Don't Be Fooled by the Fluff!

You're probably on your way to one of the International Boat Shows around the World, just don't leave your brain at home!

It's amazing how some nice quality well made quality cushions in the right colours and materials can make any brand of catamaran more desirable. It is like comparing sitting on a park bench and a luxury comfy sofa….

When buying any boat don't be fooled by the fluff.

I mean the bowl of juicy brightly coloured fruit on the cockpit table, the expensive bed linen, fitted blinds, the vase of white lilies in the saloon, the well stocked drinks cabinet with tempting colours of the alcohol, the free glass of wine presented to you upon boarding at the boat show!
Sure it is nice to dress the boat, but that goldfish bowl on the saloon table is not going to stay there under way does not matter or not how stable a catamaran is.

It's the Nav gear that you need to be checking, the sails and how the reefing lines operate, and pull the sails up and down, how easy is it to maintain the engines and getting to them for routine maintenance, change the impeller, can you get to the steering gear, quality of finish and build, how is the boat constructed. How does the windlass operate. Is it geared up for easy single handed sailing with a Furler, self tacking jib. Are the standard engines powerful enough? Is there a fuel transfer switch.

Nobody likes talking about real shit at the boat show, but make sure you have Holding Tanks fitted to the catamaran, (This is a legal requirement now in most countries) and make sure the manufacturer includes a deck plug and a 3 WAY VALVE! And make sure the whole system is correctly installed and not a retro fit!
Imagine this, your lovely New catamaran three weeks after handover halfway across the Atlantic Ocean your holding tank explodes under pressure with a hundred gallons of raw sewage empties out into your bilges sloshing about in a big sea, the colour that you chose for your cushions will seem insignificant! Try and get it out and get rid of the smell!
This has happened on three NEW catamarans in the past, that I know of.

Seeing any boat sitting quietly at the boat show on a bright sunny day with the sunlight reflecting off the brilliant white deck dressed in its finery it is easy to fall in love with any boat on the spot, let's face it, all of them look pretty gorgeous and it is a difficult decision to make.

Catamarans have come a long way in the past few years and they all look great from the dock and one catamaran can look almost the same as the one next to it with sleek lines, go faster stripes and one may have a unique feature that the other does not and vice versa.

Many Brokers or builders will tell you what you want to hear, anything to part you from your hard earned dosh!
Find out about their after sales, maybe investigate how some of their other customers have been treated and if they have some kind of history building catamarans.
Maybe check out their shipyard to see how clinical their set up is….

Meet the Guy at the top and walk around the factory to meet the workers who will be building your catamaran, it should give you total confidence in what they are building.
Check out independent reviews on what other people are saying about the yacht you are about to buy.

You are talking about a lot of money you are going to part with, probably more than your first house purchase….

Some new models out there have sloping areas around the flybridge, easy to slip down when trying to work around the mast in any bad weather, lots of different levels with big heavy drops to fall down under way.

How is the visibility from the helm, can you see all four corners of the boat to see what you are doing?
Will the Galley be more convenient up or down?
Will climbing into bed be like climbing into a tree house?

Those bows are creeping forward like two well known manufacturers without nets, plenty of space on deck, but the trampolines are not there to entertain the kids or for sunbathing on, the nets are there for a reason! Will that catamaran really be classed as an ocean going vessel?

I put a post up recently and it was amazing that the only people making derogatory comments on it were Brokers who did not have that particular feature on what they were selling, ha!

Related reading

• Check Your Nets
• What Makes a Good New Catamaran?
• The Options List on a New Multihull: What Does It Mean to You?
• The Rise of “The Condo Cats”!
• Finding the Right Surveyor

Graham, Worldwide Catamarans