Fast Cats on the Horizon

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In the wake of last years article on performance-oriented monohulls, readers requested more coverage of multihulls. That report will be in the May issue, but for those West Coast Florida readers who can’t wait that long, you might want to head down to Bokeelia, Fla. , where Ben Hall of Hall Spars is hosting the Admirals Cup, an event for A-Cats, an exciting open class of small catamarans. The race is set for March 26-28, and for more information, you can contact Hall through the link on the Admirals Cup website or go to the A-Cats District 3 website, where youll find a glowing report on last years event.

The video above offers a good slice of what you can expect at the event and why the class is growing fairly quickly. Our upcoming report will focus on some of more mainstream small boats like the Hobie Getaway and some popular cross-purpose boats like the Corsair Dash 750 and the Telstar 28. Several readers are avid fans of the Corsair boats, and we do have a few Corsair reviews in our archives, like this review of the Corsair F-31.

Finally, the report also will include a frank assessment of the cruising capabilities of catamarans, the advantages and disadvantages. There is a lot of marketing hype surrounding cruising cats, and owners are often quite passionate about their boats. Id be very interested to hear from more readers who can offer an objective view of cruising on more than one hull.

Darrell Nicholson
Practical Sailor has been independently testing and reporting on sailboats and sailing gear for more than 50 years. Supported entirely by subscribers, Practical Sailor accepts no advertising. Its independent tests are carried out by experienced sailors and marine industry professionals dedicated to providing objective evaluation and reporting about boats, gear, and the skills required to cross oceans. Practical Sailor is edited by Darrell Nicholson, a long-time liveaboard sailor and trans-Pacific cruiser who has been director of Belvoir Media Group's marine division since 2005. He holds a U.S. Coast Guard 100-ton Master license, has logged tens of thousands of miles in three oceans, and has skippered everything from pilot boats to day charter cats. His weekly blog Inside Practical Sailor offers an inside look at current research and gear tests at Practical Sailor, while his award-winning column,"Rhumb Lines," tracks boating trends and reflects upon the sailing life. He sails a Sparkman & Stephens-designed Yankee 30 out of St. Petersburg, Florida. You can reach him at darrellnicholson.com.