Why a Catamaran
Like many sailors from the Baltic Sea I was not so much in Catamarans – rather targeting 40 feet mono hull to be my choice. But when it became serious I forced myself to deal with facts. I’m very sensible when it comes to my privacy and on the other hand I like to have guests. I was not sure how this could be organized on a mono hull while the catamaran offers the most logical solution, dump friends on one side of the boat and make yourself a home on the other side. The final turning point was a charter tour in Andaman Sea. 6 People on a 48 feet Bavaria. Too less water capacity (we had to carry the water with canisters on board), almost no space in the cabins, the boat was heating up to presumed 50 degrees and no space outside to lay comfortable. As much I enjoyed the sailing it was that moment that I decided my boat must be a house boat as well as a sailing boat.
When I finally made the logical choice and looked into cat’s I found lots of talk about security and capsized Cat’s but it never really got to me. In fact to me it looked the other way round. A capsized Cat doesn’t sink but stays swimming on the water. With a cruising cat the risk of capsizing should be manageable if just the skipper behaves reasonable (Meaning reefing in time, take speed out of the boat etc.). However, how to survive on a CAT when capsized is one of the biggest questions in my personal thinking about security. On the other hand 2 engines instead of one, 2 rudders, stable behavior in heavy sea, being able to handle the boat from inside (sail with zero degrees in Finland and you learn that this might be important) and many more – a Cat has many security advantages.
Why this Catamaran
Most boat purchases starts with the question how much money one can and is willing to spend. Of course one has to consider the purchase price as well the running costs – so to look at the total cost of ownership as we would say in my business. The second part was even more important for me – I don’t mind spending money (when I have it) but I have big problems committing future money. Lagoon seemed to me at that point– let’s say the most reasonable choice. Main reason was that Lagoon was building the 380 and 410 in serial production while most other catamarans were made on owners request to order. Serial production nailed down the costs significantly. I can not deny that I loved the Privilege catamarans with there luxury interior but in the right size they were out of my budget. From the beginning I liked the Lagoon 410 most of all Catamarans in the 40 feet size –because of the 2 really big bathrooms. 4 cabins with wooden finish perfect.
I was trying a Lagoon410 and 380 but after being on the 410 you don’t downsize to a 380. Everything feels too tiny. The 380 is in the end a shrunken 410. I also checked out a 470 (without intention, that boat was out of my budget) and again the boat was (for me) not in proportion, like an inflated 410 and a little like a float. In engineering sometimes companies make something genius, like e.g. Volkswagen with the Volkswagen Beatle which was my first car. In the moment I saw all the other Catamarans the 410 reminded me of this genius peace of engineering where just everything fits, everything is in proportion, easy, pragmatic, robust. But what were other people saying about sailing performance and security. I started to check the net and it helped that lagoon was introducing the S2 version of the 410. Lot’s of test confirmed that the 410 was an excellent sailing boat and a British magazine called the 410S2 a strong presented package. An article in an American Magazine gave me the last peace of the puzzle. A crew came with a 410 in very heavy weather condition on the Atlantic. There was a small leak where the swimming ladder is attached so water was running in the boat. Despite accelerating wind and incoming water the crew managed without ever feeling in danger.
Space, sailing performance, security, price, simplicity – all which added together to a choice I never regretted. On boat shows or when reading new catalogs I got tempted to change. Wouldn’t a new Catamaran be great with nicer finish, fly bridges and all the other stuff they are adding nowadays? There is an easy fix against this thoughts, one night on Summerwind and I feel so at home that all thoughts about spending another 100K to change to a new design disappear magically. But there is also a more analytic thinking behind that. Catamarans are always a compromise, if the swimmers are too wide or the boat is too heavy sailing close to the wind becomes impossible. On the ocean that might not matter, in every tight pilotage area this is a killer. If the swimmers are too small or the boat is build purely with wait reduction in mind the boat is not a cozy living place anymore. For my taste to many ship yards are building pure houseboat catamarans nowadays. Again I appreciate my boat where the yard seemed to have found the right compromise between sailing performance and space.
So no disadvantages, yes there are but somehow I accepted them when making the purchase. Designed as charter boat the sailing area is too small for low wind. On one hand that's extra security for the rig but in reality you must add sails for light wind like a Genacker to the package. The finish contains lot's of wood but also loots of white staff, new boats are more home but my boat is remarkable easy to clean. Charter boat, designed for coming in Saturday morning and leaving Saturday evening. Not much time for cleaning available, not much time for cleaning needed. The engine under the bed disturbed me not at all (In fact it helps a lot when sleeping while the engine is running), but I understand that some people don't like that. The cockpit is deep with high steps to go up e.g. to the helm and looks a little bit old fashioned. For me however that was one big advantage, I wanted to sail with children and I see the "deep" cockpit as extra security. Even in worsted weather you feel protected in the cockpit. The 410 is available as owners version with 3 cabins but I have a 4 cabin version. I guess the 380 I would have bought as "Owners" version but in the 410 the big advantage of the owners version, the large bathroom, is not needed because the barthrooms are anyway remarkable large. On the other hand I can have my daughter on board in her own cabin, an extra crew member when needed and there is one more advantage: When I have the one side for me alone - what is most of the time - I enjoy to change cabins because sometimes it's more comfortable in the back (e.g. under anchor) and sometimes in the front . It's really luxury that one choose between 2 large bedrooms, isn't it.