a week on some stretches. In heavy weather I believe mono hulls are safer. That being said I have always thought that my next boat for cruising would be a cat.

Answer 2

You cannot get a cat to right itself if you capsize it.  And YES, you can capsize a catamaran.  With some effort you can get a monohull upright again.

A wave passing under a cat will slap the undersides (broaching) and limit your speed.  In rougher waters, you'll get more speed from a monohull.  In calmer waters, a cat is typically faster with less heeling.

There are less opportunities to moor a cat on a dock.  You'll be using a tender almost everywhere.

Other than that, it's a personal preference.

Answer 3

The cat is better for ocean sailing. Its smoother in rough water and more stable too.Depending on size it may be bigger inside.

Answer 4

Mono there more sea safe>