Multihulls are unusually fast when sailing downwind for reasons just mentioned above.

Monohull or catamaran for ocean sailing. Gone are the days of bracing yourself in the cockpit and living your life. Monohulls have great flexibility at sea and are designed to return into the wind and also make down-wind sailing a lot easier. The most noticeable thing about sailing a catamaran or trimaran vs a traditional monohull is the lack of heeling.

Specifically monohulls between 32 and 40 feet in length and catamarans 40 to 50 feet in length. After sailing across the Atlantic ocean on a sailboat the benefits of being on a monohull was clear. Again these are monohulls vs catamarans that are 32 to 50 feet in length which can be sailed single handed or by a couple at most.

Its less tiring to sail a catamaran than it is to sail a monohull. This is because they face less water resistance and their narrow hulls dont have to deal with their own bow waves as a monohull does. Sailing enjoyment How enjoyable it is to sail a monohull rather than a catamaran is personal.

Of course catamarans arent always faster. The two hulls are joined by a platform. Catamarans are more plentiful in the Caribbean Seychelles and other tropical destinations.

The only downside is that multihull vessels are only this fast if the load is relatively light. Even when powered up a cat or tri will rarely heel more than 5-10 degrees before its time to reef. Catamarans are safe for ocean crossing as long as you heed the sailing instructions and dont have to push hard up wind.

Catamarans are in most of the sailing conditions faster than monohulls because of their hulls which are less immersed in the water and have a smaller area in the water to create drag. Where you will see a bigger difference is in marinas. Sailing Catamarans have evolved from the small boats that you see in races on the shoreline into large ocean-going cruisers capable of carrying dozens of people.