Cruising Catamaran Quiz

So you’re thinking about chartering a nice sized cruising cat or maybe you’re even thinking about buying one. Here’s a fun quiz, taken from the pages of the our Cruising Catamarans Made Easy textbook, to see what you know about these beautiful beasts that sail fast and are amazing at an anchorage.

• What is a dolphin striker?
  1. A braced strut that projects downward from the crossbeam that supports the mast. Right!
  2. A horizontal fortifying connecting rod that runs center from the front crossbeam to the rear crossbeam. Nope. We made that up.
  3. There is no such term. Incorrect. There is such a term. Seems mean but it’s true.
  4. A slang term for the bow sprit. Incorrect. A logical guess but a guess just the same!
• What is a Nacelle?
  1. A running backstay system designed specifically for large cat sail plans. Afraid not. A Nacelle is not part of the rig.
  2. The kind of knot that affixes trampoline mesh to the hulls. No, there’s no Nacelle knot… unless you invent one, then you are right!
  3. A hard but removable covering of the bridgedeck. Nope. Guess again!
  4. A blister shaped protrusion on the underside of the bridgedeck. Yes!
• Typically the sail plan on a cruising cat is:
  1. A cat rig. Nope – the name probably got you. A cat rig is a one sail set up with the mast situated very forward.
  2. Cutter rig.While they do exist it wouldn’t be considered “typical.”
  3. Rigid wings.If you chose this you are wrong and have been watching too many America’s Cup reruns!
  4. Fractional rig with full battened main. You got it!
• Many cruising cats are fitted with diamond stays – what are they?
  1. Wire rigging that is weaved in a pattern that forms small diamond shapes within the weave. Sounds pretty but that is a wrong answer.
  2. Diamond stays are a brand name of wiring that are stronger and more robust than most, therefore excellent for large masted sailboats. There is no such brand that we know of.
  3. Wire rigging that is braced by spreaders or struts in a diamond shape that keep the mast in column. Good work!
  4. Wire rigging that is affixed with a diamond shaped fitting that displaces load in a remarkable way. Nope.
• Which statement is most truthful?
  1. Cruising cats, because of their great width, can sail more efficiently while carrying more weight/stowage than their monohull counterpart. If only this were true! But it is not.
  2. Cruising cats, by virtue of their non-ballast design, sail poorly with too much weight on board. This is true.
  3. A 40-foot cruising cat and a 40-foot monohull are very similar in sail performance with the same load. They are not.
  4. Cruising cats with enough external weight situated in the right areas of the boat can actually pick up a full 2-knots of boat speed downwind. We actually laughed when we read this back out loud…no