Monos lose a throughull drop a rudder lose a keel hit a reef and SINK.
Catamaran vs monohull for circumnavigation. This means more room for gear and people. For Guyon and Ali Moseley who bought a Leopard 48 and expect to spend two years living aboard and circumnavigating with their three middle school aged boys pictured here with additional family crew for their Tortola to Bermuda passage the planning for their extended cruising aboard WIDAGO. Downwind cats feel like a house gliding on the ocean at speed while monos roll from side to side.
We wanted to sail around the world with our family and nearly bought a Catamaran but decided it. As sailing dog mentioned a catamaran as your first boat may not be the best to learn on I would recommend that you learn on a monohull get your certification and then rent both thru one of the many liveries in the Caribbean. Why WE Bought a Monohull and not a Catamaran 64 - YouTube.
While catamarans do not point as high into the wind as a monohull or if it does it makes more leeway or slides sideways it is about 20 faster than a monohull. The speed of a catamaran makes it possible to outrun bad weather. Cats and monos each have their pros and cons.
Most sailors agree that sailing a monohull boat is much more exhilarating than sailing a catamaran. Full Keel Vs. Comfort Underway Speaking of comfort underway a catamaran vs a monohull will sail differently.
Ultimate safety especially for a trade winds circumnavigation is about equal. If you sail into the higher latitudes then for me a heavy displacement monohull would be preferable. On some catamarans you get an irritating slapping of water on the bridge decks in rougher seas.
Traditional sailboats heel and sailors get instant feedback while theyre sailing. A monohull is generally faster to respond to the helm in other words they turn faster. A cat will still float through all of those.