Multihull and Monohull Storm Tactics Compared
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More Articles From Online Book: Heavy Weather Tactics:
- Introduction—We Need A System
- Five Goals For A Heavy Weather System
- Rogue Waves Are Not Bad Luck
- Just Get a Series Drogue Designed By Don Jordan…Dammit!
- Jordan Series Drogue Attachments And Launch System
- Alternatives to Chainplates For Drogue Attachment…Or Not
- Jordan Series Drogue Retrieval System
- Jordan Series Drogue Retrieval—An Alternative From Hal Roth
- Series Drogue Durability Problems
- Battle Testing a Jordan-Designed Series Drogue—Round 1
- Battle Testing a Jordan-Designed Series Drogue—Round 2
- Real Life Storm Survival Story
- Series Drogues: Learning From Tony Gooch
- Series Drogues: Learning From Randall Reeves
- Retrieval of Dyneema (Spectra) Series Drogues Solved
- Heaving-To
- When Heaving-To Is Dangerous
- Stopping Wave Strikes While Heaved-To
- Determining When Heaving-To Is Dangerous
- Transitioning From Heaved-to To a Series Drogue
- Storm Strategy—Fore-Reaching
- Multihull and Monohull Storm Tactics Compared
- Surviving A Lee Shore
- Storm Survival Secret Weapon: Your Engine
- Storm Survival FAQ
- Six Reasons We Don’t Recommend Sea Anchors
- Companionway Integrity In A Storm
- Q&A: Safety of Large Pilothouse Windows
- Summary And Conclusions For Heavy Weather Offshore Section
- Surviving Storms While Coastal Cruising—12 Strategy Tips
- Surviving Storms While Coastal Cruising—9 Tips for Anchorage and Harbour Selection
- Surviving Storms While Coastal Cruising—21 Preparation Tips
- Gale And Storm At Anchor Or On A Mooring Check List
John,
I believe your logic and assumptions are valid.
I’ll add a friend of mine has a Catana 43 and he and his wife hove to successfully in open ocean in about 20-25 knots of wind not because of the conditions but because they were tired and needed some sleep. He dropped the mainsail entirely and fully backed the jib followed by locking the wheel hard over and the boat stopped to a crawl to where he and his wife went below for four hours of sleep.
I intuitively believe a trimaran will have a better chance of successfully hoving to than a catamaran but I may be completely wrong. We did a test of our Dragonfly 32 hove to in 18-20 knots with non-reefed jib and 2nd reef in the mainsail and wheel hard over. She easily stabilized at an upwind heading and crept along at less than 1/2 knot so I think that was encouraging and we are hopeful if we have to do it at higher wind speeds (with reduced jib and mainsail areas), we will have no issues. We’ll have to experiment further if we get the opportunity. I’d rather hove to than run before the wind. We’d consider the JSD if we believe we would do really long open ocean passages with the boat but we believe our future includes no longer than 400-600 mile passages such that with proper weather routing, we won’t be in a situation where a JSD would ever be needed.
Hi Bob,
Good to hear it works for you, particularly given your deep experience with multihulls. I too have feeling that a tri might be easier to heave-to on than a cat, but like you I really don’t have anything to back that up and it might just be my bias to tris speaking.
One thought: I don’t think your friend in the Catana was heaved-to with just a jib up. The point being that although that’s fine in 20-25 knots to get a rest, if they were moving forward they were not safely heaved to, but rather fore reaching. As we found in a blow south of Bermuda with big waves the boat needs to be absolutely stopped with the foils stalled and drifting sideways to be safely heaved to. More in the linked posts.
Hi John,
In the case of my friend’s Catana, I think they were hove to. I used the term “crawl” above but I do recall Charlie telling me the speed display was about a 1/2 knot and he felt comfortable enough for both he and his wife to go to sleep. Probably one of them should have stayed awake while the other slept.
Cheers,
Bob
Hi John
Agree:
“when running off, green water comes aboard over the lee quarter as the stern skids sideways and digs in as the result of a partial broach”
Alchemy has never had water enter the cockpit from the stern, but has, upon occasion, “skidded” into a bit of a turn burying her quarter at the same time a large wave marches down the side of the boat flooding the cockpit.
This has never been a big deal, but startling.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
Hi Dick,
Good to have the confirmation, thanks. As you say, on a seaworthy boat with a cockpit that’s not too big, not a big deal.
There is an article on the web titled Heavy Weather Strategies for Multihulls the is good info for Multihull sailors.
Hi John,
The one by Peter Johnston? If so I read it as part of my research for this series. I differ a bit from Peter in warning against running off at speed, mainly because here at AAC we are mostly dealing with short handed cruising crews, therefore, once things get really nasty I discourage any technique that depends on good steering for safety.
Yes, the article written by Peter Johnstone is the one. There is a technique he calls “parking” a Cat that is interesting. I have sailed a Chris White Atlantic 42 for ten years and I have experimented with the technique as well as heaving to, but never in more than moderate conditions. I have a full beam traveler and I suspect this this is required for the parking technique to work. The jib is furled, the main is reefed to the minimum. The main is then travelled down to one side with the main sheet on hard, the wheel is secured into the wind and the boat sits at a stable angle to the wind similar to how it might ride to a drogue.
Hi John,
Great report, thanks. Taking that into account and rereading Peter’s article I made a mistake in equating “parking” with lying ahull. In reality what Peter is talking about and you did is, I think, much more heaving too, but with the added benefit on a cat like yours (love the Atlantics) of pulling the boards part way up and so being much less vulnerable to a wave strike. Peter writes “The cat will sit on a safe, close-hauled course, drifting sideways at approximately ½ knot” which is heaving-to in my book.
But you say “at a stable angle to the wind similar to how it might ride to a drogue”. I’m not sure what that means? What angle to the true wind would that be?
That said, you seem to feel that this is different than heaving to, so could you expand on the differences? Thanks.
Hi John,
I should have been a little more accurate in my post. I should have left out the drogue comment as I was experimenting on the same day as the parking technique and the angle to the waves was similar, about 30 to 35 degrees to the true wind. The drogue came with the boat and was set off the bow cleat as an experiment. I won’t use it again for a storm technique but it has some value as a backup emergency steering system. I agree with your observation that Peter’s description of “parking”, and my experience is nearly the same as heaving-to. I have new sails since my parking experiment built by Hallet Sails in Falmouth ME.(based partly on your experience relayed in your articles. The third reef is much deeper than before, less than 20% of the mains total area, so that may have an effect on “parking” and heaving-to. I believe the parking technique may be preferable as the total sail area up is perhaps less than heaving-to. More practice is necessary. All the best.
Hi John,
Thanks for the fill, all makes sense to me now.
In (IIRC 2020) my friend Bob and his cat aboard the one-off 45 foot catamaran Pantera was killed when his cat capsized. He was last seen sailing downwind under spinnaker in the sea of cortez in Mexico apx. October 20. The cat was found washed ashore on a rocky point. By then it had been thoroughly looted by pangeros. Bob’s body was found a few days later in full wetsuit and the local authorities had no idea where it had come from. It took a week or so for them to connect it to the capsized catamaran. Sadly his daughter had to go through several weeks of red tape, bureaucracies and travel to sort out getting Bob home for a funeral.
Weather that day was gusty and variable due to several islands nearby causing wind shadows and channeling.
It’s assumed the spinnaker caught a gust and tipped it over. Bob was a “character” and well known in the sailing community of La Paz.
Hi Robert,
That’s a sad story indeed. It does bring up the point, which I touched on in my capsize risk article, and will revisit later, that single handing a cat is tricky indeed and as a general rule I would advise against it.
Excellent article, John. Thanks!
I can’t emphasize enough your point “buying the drag device and throwing it in a locker while fervently praying it will never be required is not seamanlike.”
When we studied the forces a JSD creates we quickly realized our aft cleats are nowhere near strong enough for those loads. This led to my having to create a diagram illustrating use of three cleats to distribute the load, and chafing protection points.
Rehearsing is key. One can choose a day with 10-15 knots True and practice (any higher winds, and retrieving the drogue becomes problematic even with sails down). Deployment within 10 minutes (max) of decision and retrieval should be achieved. Rinsing, drying, and re-stowing the JSD is a bear, but I suppose it’s nothing in comparison to facing use in earnest for the first time and trying one’s luck.
Hi Mark,
Good points, which we too have covered in other chapters in this online book. One thought for you, I’m not an engineer but I’m fairly sure it’s actually very difficult to distribute a load over three anchor points so they don’t just fail one by one, each at it’s own individual break load. Any engineers have thoughts on that?
We have a couple of chapters on anchor points starting here that may be useful:https://www.morganscloud.com/2013/06/01/jordan-series-drogue-launch-system/
Also Jordon pointed out that the entire load could be on a single strong point, i.e. one arm of the JSD bridle, as the boat yaws with wave direction. So it’s better to plan on structural strength to take the full load on each attachment point. That’s sometimes not easy to do, and we had to build in really beefy carbon chainplates for our cat with large force sharing attachment areas for both of them.
Hi John,
It is indeed easier said than done to distribute loads over multiple anchor points. The key is that to carry a load, everything must deflect. For example, if you had 3 cleats in a line going up the deck and attached them with nylon line as tight as you could make it, it would not work. The load on the first one would deflect the deck ever so slightly but since nylon line is so stretchy, the load on the 2nd cleat would effectively not change until the first cleat had fully failed and the 2nd cleat would get the whole load. The same thing would then happen with the 2nd and 3rd cleats.
With the example above, you could improve things by putting a large preload in each of those lines. Lets say the cleats are good to 10000 lbs of force, then you could preload the 1st and 2nd to each other with say 5000lbs. This would mean that the first one wouldn’t tear out until it had 15,000 lbs on it. But that assumes you actually preload it to that level (most people would be terrified well before that point) and that the load was directly in line with the cleats.
It is perfectly possible to engineer load distribution but it takes real engineering and stiffnesses, clearances and tolerances all play very important roles here. Some solutions just rely on getting all those things right and others rely on mechanisms that actually move to allow load distribution.
Eric
Hi Eric,
Thanks for the fill on that. Once again I knew just enough to be uncomfortable, but not enough to be clear about my worry, or even sure it was valid, so makes your thoughts doubly valuable. Talking of which, I have become fascinated by the whole concept of preload and how it changes things.
What a great read thanks John,
You touch on survivability from a capsize event and some suspect thinking in favour of multihulls. But it’s a complex subject isn’t it?
Particularly if you add in secondary complications that so many accounts I have read seem to involve. Things like hull beaches: from falling off waves, or capsizes broaching windows / deck structure, or heavy equipment in the cabin falling and breaching the structure, or windows popping out during down-flooding. Another common issue seems to be loss of rudder(s) involving structural damage to the hull.
Or from collision with something big and heavy like an unlit steel tuna buoy, log, fish accumulating device (raft like structures we have in the SW Pacific that are often unlit) or uncharted reef / Pacific bommie.
I personally know of a catamaran that sank quickly from a hull breach and a monohull that sank after the oven came off its gimbals and exited through a small cabin window during a capsize, both involving boats owned by good friends.
Also perhaps consideration for the trend in both monohulls and cruising multihulls for panoramic windows, even close to the waterline in the hull(s).
I would be keen for a follow-up article comparing survivability of the different hull types involving sudden water ingress, especially in tough conditions.
Br. Rob
Hi Rob,
Absolutely, the whole issue of down flooding is vital to think about and far too often ignored. And I totally agree on the worrying trend of large windows etc.
I have written about the latter subject before: https://www.morganscloud.com/2014/12/27/qa-safety-of-large-pilothouse-windows/
I have been thinking about a follow up article given the disturbing trend to ever larger windows and inadequate hatches.
Hi John,
Another well researched, balanced and understandable article regarding heavy weather tactics. Thank you.
The only point I’d potentially add would be the increased vulnerability of rudders on multihulls. With less under the water than most monohulls, the stocks tend to be a lot more exposed. There are a few examples of rudders being damaged or lost when the vessel was shunted backwards.
An added danger when using sea anchors compared to drogues (unitary or series).
All the best.
Angus
Hi Angus,
Good to hear from you again. And yes, very good point on the dangers to the rudder of being pushed violently backward while lying to a sea anchor. I should add that to our sea anchor chapter.
By the way, do you have a feel for what percentage of your JSDs you are selling to multihull owners and have any of them reported back to you on usage?
Hi John, firstly, sorry, I don’t seem to have notifications so only noticed this when a customer brought it to my attention.
It seems to vary, but usually between 15-25% of the drogues we make are for multihulls.
Annoyingly I have really very little in the way of actual feedback from customers, despite my urging. Over the past 10 years since I took over from my father, we’ve almost certainly made close to 1000 drogues, and I’ve probably got fewer than 10 testimonies. I don’t think I have anything from a multihull owner sadly, but I will make sure that I add a direct call to action on all sales going forward.
All the best.
Angus
Hi Angus,
Thanks for coming up on that. I’m guessing that the reasons you don’t hear back much is because with better weather forecasting buyers use them less often than in earlier days, and on top of that when they do deploy they just work, so there is nothing much to report.
hi John,
while I absolutely believe that being “pooped” from astern is a rare thing and possibly specific to certain boat designs, I am not certain that your hunch that it “might even be a myth” is correct.
I’ve only hung off a JSD twice in large weather, and both times I was squirreled away down below safe and warm, so I cannot say with absolute conviction that it was a wave boarding from astern. however, on both occasions (several times on the most recent) I had my cockpit filled to the center or even the top dropboard, causing several liters of seawater to enter the galley through the ~0.5cm gap between the top dropboard and the latched-closed sliding hatch. the water hit the boards with some force, and a lot more water than I would have expected made it around and through the dropboards… which are thick, well-fitted and have a substantial squared overlap.
I do have quite low freeboard, which could very easily be a contributing factor- see attached drawing. I do not however recall feeling the boat broach prior to the cockpit being filled.
Hi Drew,
Thanks for a really useful report.
I’m far from certain about this idea, and you may easily be right, particularly since Susanne Huber-Curphey has experienced the same thing.
On the other hand I’m not sure you would have felt any broach first, assuming that my idea is right. From my observations it’s more a slide sideways that causes a wave top to flow into the cockpit from the leeward side. So while I think this is much like a broach, it’s much less violent. This is at least somewhat supported by our experience of filling the centre cockpit on our McCcurdy and Rhodes 56 where it clearly did not hit from the stern.
The other thing that seems to perhaps support the idea is that I have not heard of any multihulls having the totally inadequate doors into the cabin stove in. Some claim that this is because they are higher off the water, but that makes no sense to me given that the highest I have seen is a 2 meters and most are lower.
One other thought, if pooping with green water was really a thing I would have thought we would be getting reports of damage and particularly stove in companionways since the average set of wash boards would be no match for a real green water strike. We got hit a couple of times while heaved to improperly and the impact was enough to throw our 25 ton boat on her side which seems to support that if that happened from aft we would be seeing real damage: https://www.morganscloud.com/2013/06/01/when-heaving-to-is-dangerous/
Bottom line, I don’t know for sure, but something is going on here other than the simplistic idea of being pooped.
Hi again Drew,
Here’s Don Jordan on the subject that seems to support. my idea: https://www.jordanseriesdrogue.com/D_10.htm
hey John,
I went back through my old videos – this is a quick clip from January 2024, about 750 miles south of Australia enroute to Hobart, the morning after a big blow. the seas and wind are waaaaaay down from the night before, enough that I’m outside and doing a walkaround to make sure nothing got damaged, but not quite down enough to retrieve the JSD just yet. I happened to be taking a video for my @farotherside social channels when I took a little bit of water over the stern…
I know it’s just the tiniest little splash of water over the stern, but it’s still water over the stern, and not as the result of a broach. the seas aren’t even that big or even cresting, and the JSD is holding the stern firmly into the wind. it doesn’t seem like a huge stretch of the imagination to think that much larger seas would board the same way, but with much larger amounts of water. again, I’m sure it’s rare and a function of the boat design, I just don’t believe it’s a complete myth. 🙂
https://farotherside.com/tiny_boarding_wave.mov
Hi Drew,
Thanks for the video. The way I see it is that wave actually supports my thinking rather than otherwise. The point being that what came aboard over the stern was aerated water from the crest, not green water. Have a read of Don Jordans piece on wave theory (link above) which is the basis (together with observation) of my thinking on this.
The key point he makes is that the JSD drags the boat back through the crest so that while some aerated water can board over the stern that’s not dangerous like a green water strike would be. This is the whole basis of the success of the JSD. Also note Jordan’s points about the difficulty of actually discerning what’s happening from the deck of a small boat where is appears that waves are moving towards us. If Jordan was wrong about this then we would be getting reports of stove in companionways and all kinds of other mayhem when lying to a JSD.
I am a comparatively inexperienced sailor, and the thought that a catamaran can flip just scares me to the point of it not being worth the risk. I know people say its a small risk and never happens… however, for the people in that small minority that it did happen to… it was real. I am surprised at how many people (*cough* Youtube) seem to love them and see the risk as no big deal.
Therefore, I prefer monohulls. Maybe it’s irrational, but IMO the risks in a mono seem to have more factors that are controllable through seamanship.
The ideal for me is really an aluminum mono under 40 feet with a raised pilothouse for inside seating and maybe a galley in the PH so I can cook there. For me, those would be the two big benefits of a catamaran that could be solved. For example, if I could get a Bestevaer 36 for $500-600K that would pretty much do it. Perfect boat for a solo sailor.
Hi Kevin,
The key here is that each of us have to take on the risks we are comfortable with, so there is absolutely no right or wrong. That said, if you are planning a lot of single handing then I think there is solid case to go with a monohull since it’s difficult for a single hander to properly monitor capsize risk on a cat. All it takes is one squall while we are asleep.
Anyway, I agree, the Bestevaer 36 is a great boat and probably idea for single handing.
Hi John, another great addition to a fascinating series that has me turning bipolar: Catamaran is better, no monohull is better, etc. 🙂
Seriously though, I remain a fan of the aluminum French center boarders…which brings me to the next question (apologies if it is somewhat off topic or more related to the previous chapter). Do you know if the new Boreal or the Garcia have the setup necessary to reef off wind like you and Phillis have shown in a different post? Or can they be fitted with one?
Finally, I think it is interesting that escape hatches in catamarans, which are supposed to help you survive in a capsize, have been a liability in certain cases by failing (I believe they were the Goiot hatches) resulting in the boat taking in water. And I thought Catamarans don’t sink.
Hi Constantine,
Sorry I don’t know. The only way to be sure of reefing down wind is to go out in a good breeze and try it. That said, pretty much any slab system can be fixed to work properly off the wind.
I do know that the new Boreals have everything run aft which adds a lot of friction and complications so you would definitely want to dig into that. The older Boreals reef at the mast so reefing down wind is much easier. Not sure of the situation on the Garcias
And yes, escape hatches have trade offs. That said, I would never sail on a multihull without one. In recent years Chris White has gone over to a fixed window with a hammer next to it because of the hatch leaking problem.
Hi John,
The Boreal 44.2 (which is the newest model of the 44 series) still reef at the mast.
Hi Andreas,
Perhaps some do if the owner has asked for that as an option, or maybe Boreal have changed this, but at the time Colin sailed on her and reviewed the new boat all lines were lead aft to the winch islands: https://www.morganscloud.com/2021/12/28/test-sail-and-review-of-the-boreal-47-2/
Also the specification on the site as at today states “outhaul of the mainsail and 3 reefing lines brought back to the cockpit” :https://www.boreal-yachts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SPECIFICATIONS-BOREAL-44-2.pdf
Hi Constantine and John,
Yes, I believed that “catamarans don’t sink” was a key difference between monohulls and multihulls, until a friend’s did sink and very quickly, after they broke loose from their “safe” marine multihull berth and hit a marina structure, breaching the hull at the waterline: https://www.sailworldcruising.com/news/202705/Our-boat-sank-What-did-we-learn
What the article doesn’t explain, is that a much larger catamaran ahead of them on the finger with owners absent was stretching its morning lines and bashing into their cat – it was a chaotic experience.
But also raises the question, whether creating a hole in one hull letting out the trapped air is advisable in rough weather. Like breaking a glass escape hatch with a hammer – hatches at least can be re-closed.
Hi Rob,
Yes, the idea that cruising cats don’t sink is another myth spread by fan boys who have not thought about it and are just trying to win. Sure it’s possible to build a cat that won’t sink, and a heck of a lot easier than doing the same with a ballasted mono, but it’s not a given. A bit of thought makes clear that just the weight of the engines, batteries, spares etc is enough to sink most holed cats that don’t have added flotation.
On the escape hatch, that’s indeed a trade off, but given that we would be using it to exit the boat either to rescue or the liferaft maybe not a big deal. Also I fear that re-closing a hatch would be hard once the water started coming in. Also, if memory serves, White’s cats are indeed positively buoyant even when holed.
Hi Rob,
Thanks for sharing the interesting albeit unfortunate story. This is another concern of mine…moorings are often overcrowded in popular places and stories of catamarans being hit by other cats, fishing boats, etc are a dime a dozen. Usually it’s just a gelcoat damage but apparently not in this case. Interestingly the number of catamarans in aluminium has been increasing. Unfortunately the ones I like (not that i can afford them), like Balance and HH, are still composite. Odisea catamarans are trying to make performance cruisers in aluminium and they seem like an interesting project. I guess you can’t cut a hole through these ones. 🙂
Agree with your points. We cruise a 50′ cat and view the JSD as the best survival storm tactic. We do also value another option that isn’t as powerful as the JSD, a drogue like the Shark. Cats sit higher and run off well, very controlled with no tendency to broach, rarely getting pooped because they are more on top on the water without ballast. But a rogue wave can over-accelerate it into the back of the next wave, stuffing a bow and risking pitchpoll. A drogue like the Shark or similar, properly positioned well behind, slows her down less than a JSD but still enough to keep things under control in conditions that are dangerous but less than a full survival storm. A JSD brings the speed down to ~3 knots, while a drogue brings it down to around 6 knots. The JSD does a better job stopping broach, due to cones near the stern, but that’s less of an issue for cats, where excessive speed is the biggest issue. If the drogue is deployed and things get unexpectedly serious, it can be released and the JSD deployed. Belts and suspenders. Good to have multiple options, especially for the common scenario where the cat is running off beautifully, surfing every few waves, but would benefit from reducing risk from the occasional rogue wave that would over-accelerate her.
Hi David,
Good point, however, although we once relied on a Galerider Drogue for the same reasons, after hearing from two friends who had experienced the drogue pulling out and skipping at just the wrong moment and so experienced a broach. In both cases they were lucky and “only” went over to dip the spreaders but it could have ended differently. So given that, based on Don Jordan’s research, its impossible for a crew on a boat to accurately gauge when the waves have become too dangerous for a single part drogue, I prefer to advise going directly to the JSD. In fact this potential pull out problem was a lot of the reason Jordan designed the JSD as a multi part drag element system so that could never happen. Well worth reading Jordan’s original paper on this and other reasons the JSD is the way it is.
Regarding surviving on the hull of an upturned cat. Two incidents near me, a performance cruising cat, French, off Skye, flipped in strong winds and all survived on the hull underside and were rescued, seas rough but not significantly so. This was in 2012. Another, east of Shetland / Orkney, older boat, heavier, UK cruising cat, flipped in a gale, 2000. The owner, single handing, struggled to stay on but he did for some hours and was rescued. Both incidents I remember the hulls sat beam on to the waves. In the latter case the survivor stated that there was little to hold onto, just the upturned V on the windward hull and that he was fearful of tiring and being swept away.
Skye incident https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-19092243
Shetland incident http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/790437.stm And https://www.yachtingworld.com/voyages/trapped-upside-down-in-the-north-sea-134470
The Yachting World feature on the latter incident is worth reading.
Hi Alastair,
Interesting indeed! Thanks for finding those. Passmore’s account is particularly useful. (Wow, the man can write!). Three things stand out for me.
Let’s recognize that there is a vital difference, for multihulls, between stopping to rest in rough conditions and a survival storm. With a monohull you could conceivably roll ir things are terrible. You will probably be knocked down a few times first, providing a warning that conditions are dangerous. With a multihull the warning is that you are upside down. More of a pass/fail. Heaving to, for example, is for for a rest in tiring conditions, but by very definition, it is not viable in survival conditions.
Drogues. I’m a big believer, based on some testing and some experiences. There is a myth that waves are of one period and one direction. That can happen, but the scary storms I’ve been in had them coming form several directions, and when they crossed they were big and unpredictable. The nice thing about a drogue is that the boat is sort of hanging from it an just pivots. Multihulls are light and are good at that. Shallow underbodies help (they slide). Different from monos.
Trimarans. What works in 20 knots is not related to survival conditions. The amas are barely 100% buoyancy, and if struck by both wind and a large, steep wave beam-on, the ama will be pushed underwater and the boat will roll. This is different from cats. Big windward tramp. Small ama. Trimarans are less prone to wind-only capsize than cats, but they are more prove to wave capsize in steep waves. Fore reachin is fine when it is it really rough. If it is really scary, you run off, with a tiny jib and add a drogue if uncontrolled surfing is a risk. A JSD is smart. A wide bridle assures that you will go straight. Or a chute off the bows if there is a lee shore. Tris are light and float easily to a chute.
Cats. Again, I prefer to run. Even when heaving to is safe, the motion on a cat is horrible. Snap roll. Thrown back on the rudders by waves (they better be strong). I would do it in a near gale to rest, maybe. Just turning the nose down wind is better in most cases. But not in a survival storm. A chute if I can’t run.
As for boarding waves, My cruising cat was center cockpit. The transoms rose easily, the boat accelerated with the n wave was bigger than the boat, and we never even had a wave hit the dinghy on davits. In fact, I don’t really agree that a dinghy on davits is dangerous on a well-founded cat, if the davits are high and well-inboard from the transom such that the dinghy does not extend aft (good ones are)(the forward location is very important, vs. hanging behind the boat, exposed). If the cat has a big hard top, the dinghy is not really in the wind, certainly not up wind, and in fact, not so much down wind, as the wind is rising over and around the hard top. This depends on the storm and the boat, but in a mere gale, not a big concern. This is one of those things that is different.
Boarding waves. We really never (cat) had waves even slap the bridge deck hard from behind. The boat rose. A different cat, overloaded, could be different. I do worry a little about open cockpit cats. I would want some sort of washboard that could be inserted, perhaps pretty high to step over. Maybe it would be in the back of the cockpit. Maybe it would be at the companionway.
My F-24 trimaran has an open transom, only ~ 6 inches above the resting waterline. Upwind, no problem. Off the wind, sailing fast, no problem, dry as a bone. Stop suddenly in waves, and the sternwave will board, maybe 4 inches deep. There is a 6″ sill on the companionway, but they can overtop that and leaving a board in the companionway is smart. I added a washboard under the traveler horse. That solved the sternwave problem, and cut down on lost hats and lunch wrappers too. But kidding aside, If I was facing a survival storm in my trimaran, I would chose a chute. I tried a chute (8′) once in 35 knots (that is a LOT for an F-24!) just for fun (weird sense of fun, but it’s testing) and it was easy. The boat just floated from the chute as though anchored on a very long rode (the rode was long). If I decided a droge was smarter, I would want both a washboard or solid transom to reduce wave impact and a strong companionway. But the impact will be less than a mono, because the boat will rise and be struck by wave tops, no deep green water.
Or at least this is what my experiences tell me. Every boat and every storm is different. The one thing I have surely learned from testing drogues and chutes is that you MUST test them on YOUR BOAT in CHALLENGING (but not scary) conditions. There will be boat specific rigging, deployment, and recovery problems and solutions that are unique to your boat than that you need to train. My first tests were full of errors. lAter on, things becaome routine. Not because I was smart, but because I had practiced and learned from mistakes. The most obvious is watching people toss a drogue or chute into the water for a fair weather video. When the wind is blowing 50 knots, the drogue or chute will blow right back in your face. Think on the obviousness of that. They need to be weighted, and in the case of a chute, packed, when they go in the water. Recovery is another set of problems. They love to get under the boat; a drogue around the rudder is annoying. I’ve also seen adjustable bridle methods that ONLY work in fair weather and only if the waves come from only one direction (they don’t –you will get knocked from the side). So practice and make mistakes. Try variations. It’s a fascinating subject, but you can’t learn it at a desk. There are fun surprises, which I’m sure are more interesting in a fresh breeze than a hurricane.
Hi Drew,
Great comment full of useful information, thanks. I totally agree that just resting and survival storms call for very different tactics, but then this whole online book is primarily about storm tactics.
The thing that really jumped out at me from your comment is that the position I take on things like inadequate companionways and position of dinghies depends on my confidence in my theory that being pooped by green water is a myth. So I read a well reasoned comment like yours and I swing that way to agreement.
But suppose I’m wrong? In that case even a well secured dinghy can be a problem since the weight and destruction of a green water strike is truly frightening and enough tear the securing points and davits of any dinghy apart and hurl the wreckage through the glass doors that pass for hatches on many cats.
And further no amount of testing in inshore waters will definitively answer this for us. This is why I tend to have a foot in two camps, as can be seen in the article above where I warn against anything that could be a problem with a green water wave strike from aft, but then go on to say that multihulls might even be immune to that kind of damage.
The point I’m making is that I, at least, despite well over 100,000 miles of deep ocean experience including some pretty nasty storms, just don’t know.
I also totally agree on your points that many of the deployment and retrieval techniques people talk about simply won’t work in practice even in 20 knots of steady wind never mind say 60 knots where wind pressure will be nine times more and wave size truly frightening.
All of this uncertainty is why I rely so heavily on the very few with true relevant experience like Trevor and Susanne Huber-Curphey. Sadly I don’t know of anyone in multihulls who has comparable experience of multiple survival storms, particularly in the Great South. If I ever find the person their thoughts will feature here.
Good feedback. There are many things I am not sure of.
I do tend to think if a cat gets a really bad green water hit up as high and inboard as the dinghy (should be–some are, I agree 100%, too low and too far back)), the companionway will need to be massively strong and most likely you are going over anyway. A rogue wave just fell on you. Also, there is the difference between lighter cats and some of the grotesque, heavy condos I have seen at shows, that drag low in the water–I don’t know about them. I tend to think like an engineer on this and say to myself “what does the recent history tell us,” and I have not read about big cats getting green water in the salon. So yes, the sliding doors bother me a lot, but I can’t point at a history and say “look at this disaster.” Personally, I would install some very sturdy, very high washboards, at the very least. Not hard to do.
I’ve tested some things in gale and near gale conditions, not because I felt they were survival conditions or that I was unsafe, but for testing sake (and twice to delay landfall until morning, just in fresh conditions). What I am sure of is that in a survival storm things will get very difficult, forces will get very high, and you really want to have dialed in your drogue and sea anchor methods long before that. As for what works, The Drag Devise Database and stories we hear are all most of us have to go on.
My favorite heavy weather strategy is to watch the weather and be a chicken. I’m always amazed when someone sets out in sketchy conditions “for the challenge,” only to get their a__ handed to them and then wonder why it happened and make excuses. The best thing that ever happened to me, regarding my sailing education, was to get completely destroyed by several squalls while sailing dinghies, and to learn that if you challenge mother nature enough, no heavy weather strategy is guaranteed to work. You could get dead.
Hi Drew,
I too am perplexed by not hearing about flooded cats from smashed in doors. That might even support my idea that being pooped is a myth particularly since that’s supported by Don Jordan’s science which in turn is supported by the, as far as I know, 100% success rate (as long as the JSD is built right) even in the Great South. Still, like you, seeing those huge doors just seems dangerous particularly since the only thing I know for sure is that I’m not certain about any of this.
The other possibility is that this is once again a reporting failure, something I worry about a lot since the absence of any real stats it’s easy to come to the wrong conclusion. Not saying that’s the case here, just that we always need to be careful of this problem.
And I agree, the chicken strategy is very good, that said even today it does not always work once a passage gets over about five days, and shorter on some passages, like a fall one to Bermuda. The other problem is that sometimes you just can’t wait for the perfect window because the season is closing in on you or the country you are in wants you gone. In my case I have had to go to sea knowing I was going to take a caning because the alternative was Christmas in Greenland.
The other thing I would add is to be careful of the Drag Device Database since it includes only a few JSD deployments, probably because the JSD just works, so no one bothers to report. That said, it’s a great resource for things like backing up concerns about sea anchors and single element drogues.
Hi Drew,
Reading your last paragraph brought to mind the closing stages of the Jules Verne Trophy win on the catamaran ENZA, with co-skippers Sir Peter Blake and Sir Robin Knox-Johnson and a very experienced crew.
On YouTube, you can fast forward to 38m:44s to watch their storm survival tactics for a performance catamaran, running before wind and seas using a makeshift rope / chain drogue formed on a bight, running aft from each hull. Or watch the whole engrossing story (for any sailor) unfold with a cup of tea, as I did this morning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DusLcmitLI0.
What it does illustrate is your point about the issues faced in safely deploying a drogue from a multihull and the very evident danger of catching a rudder – it looked a close run thing to me, if the stern had lifted out of a wave and the boat had slewed round at the wrong moment…!
It was surprising to me given the experience and sea miles of the two skippers (over a million sea miles in Blake’s case), that the drogue wasn’t rigged and ready to go with the storm well forecast. Especially given Blake’s previous experience in racing Steinlager 1 (“Big Red” a large trimaran) in the two-handed around Australia Race and then around the globe race (can’t recall which). I think they finished that race in similar circumstances in the Channel.
Anyway, interesting footage of the cat running off (with and without the drogue deployed) and the evident relief aboard when the drogue was safely deployed.
A thing about drogues vs. towing a bight. Every single element drogue I tested would come to the surface at about 5-7 knots, pull out of the face of a wave, and zing forward as the nylon rode contracted. A weighted bight, on the other hand, remains more stable at high speed, because like a JSD, it acts over a longer distance, not a single point prone to pulling out of waves.
This distinction really only matters for racers, because most of us will slow down more than that. But be advised, you need a big enough drogue to keep the boat below about 5 knots if you want it to remain stable. There are MANY stories of boats pulling a smallish drogue, doing fine, and then suddenly, when the storm became more intense and they actually needed the drogue, it crossed the 6-7 knot barrier, became unstable, and flew out, just when they needed it the most. Be conservative on single element drogue sizing. The two things that keep the drogue down are scope and the tail weight. Unlike a ground anchor, there is no downwards pull from the drogue biting into the water. As the force increases with speed it WILL come to the surface, and when a wave passes it from behind (the waves are moving much faster than you), it will rise up with the wave and pull right out of the steep face.
This is true of JSDs and chutes as well, with slightly different rules. Most of the failures, I am convinced, related to undersized gear and resulting excessive drift rates.
Im not sure if this is the place for this, but it is interesting footage of a large cat being flipped in Westhaven marina in New Zealand. Although it says it was a tornado I believe it was actually a microburst. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8-b6CsEueQ
Hi Robert,
Interesting indeed, particularly that the cat went stern over bow, or bow over stern (hard to see). Not sure what we learn from that, but worth thinking about.
John, here is the cruising cat storm tactics article I wrote for Sail over 10 years ago. I stand by all of the advice within, which is based on 150,000 nm offshore on the Gunboats I built, and other cats. Tight schedules led to a few 50-70 knot gales, where most of these strategies were developed. Some of your fears are misplaced. The aft cockpits drain quickly, and as long as you are moving, a pooping is a minor incident. I can say for certain that you never want to position a cat in storm conditions at risk of running backwards down a wave. A few have gone ass-over-tea-kettle that way in the Bay of Bsicay. The two cat transoms typically protect dinghies on davits. There are exceptions…As a fun FYI, my career has been largely as an advocate for performance cruising cats (Gunboat), but for my next personal sailing trip, I am preparing a J160. I would urge anyone working towards Bluewater Dreams to simply go. Do not let the click-bait comparison of cats and keelboats get in the way. Sail what you have, and maximize life.
Regards to you and your readers! I love this site.
Peter Johnstone
Article I wrote for SAIL:
Gale to Survival Multihull Handling
Intro
On most offshore passages, advanced communications and weather information should preclude you from ever experiencing gale or survival conditions on your catamaran. The highest risk of adverse conditions will be on passages on the North-South axis between seasons. Spring or autumn passages between New England and the Caribbean, Eastern Atlantic waters off of Europe, or routes between the South Pacific and New Zealand are typical zones where folks may still endure a good wallop offshore. If one follows the wisdom as outlined in Jimmy Cornell’s World Cruising Routes, the risk should be minimized. Regardless, anyone venturing offshore in a multihull should be prepared to handle the worst. Below are some targeted strategies to make your rough weather a controlled and enjoyable experience.
Basic Safety of Cats
By their nature, larger catamarans are exceptionally safe offshore. It is not uncommon to sail through mildly uncomfortable conditions such as a gale, only to arrive at a common waypoint and hear sailors on keelboats remark that they “survived” horrendous conditions. A large modern catamaran offers plenty of buoyancy and exceptional roll inertia to make an inversion highly unlikely. A 30’ breaking wave may strike abeam, and the cat will simply surf sideways.
A search of all offshore storm stories will yield only a handful of disasters over 25 years. Nearly all involve sea anchors and their broken rodes. A catamaran is ill-suited for accelerating backwards down seas. It is too easy for the aft transom steps to submerge, dig in, and stop the boat. The risk is a backwards cartwheel that no one would enjoy. Please avoid this practice! With a catamaran’s Achilles heel noted, let’s focus on how to successfully manage gale or survival conditions.
Cruising catamarans today roughly fall into two categories. The mass market charter-type catamarans typically feature integrated fixed keels, shoal draft low-aspect rudders, high windage fly bridges, masts located forward with shorter bows, and heavier displacements. In ideal flat-water conditions, they will struggle to make significant VMG to windward, and will typically sail close hauled at 60+ degrees TWA. Strategies for these types of catamarans will focus on maintaining control and achieving a moderate speed without danger.
The newer and higher performance cruising catamarans typically feature efficient daggerboards or centerboards, deeper rudders, less windage, and lighter displacements. Going to windward at a 45-50 degree true wind angle is a reality in nearly all conditions. A performance cruising catamaran can typically out-sail the best keelboats to windward. Given their lighter weight and ample sail plans, attention must be paid to the sail selection to remain safe in all conditions. Strategies for managing storm conditions will focus on higher speeds, less loads, and balance.
Strategies for the two categories of catamarans in the marketplace will vary and should be noted. Certain catamarans may fall in between this simplification of the market. A frank assessment of your catamaran is required before venturing offshore. Please get your sailmaker or manufacturer’s sail selection chart so you will know safe sail limits for any conditions. If no such guide exists, a simple heeling guage may be helpful. Most cats are happy and safe sailing at up to 6-7 degrees of heel as measured in flat waters, or troughs of waves. As they approach 10 degrees of heel, the windward hull will be close to lifting. It is safe to say that a cat should not lift the weather hull while on a cruising passage! If you have some time aboard your cat, ask yourself several critical questions. Do your bows dig into waves when sailing upwind? Do your bows press down when sailing fast downwind? Is your wing deck sufficiently clear of the water to endure upwind sailing in a confused sea state? Any shortcomings should be noted for rough weather. Plan to use your catamaran’s strengths and minimize its weaknesses.
Sea room is the first consideration that will determine your tactics for the given conditions. Are you in open waters and able to sail around the conditions? Or are you running along a coast with limited waters to leeward?
If sea room is limited, then you will need to set up your catamaran to make headway to windward. Many charter-type cats have only a roller furling genoa, which will be of dubious use in storm conditions. The sail plan may be limited to a deeply reefed mainsail, akin to a large Laser. When deeply reefed under mainsail alone, the traveler should be eased down several feet from centerline to create enough drive force forward to make headway. Monitoring your course over ground on the GPS, and visual bearings if any, will indicate your progress to windward. Check your helm balance. If the autopilot is struggling with the rudders indicating several degrees of weather helm, ease the mainsheet to induce more twist in the mainsail leech. This will alleviate any helm issues. If the helm is neutral, the mainsheet can be sheeted harder. The goal is to simply create forward progress and not endure leeway. A pace of 5-7 knots is achievable, leisurely and comfortable in nearly all conditions. If the sea state makes this difficult, many charter-type cats will turn on the leeward engine to assist headway and progress to windward.
A performance cat will have an easier time with a lee shore. If conditions are severe, raise the leeward board for safety, and sail solely on your windward board. If the boat gets over-powered, the cat will side-slip, rather than continue to heel more. On daggerboard catamarans, you will need to sort the helm balance. Many daggerboard cats require an inner stay to be set with a tidy storm jib or staysail set to achieve helm balance. A deeply reefed main will suffice if the daggerboards are not positioned too far forward. Like the charter cats, the boat will sail well under main alone if the traveler is dropped down a few feet, and the leach is trimmed for helm balance. A centerboard catamaran is handled much like the daggerboard cat above, except the mainsail can be trimmed for performance, and the centerboard angle simply trimmed for helm balance. Many of today’s performance catamarans can sail at up to 14 knots upwind in ideal conditions. In Gale conditions, you will find the ride very comfortable, and safe in the 7-9 knot speed range. Slowing down is easier on the platform, and certainly easier on the occupants.
If your destination requires a beam reach, you will need to make a decision. A breaking wave on the beam is the maximum load a catamaran can experience. Avoid this course in rough seas! While nearly every catamaran is engineered to CE Class A-1 codes for open water, a 90-degree impact by a wall of water against the slab sides and large windows will put your catamaran at maximum load and risk. Choose a course that will put the waves and wind ahead, or aft, of the beam. If you know which way the wind will switch, then you will be able to make a good decision for the passage. For example, if you know you will be headed over the course of the passage, perhaps you should aim high-of-course to start. If you will be lifted over the course of the passage, aim low-of-course. No matter what you choose to do, avoid beam-on seas! Your cat will absorb the forces of the sea much better if the impacts are not at a right angle to your course. Sail combinations will be similar to your upwind choices mentioned in the lee shore section above, with the traveler set further to leeward. Pay attention to heel angle. It is difficult and slow to steer your way out of a squall on a beam reach. When in doubt reef more. Take your time to add back power. For cats with boards, keep the leeward board up, and the weatherboard down. Always check helm balance and adjust your mainsheet accordingly to achieve balance.
Most gale conditions are known well in advance. The knowledgeable sailor will position their catamaran to avoid such conditions or to at least be able to sail on the back-side or downwind quadrant of such conditions. Once you have learned your cat, and experienced a gale or two, these conditions may soon become your fondest sailing memories.
On a charter-type cat, the shallow low aspect rudders are frequently in the turbulent flow of water under the hull. Do not expect a firm grip by the rudders, nor a crisp steering response. Steep and confused seas can be a challenge for this type of cat. Speed, to a certain extent, can help, but the ultimate goal in storm conditions is to achieve a balance of speed, keeping the bows from digging into the next wave, and keeping the transoms from being broached by bigger breaking waves. Utilizing warps can be a very effective strategy. Many tactics work. A warp can be dragged in a big loop with the ends secured at each transom. A warp can be trailed from each transom and the length can be varied to help balance the rudders. Many find a longer warp off of the leeward transom will minimize weather helm. Or a bridle may be rigged that can adjust the position of one longer warp from side to side. The goal is to simply hold the transoms somewhat into the wind and prevent the cat from spinning out in bigger breaking waves. The length of the warp(s) should be set to achieve the ideal boat speed within the wave pattern to keep decent speeds of 6-12 knots, while preventing the terrific surfs into the next wave, which can lead to green water on the deck forward. The sail selection may vary greatly from boat to boat. In general, if the cat has a fly bridge with a high boom, you should get the mainsail down early, and focus on using your jibs. The most comfortable course will be straight down the wave train, but many jibs will gybe back and forth ad nauseum. An outboard lead can greatly alleviate this unsettling racket. Otherwise, you may need to head up on more of a broad reach to settle down the jib’s movements. Comfort aboard and control of the cat will be best with the straight down course.
On a performance cat, you can raise both boards and unleash perhaps the greatest sailing days of your life. Speed is your friend. A modern performance cat’s bows will rise as she gains speed, and there are no downsides to speed. The closer you sail to the wave train’s speed, the more smooth the ride becomes, and the less chance you will encounter a large wave impact. The sail selection can be a deeply reefed mainsail or a jib sheeted to the outboard rail. Even in 50-60 knots, the ride will be smooth and comfortable as you sail at 15-25 knots. Always check helm balance to keep the rudders and pilots lightly loaded.
“Parking the Cat” is an effective method for stopping anywhere and holding your ground. Cam Lewis parked Explorer off of Cape Horn in a 70-knot storm to allow a hurricane to pass in his epic inaugral Jule Verne Record around the world in under 80 days. To Park, deeply reef your main, drop the traveler all of the way to leeward, sheet the mainsheet hard, if you have boards, pull them half way up, then lash your helm into the wind. The cat will sit on a safe, close-hauled course drifting sideways at approximately ½ knots. If you need a break from pounding to windward, or need to wait for daylight to approach your destination, Parking can be an effective strategy. The motion is so smooth while Parked that many utilize this strategy for performing repairs while at sea in all conditions. Your catamaran will feel like a big tennis court amidst the maelstrom.
The catamaran is here to stay as a legitimate offshore cruising and voyaging choice. As many converts have already told you, they are simply more comfortable offshore. Handled correctly, their safety record is excellent. Safe passages!
That was the article I actually wrote. Sail edited and changed content.
Hi Peter,
Thanks so much for posting your original article. I did use the one in SAIL to inform some of what I wrote above but the original version is way more informative and useful. By the way, a lot of why I stopped writing for the magazines was that their edits often diminished, or even changed, my thinking on the subject in question.
And thanks for the kind words on the site, much valued, particularly considering the source.
One question arising:
When you say that two cats went “ass over teakettle”, where they lying to sea anchor or some other tactic? I ask because I’m thinking of deleting the whole sea anchor part in the above and actively recommending against them, just as I do for monohulls, based on my own observation that being pooped by green water is probably a myth, as well as your report, and others.
Hi John, the magazine edits seemed to protect some advertisers. Yes, both instances of cats going over their transoms were due to sea anchor rodes breaking in Bay of Biscay storms. The breaking waves would push the catamarans backward until the swim platform transoms dug in. I can’t think of any time a sea anchor would make sense. It introduces a possible point of failure and increases the chances of a shock loading event. The biggest concern with catamarans is wave impact. The primary strategy is mitigating such impacts by course, speed, and allowing the boat to slide if impacted. Anything that prevents the catamaran from moving with a wave is a risk. Before selling to the French group, the final Gunboat designs (never built) featured traditional transoms for offshore safety. A fold-down section would still allow easy boarding and swim access.
Hi Peter,
Totally hear you on “magazine edits seemed to protect some advertisers”! Another reason I stopped writing for them.
And thanks for the fill on the two pitch-poles. Still thinking about it, but I think I will punch up my reservations about sea anchors even more based on that and also the rudder damage risk of being thrown backward in a wave strike.
I’m also really interested in how your thinking evolved on the Gunboats to the one shown in the graphic.
Much to ponder, thanks.