The smallest cat in the bay

8º 49.388s 140º 03.840w

Fri May 17 2019

Perhaps I should have entitled this “almost the smallest boat in the anchorage”. . .

When we were dreaming about a cruising boat, the affordable boats selling at the broker’s docks were older Cheoy Lees, Tayanas, Valiants, Hans Christians, Cabo Ricos and similar. Heavy displacement full keeled boats built back in the 70’s and 80’s, known to be slow but also considered tough - safe and appropriate for a blue water adventure around the globe. We see plenty of them out here now, a testament to their designers and builders. My involvement in the world of aviation pulled me in a different direction, one towards performance for the intended mission. Together Isabel and I also realized that by the time we could realize our sailing dream, we would likely be tired of camping and would appreciate the creature comforts a more modern design could offer.

When we saw the Seawind 1160 at the Annapolis Sailboat show, we got really excited, and eventually even Isabel was willing to give up her monohulls ways and seriously consider a catamaran. At that time, the 1160 at 38’ was one of the larger catamarans for sale, and the reviews pegged her as a serious contender for blue water passage making. Perhaps it was in our favor that she was the biggest catamaran we would ever likely be able to afford. She certainly seemed huge to us at the time, a bit extravagant, but also the smallest production catamaran out there that might be strong enough and safe for our intended use.

Monohull sailors like to brag about how their boats point higher, go to windward better in a rough seaway, and can survive rolling if knocked down. The crustiest of them are convinced that eventually we’ll end up “turtled” as they say, flipped upside down with no hope of being righted, having to abandon ship after scuttling her. That does occasionally happen to catamarans, but upon further investigation they’re high performance machines with big rigs, lots of canvass, and the crew was pushing them with perhaps a bit too much sail deployed for strong conditions.

The real truth is that plenty of them are armchair sailors who will never get farther afloat than the Sea of Cortez, so the thought that their boat might survive a knockdown in the Southern Ocean is a bit silly anyway.

Well, this is our home, and we’re not racing anybody. Actually, that’s a lie, because if there’s another boat on the horizon we’re always racing, but we do so with what the gear we’ve got on board. This boat has a strong rig, but it’s also small enough that a capsize in any reasonable conditions is pretty much unthinkable. We’re also not trying to break her by pushing too hard, so we can take that off the “worry” table. It’s true that we don’t point as high as racing monohulls and pushing into big choppy seas isn’t any fun, but plenty of production monohulls suck at that too.

We finally purchased JollyDogs in 2013, and she’s everything we had hoped. Big enough to do our mission, exploring the South Pacific and onwards if we finally make up our minds. Small enough that the cost of replacing equipment doesn’t make our eyes water. We picked a boat that we can afford to insure, operate, and maintain to a high standard. That enhances our safety and should minimize breakdowns in remote locations, what we called “unscheduled maintenance” in the helicopter business.

Kurt Jerman and Monte Contrell, both trusted friends and catamaran brokers, note that these days nobody wants to buy any catamaran less than 40’ long. More boat means more money up front and much higher routine maintenance and equipment replacement costs down the road, but that’s what folks are buying, and that’s that production boat builders are selling. I tend to wonder if it’s like the old Detroit auto manufacturers telling people what cars they want, as market demand is often driven by clever firms on Madison Avenue. In any case the boats are getting bigger with designs that appeal to the homemaker in the couple. Manufacturers can take only so much cost out of the boats through efficient build processes and clever designs, so there must simply be much more wealth out there. We’re always wondering “who can afford these beasts”?

After a week in Taiohoa bay at Nuka Hiva, we’ve been absolutely amazed at how many cruising boats out here are catamarans. Used to be catamarans were the exception in the anchorage, but a few days ago cats made up about 30% of the 40 odd boats in the bay. What’s even crazier is how large all the boats are. Most of the cats are in the 44 feet and longer range, with plenty over 50’. Most of the newer monohulls (and there are lots out there) are 49 feet and longer. That’s a lot of boat! Our friend Phil just purchased a spankin’ new Seawind 1260, the biggest variant of our boat model, and he’s about to find that at 41’ she may well be the smallest cat in the bay unless we’re there as well!

Generally we never see a boat design that we’d rather have, but a few days ago an Alibi 54 arrived in the bay. Isabel whipped out the binoculars and pronounced her a piece of art; lying in the water she looks like an artists conception of the perfect combination of badass fast sailing cat and live aboard comfort. Naturally we dinghied past and said hello, speaking briefly to the owner and crew. Beautiful, and hopefully at some point we’ll be invited aboard for a tour or sundowner. At first glance she’s the first boat we’ve ever seen that makes us wistful; it’ll be interesting to see if that feeling remains if we receive an interior tour. Funnily enough, they are stuck in the anchorage until a part arrives to fix something, a very common story among the boats here.

The best news of all? The Alibi pricing begins at around $1,800,000, so fully equipped she’s well over $2,000,000 US. That’s so far above our pay grade that purchasing one could never be possible, and imagine the budget to properly maintain and refit one!

Still, everybody needs a fantasy. . .