Deciding between a catamaran and a monohull is a big decision and one worth considering well before taking the plunge.

Monohull vs catamaran speed. Catamarans vs Monohulls From a performance perspective as a general rule monohulls are faster into the wind than catamarans yet cats will leave monohulls for dust on downwind legs. Monohulls slice through the water effortlessly. While you can get away with a cruising load on a monohull the same weight has the tendency to slow a catamaran.

Sailing flat has definite advantages. Generally cats slide sideways leeway a lot more when sailing into the wind than monohulls meaning that you will travel further on an upwind leg in order to get where you are going than on a single hulled. SpeedSailing Performance Cruising catamarans will typically be 25-30 faster than a cruising monohull of the same length.

On some catamarans you get an irritating slapping of water on the bridge decks in rougher seas. Having sailed on both and built then lived for 5 years on a catamaran in this post I want to share with you my impressions and thoughts on safety costs speed stability and other advantages and disadvantages of sailing and living aboard a catamaran compared to a keel. Being able to average 9- 10 knots on a catamaran rather than 6-7 knots on a monohull will give you more options in your strategy to avoid bad weather.

Catamarans Are Faster Than Monohull Boats. Old cruising catamarans may not go faster than 8 knots and modern monohulls can exceed 10 knots. Of course catamarans arent always faster.

Multihulls are unusually fast when sailing downwind for reasons just mentioned above. You basically get near racing monohull speeds but with all the creature comforts that come with a cat. Monohull debate see here.

If you are into SCUBA diving carrying tanks and all the assorted equipment is. Catamarans are faster than monohulls. Speed Its often said that a catamaran is usually faster than a monohull of similar size but even on our old heavy displacement monohull a Tayana 37 weve overtaken modern bigger cruising catamarans.