Building a catamaran

Requirements

Principle: smaller is better as long as it's seaworthy enough.

Length between 8...9 metres or around 28 feet
Capable for offshore and (hopefully) transatlantic sailing
Safety: unsinkable, wide beam for stableness, maximum righting moment >5000 kgm
Suitable for living aboard in long cruises
Accommodation for 4 people
Good windward performance, no "floating caravan"
One outboard motor for simpleness and cheapness
Wood-epoxy construction (ply or strip plank)

Interesting designs

Boat	Facts	Pros	Cons
Shuttle 28	Design by John Shuttleworth Length: 8.5 / 28 ft Beam: 6.35 m Displacement: 1700 kg / 2600 kg Construction: strip plank Building time: 3200 h ¹ Note: open bridgedeck	Modern design, famous designer Low windage Big cockpit Finnish spruce could be used as strip plank material, cheaper than ply	Open bridgedeck may be cold in northern climate Best accommodation layout I've seen Small saloon
KD-860	Design by Bernd Kohler Length: 8.6 m Beam: 5.6 m Displacement: 1800 kg / 3000 kg Construction: plywood-epoxy Note: two outboard motors	Plywood construction, quick to build (1200 h) Modern design Very cheap plans (320 USD) Low windage, good performance Vortex panels instead of dagger boards or keels (no extra draft) According to designer, "designed for ocean work"	~~None built~~ Re-sale value? Sleeping cabins on the bridgedeck, limited privacy Imported marine plywood is quite expensive
Cosmos 930 More pictures	Design by Schionning Designs Length: 9.3 m / 30.5 ft Beam: 6.1 m Displacement: 2980 kg Construction: wood-epoxy	Modern design	Not the smallest one...
Simpson Groundeffect	Design by Simpson Length: 9 m / 30 ft Beam: 6 m Displacement: 2524 kg Construction: strip plank	Aged but well-known design Probably many boats built	Lack of online information Designer not anymore in boat business
Simpson Woodwind 9.1	Design by Simpson Length: 9.1 m / 30 ft Beam: 5.5 m Displacement: 1850 kg Construction: sheet ply	Aged but well-known design Probably many boats built	Lack of online information Designer not anymore in boat business
Catharsis 26	Design by Terho Halme Length: 8.0 m / 26 ft Beam: 5.2 m Displacement: 1200 kg Construction: strip plank	Good looking and roomy 26 footer	More a consept than production ready design
Boxcat 26	Design by Terho Halme Length: 8.0 m / 26 ft Beam: 5.5 m Displacement: 1200 kg Construction: plywood	Another interesting 26 footer from Terho Halme	More a consept than production ready design
Radical Bay 8000	Design by Schionning Designs Length: 8.0 m / 26 ft Beam: 5.76 m Displacement: 1100 kg Building time: 2500 h (from kit) Construction: BalsaDuFlex panels	Very nice bi-rigged cruiser/racer	Expensive

[1] Estimated building times of Shuttleworth's boats includes installing all the systems and finishing the boat completely to a 'high standard'.

Links

Other catamaran projects

Mast building

Multihull resources

Richard Woods has written a good serie of articles about hull shapes, rig and Why multihull? Read also his FAQ.
Few words about seaworthiness by another well-known designer, John Shuttleworth.
Multihull discussion forum (registration required)
Estimated costs and building times for Kelsall catamarans

This page was updated in May 2006 - Contact me