Aeroyacht’s helpful tips on cruising catamarans by company founder Gregor Tarjan. We will be publishing the “5 Tip Cruising Series” on a regular basis for you to download and get valuable information.

So here you are, kids in college, (almost) accomplished in business and you have your eyes set on a cruising cat. What features do I need, want and can afford?

1.) Seaworthiness.This is a big word and a long subject. Concepts such as Design, Construction and Seamanship will come into play. You definitely want a cruising cat that has been designed by an experienced  multihull naval architect and built by a reputable yard. Seamanship is the third component  that will make a boat Seaworthy – that’s up to you.

2.) Production Boat.You might be lured to some custom one-off cats that may have a low price tag and cool features. Unless you have change to spare, are a very experienced multihull sailor and a hands-on guy – custom cats can be in rare cases, alternatives. Most stories I have heard however, ended in disaster. Stay with a proven production cat from a reputable builder.

3.) Size Matters. When you shop for a cruising cat you might be side tracked by the sensation of room that larger models offer. But be aware. Unless your wife can safely handle the boat alone and bring her back to port in case you are incapacitated, get a the next smaller model. The length of a catamaran is deceiving as the interior volume is related to the cube of its length. Get the biggest boat that you can afford – and safely handle alone.

4.) Steering position. You will spend a lot of time at the helm – so make sure it feel right. You should be able to see both bows and preferably have some sense where the sterns are. Although most longer passages are run under autopilot you will have the occasional stint at the helm (especially if the boat is equipped with tillers as the cool Outremer 49 catamaran ) So make sure that the outside steering position is close to the cockpit and not totally separated on the fly bridge, that it has a comfortable seating position and that all vital sail controls are in arms reach.

5.) Engine position. In the old days producers placed engines under the aft berths. The only good thing about this was that you could change the oil while sleeping. Builders 20 years ago had no choice as the first sail drives appeared not until the mid 80’s. Make sure that there is only storage space under the aft berths and not a stinky, loud diesel. The place for the engine on a cruising cat is in its own watertight compartment, sealed off completely from the living accommodations.

Here are just some of the current topics:

• biggest mistakes when planing a trip
• ways to prevent seasickness
• helpful hints of how to safely anchor
• how to make your cruising cat faster
• biggest mistakes when shopping for a boat
• important lessons I learned from Dennis Connor
• critical aspects when preparing for an offshore voyage
• rules when sailing with kids on a catamaran
• 5 examples of bad catamaran seamanship
• tips on how to reef your catamaran safer and faster
• never forget to pack when sailing on your cat
• 5 characteristics of a catamarans Seaworthiness
• biggest mistakes when shopping for a boat
• most overlooked items on your catamarans safety checklist
• I wish I knew when buying my first cat