Much less than 30 inches and wave slap becomes a problem in rowdy sea conditions.

Catamaran hull slap. I assume it is the water hitting the hard chines of the hull. Generally not so much. The original owner of hull 536 and I were very good friends and we took the factory modification on the horizontal section and applied fiberglass with West Epoxy to make it a permanent fix.

The Pros and Cons of Catamarans. This is because it works harmoniously with the sailing element and doesnt fight it like a catamaran especially when sailing upwind. The more you sail them the more you get used to them understand them.

Never a constant thing wave after wave. We think a catamaran with about 30 inches of clearance is ideal. The stern under the cockpit is about 10 inches above the water a following wave can slap it.

These pictures show my wave slap fix in progress. In the shallow waters of the Bahamas for example the catamarans have a big advantage. The best solution is to start the bridgedeck well back and have it low only where needed.

Much thinking has gone into the hull shape of this catamaran yet the pronounced step running along the inside of the vessel might create some wave slap in some conditions a typical example of a compromise between space and performance. Hull slap-is it a problem. A well set up cat is easily driven in full gale conditions in following seas with such ease that it can be driven in and out of wavebreaks with real ease.

The bow of course slowly slopes down from 38 or so inches to that 10 inch level a confused sea can slap it as well. When you first start sailingpushing your cat of choice you will probably hear feel lots of startling sounds vibrations. A cat has twin narrow tunnels that lift on the water and slice through it whereas a mono-hull sits in the water and has much more surface area of the boat in contact with the water and the broader surface of the mono-hull tends to slap at the water.