see my article on steering comfort

see my article on steering comfort

We've been out on my 33year old, 30ft Sagitta catamaran a few times since launching a month ago. But yesterday was the first "real" sail. I was joined by Alex and Kristina, who had sailed the boat a couple of times last year. There was more wind than expected, 20+ in Plymouth Sound. We left the mooring at 14.30, reached out to sea until we were 10 miles south of the breakwater (according to the gps) then turned round and were back on mooring at 17.30. 27 miles sailed. No breakages, but a spinnaker wrap on the last gybe as we re-entered the Tamar. So "a good time was had by all", and hopefully bodes well for the Falmouth Triangle race this holiday weekend. More on Sagitta here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/3-25ft-to-30ft-catamarans-designs/171-sagitta

As always at this time of year here is a video of Sagitta ashore at the Multihull Centre, Millbrook Cornwall. As you can see, they really pack us in - yet there's always room for more! (why not play "Spot the monohull", I think there are four) Sagitta will have some jobs done this winter, mainly cosmetic, so not like last years marathon refit. Launching in mid March, ready for next seasons cruising and racing. You can see more on Sagitta here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/3-25ft-to-30ft-catamarans-designs/171-sagitta and the Multihull Centre here https://www.multihullcentre.com/multihull-centre/

We had an interesting final sail on Peter's Firebird in the most wind I sailed in when in Barbados - we sailed with 2 reefs. Peter's friend Eric has a foiling waveboard and he wanted to foil behind the Firebird. In the end he managed it, but there was lots of falling in at the beginning. It was hard work for Peter and I as we had to start at near zero speed, so Eric could grab the tow rope, then slowly accelerate to about 7 knots so he could get ready for lift off. Then accelerate to 10 knots very quickly, so he could lift out. And then control the speed at 10-12 rather than surge up to 15-18. But of course the wind would drop, or he'd fall in or.... but, as I say, after 2 hours he did manage to fly for maybe 30 secs. Although, if we were quick enough, we could stop and heave to after he fell in, sometimes we sailed on too far and then we had to pull in the tow rope (we discovered it was too easy to get it entangled on rudders and daggerboards), tack round and sail back. As always it was scary how quickly a head disappears from view. But interestingly we could easily see him when he was in the sun, it was when he was north of us that he became invisible (one of his sons kept a very close eye on Dad, religiously pointing to his position). Flat water helped, and lots of passing day charter cats got a bit confused by seeing a swimmer apparently a mile out to sea but happily waving!

In December I crossed the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Barbados on a friends Lagoon 380. For the first 2000 miles or so we had calms or very light winds and so fellow crew member Erick could fly his drone. After a while you don't notice the swells when on board, it's just a gentle rocking motion. Even when the wind picked up there were none of the "mountainous seas" beloved by the media! See detailed reports, photos etc on my Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/richard.woods.designs

The Multihull Centre boat yard (also home to Dazcats) in Millbrook, Cornwall, is filling up with multihulls ashore for the winter. Many more to come in the next couple of weeks. Video taken from the cabin top of my Sagitta catamaran

Catamarans are the perfect boats to dry out on a beach, or, as many do in tidal areas (including ourselves), use a half tide drying mooring. If the boat has daggerboards then sensibly the rudders should lift to avoid damage, especially if the tide/wind causes waves when refloating. I have used the method seen in this video for 40 years. Very simple and works easily. Please note that this boat is over 30 years old, and I had never tried to lift the rudders with one hand before! Hence the initial hesitation. They would lift more easily if the shafts were greased. A simple snap hook holds the rudder up. Some people use "dinghy style" lifting rudders but that means the blades stick out behind the boat, which has often led to breakages when in a crowded anchorage and unsuspecting dinghies pass in the night. This rudder system works exactly like a conventional semi-balanced rudder when it in the down position. And has the advantage that the whole rudder can be taken off the boat by simply undoing one bolt. And no shaft leaks either! The thin ropes led through blocks to a cleat on the tiller are connected to the outboard. So the engine turns with the rudders, significantly increasing manouverability! I write more about steering systems on my website, see here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/19-faqs/sailing-and-performance-questions/109-which-steering-system-should-i-use

Mast raising without a crane sounds a daunting prospect but it is actually very straightforward if you prepare properly. Some years ago I wrote an article which you can see here, https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/articles/11-technical-articles/268-safe-mast-lowering-method so this is really just an update. This video shows my Chat 18, which has a mast from a beach cat, and thus one that could be pushed up by hand, but here I show the system that works on any size mast - the biggest I have raised this way was on a 50ft ketch. The key features are a good tabernacle, a "gin pole" - in this case the boom - and most important, the use of temporary shrouds thus ensuring that the mast cannot fall sideways. These shrouds must have "chainplates" that line up exactly with the tabernacle pivot bolt. When down the mast rests on a, eg, dinghy trailer mast support at the back of the cockpit. If you regularly raise you mast you can fit a trailer roller to the bracket, so it's easy to push the mast to and fro for trailering. The "gooseneck" for the ginpole is a shroud adjuster from my junk box, suitably bent and screwed to the front of the mast. Roller reefing gear has to be kept straight and has a tendency to catch on the cabin roof etc. So I always lash it to the ginpole in about the right position. The "chainplates" for the temporary shrouds are, again, from my junk box and are 25mm OD aluminium tubes that clip into place and are easily removed. They also take guywires from the forward end of the ginpole to stop that falling over. I attached the spi halyard to the ginpole, but you can just rely on the forestay/furling gear. The mast is then raised up using the mainsheet shackled to the forestay chainplate (you may need a longer rope, depending on your boat). 4:1 is easy on small boats, on bigger boats lead it back to a winch. Of course the most load is when the mast is horizontal, you often have to push on the mast when lowering to get it to start moving. So if you can get it off the support you know you can hoist it all the way. So it all seems a lot of ropes and preparation but it's all worth it as the mast cannot fall and you always have total control, even in a cross wind. And you can usually raise the mast singlehanded. If you are only occasionally raising/lowering the mast then the temporary stays can be rope. Make a loop in the end and pass it over the spreaders and round the mast using a boathook or, on bigger boats, a bosun's chair. Easy to pull off again afterwards. Before sailing always check the mast with binoculars or camera to ensure there are no twisted shackles or, especially, T bar terminals (which is why I don't recommend T bars on trailable boats.) Use tape or elastic band to hold the stays in the correct position while hoisting - both will break away as the shrouds tighten.

On most boats it is important to have the head of the mainsail as close to the top of the mast as possible. Furthermore it must also be quick to attach and disconnect the main halyard, even with cold and wet fingers. So a shackle or a bowline are not the best solutions. The best is the method is the one shown in this video. The bobble is nice, but not strictly necessary. A double figure of 8 knot (figure of 16?) will do. The bobble or knot is never removed so you cannot lose the halyard through the mast. I usually shorten the main halyard a few cm/in at the start of each season to move the wear spots.

Florida's nickname is "The Sunshine State" Not always true in winter, as you can see. We were anchored on our Skoota 28 powercat at Peck Lake, just south of Stuart. A strong cold front passed through and we had squalls/rainbows/wind for two days. Pretty miserable for all the boats at anchor

Many people worry about how they can turn their catamaran hull over without damaging it. Furthermore, people tend to over estimate the loads and the number of people and equipment needed. But as this video shows, it is very easy and with some strategically placed car tyres can be done without damage It also shows the advantage of building one hull at a time! This Tamar 31 is being built by Seascape in Thailand. You can see more on the boat yard here www.seascape-asia.com And more on the Tamar 31 here http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/5-catamarans-over-40ft/480-tamar-31

This is a Sango built in Oregon, USA, and then trailed down to Mexico's Baja for its first sails. Mike wrote "Fastest we went this trip was 13 knots with a reef in the main and ill fitting sails. Was Great! " Even with four on board and when towing an 8ft Crayfish!! You can see more on the Sango here http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/2-catamarans-under-25ft/160-sango

Every spring I post a video of the Multihull Centre. This has been my home base since 1982. And every year it seems to get ever more crowded with multihulls. In part of course because they are all much larger than 30 years ago. In this video you can see two Transit 38's, a Gypsy 28 and an Eclipse. In the back ground are a Sagitta and Banshee See here for more http://multihullcentre.co.uk/ and my designs here www.sailingcatamarans.com (no audio on this video)

The Multihull Centre is, we believe, the oldest boatyard in the world that specialises in multihulls. Founded in 1968 by Pat Patterson of Heavenly Twins catamaran fame it has been my home base since 1982. Sadly I am not often there these days, but did take this video today of the boats in storage. Dazcat build their boats here, but for general yard details see here http://www.multihullcentre.co.uk/ See my designs at www.sailingcatamarans.com of course

I capsized the Duo dinghy in a controlled test a couple of years ago. Here you see me capsizing it, righting it and then sailing away. You can see it is very stable, the tubes add a huge amount if extra stability and act as fenders when coming alongside, yet are not in the water in normal use. The Duo is a 2 sheet plywood dinghy that was built in 2 days. It can be rowed, sailed or motored. A nesting option is available. You can buy plans and see more details here http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/46-beach-cats-and-dinghies/420-duo-10ft-sailrow-dinghy (this video has no audio)

Sailing in the Bahamas is not all hot and sunny! This video shows the cold front arriving on Jan 23rd. The only good thing was we collected 150L of drinking water in 30 minutes....It could have been more if I had been brave enough to go outside to swap over tanks

We made a 7sqm screecher for our 14ft plywood Zeta trimaran and tried it today. As you can see from the mirror like surface there wasn't much wind! It was all a lash up, I have no cleats for mainsheet or screecher so had to handhold everything. But it sailed well and tacked easily. You can build your own Zeta trimaran from 7 sheets of ply in 150 hours. The boat weighs 73kgs, 160lbs, ex rig. You can see more here. http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs/27-trimarans-under-25/458-zeta-14ft-singlehanded-trimaran

This 25ft Elf catamaran is shown sailing under bare poles in a gale off S Spain on an 800 miles trip home from the Canaries. Note how dry the boat is and how relaxed the singlehander - he's filming it after all! The Elf 25 is a grp catamaran and is now back in production in N France. See more here http://sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs/3-25ft-to-30ft-catamarans-designs/476-elf-25 This is a copy of a video, you can see the original video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bc5F7Y2pHo

Many people think that a 40ft x 25ft catamaran must be very hard to manouver in confined spaces, but this video disproves that. this is a home built 25year old Nimbus catamaran that has sailed over 50,000 miles. This design has now been replaced by the Transit 38. See more here www.sailingcatamarans.com