Catamarans: The Complete Guide for Cruising Sailors

By Gregor Tarjan

Book Overview

The modern cruising catamaran has arrived

The arguments are over and the verdict is in--cruising catamarans comprise a rapidly growing percentage of the cruising fleet worldwide. Their advantages of space, stability, speed, and handling under power are truly compelling, and modern cats are every bit as reliable as monohulls. This long overdue, in-depth guide will help you choose and cruise the right catamaran for your needs.

"An authoritative guide for novices and experienced sailors; the best book written on the subjects since the early 1990s."--"Trimaran" Jim Brown, renowned multihull designer

"In Catamarans, Gregor Tarjan shares his enthusiasm for yachts with two hulls, based on years of sailing all types. An excellent introduction."--Dick Newick, legendary catamaran and trimaran designer

"If you are contemplating spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a cruising catamaran, the small price of this book is probably the best investment you could possibly start with."--from the Foreword by Charles K. Chiodi, publisher of Multihulls Magazine

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071498850
• ISBN13: 9780071498852
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: International Marine Publishing
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 3.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.8" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

A self-serving picture book — would not recommend

I bought this book looking for useful and actionable information on what makes a good catamaran. Instead, this was essentially a book of self-praise for how accomplished the author is and how you'll 'figure it out'. On at least 10 occasions, the author takes time to discuss how he's involved in some new design or in contact with 'a large manufacturer in France' as a flex. Most annoyingly, he never gives a proper comparison between catamarans and monohulls and instead just repeats "cats are the best". Ultimately, the author is a racer and likes to go as fast as possible and the tradeoff's he discusses (eg fiberglass vs carbon) is applicable to a very tiny number of people looking to spend +$1.5M on a boat. Save yourself the money. Here's the only things I learned: Daggerboards are only OK if the superstructure around them is uber-beefy (~7x stronger). Otherwise, just look for *small* skegs that protect the rudder. Don't sail a cat downwind. Fall off 10-20º and zig zag to your destination. This adds 6-9% more distance, but often a 20-30% increase in speed. The front cross-beam (aka the "bridgedeck") should never be glassed in — always bolted so it can pivot slightly under pressure.