Herd Your Cat

If your catamaran’s two fuel systems are isolated, you’re not taking full advantage of having redundant tanks. With a KTI fuel filtration and management system, you can use either tank with either motor to keep your fuel clean and motors running smoothly. It also allows you to easily transfer fuel from tank-to-tank as needed. Since dirty fuel is the most common cause of diesel engine shut-down, this gives you that extra peace-of-mind needed to confidently operate your cat in almost any location or weather condition.

Having a well-stocked medical kit on board is essential for cruising sailors. While it’s important to have basic first aid skills, having the right supplies on hand can mean the difference between a minor injury and a serious medical emergency. When putting together a medical kit, it’s important to consider the type of sailing you will be doing, the number of people on board, and potential medical issues that may arise. By being prepared, you can enjoy your sailing adventures with greater peace of mind.

Feathering Prop. Low drag, adjustable pitch, outstanding reverse.

High quality hatches & portlights. Flush, compact, smooth design.

Our rigging department installed a new Schaefer Gamma Boom on this Manta 42 that makes regular runs from the east coast of Florida to the Bahamas. We then built a new jib for the existing camber boom and new full batten mainsail for the rollerfurling boom. Our extensive experience with offshore catamarans and with furling booms provided our customer with a great integrated system.

WE HEAR FROM MANY OF OUR FRIENDS IN the multihulls segment of the boating market that about half of new catamaran buyers are in fact buying their first cruising boat. That means that many of them are new to sailing or powerboating and do not have the skills yet to really enjoy the cruising lifestyle.

There are many ways to learn the skills you need to be a happy and successful cruiser. You can hire a professional captain to sail with you on your own boat for a week or two. You can charter a boat with a paid skipper and pick his or her brains while enjoying a week in the Caribbean or elsewhere. Or, you can go to a reputable sailing school and work your way through skill levels from beginner to advanced.

If you haven’t bought your cat yet, then attending a sailing school is the best bet. Two of our favorite schools offer beginner and advanced courses in sailing, maneuvering and cruising multihulls that will really get you started and underway in multihulls. The Offshore Sailing School and the Blue Water Sailing School offer advanced multihulls courses and are two of only a few schools that do so. Both are based in Florida and both have bases in the Virgin Islands and in the Northeast.

The Offshore Sailing School was founded by Steve and Doris Colgate and is one of America’s oldest sailing schools. The curriculum used at OSS is the U.S. Sailing certified program. For those seeking proficiency in catamarans, OSS offers their basic Fast Track Learn to Cruise courses in one of their 40 or 48 foot cats in both Florida and the Virgin Islands .

Fast Track to Cruising is a great way to build basic sailing and cruising skills. In fact, my wife Rosa took this course the winter before we set off to sail around the world. It worked.

But OSS also has a unique Family Cruising Package that allows a family of up to four to learn multihull cruising together. This program will truly get your family into the swing of cat cruising and with all family members building skills together you’ll know that when your time comes to take the next step, buying your own cat, you all will be up to speed together.

Once you have developed cat cruising skills, you can then move on to the Fast Track to Coastal Passagemaking that entails an eightday coastal cruising adventure but not too far offshore. You will hone your navigational skills and learn how to hand, reef and steer in a range of wind and sea states. The final step for those who want to eventually sail over the horizon and go long range cruising is the Fast Track to Offshore Passagemaking course that takes you on a 10-day blue water, offshore adventure that entails four days of course work and hands on learning followed by six days of actual offshore passage making out of sight of land. You will certainly get your sea legs on this final course.

The BWSS was founded and is run by David Pyle with the main base in Ft. Lauderdale and satellite bases in Newport, RI and the Virgin Islands. Pyle was a pioneer in catamaran training and offers a couple of courses focused purely on cats that can really jump start your progress to self-sufficiency aboard your own cat or while chartering.

The BWSS is a top rated American Sailing Association affiliated school and has been named ASA school of the year several times. And, they are one of only a few ASA schools to offer the specialized catamaran cruising and offshore sailing courses.

To begin, you can take the Course A Plus Catamaran course in either Ft. Lauderdale of the Virgins. The course entails a week of liv- ing aboard, studying, hands on learning and actual cruising. This intense course takes you through four levels of the ASA certifications from Basic Sailing, Coastal Cruising, Bareboat Chartering and Cruising Catamaran.

At the end of your week, you will be proficient in handling a cruising cat under power, will know how to raise, lower and trim sails and how to moor to a dock and deploy and lie to an anchor. This is the fastest way to build the basic skills needed to cruise a modern catamaran.

For the next step, BWSS takes you right offshore with the Course C+ Cat: Advanced Catamaran Skipper. This week-long, live-aboard course aboard a modern cat takes you from Ft. Lauderdale across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas and back. It involves navigating the mighty Stream, overnight passages, long days at sea and the opportunity to visit some exotic Bahamian anchorages.

Along the way you will earn certification in

Coastal Navigation, Advanced Coast Cruising, and Cruising Catamaran. Coupled with the A Plus program, in two weeks of onboard learning you will have earned the tools to become a competent multihull sailor and cruiser.

And, because you are on the boat day and night with others going through the same learning process, you have the ability to share thoughts on everything from the best cat for you and your family, how to equip a cruising cat, where to cruise and how to prepare yourself and crew for the challenges and pleasures of the cruising life.

Both OSS and BWSS are leaders in the sailing school fraternity and have taught thousands of new sailors how to become old salts and happy cruisers. Click on the links below for more information.

Offshore Sailing School.

Blue Water Sailing School.