Wazzup Pilipinas!
If you’ve always wanted to have your own leisure boat, you might want to consider acquiring a sailing catamaran. This type of boat, also known as a “cat,” is a multihull vessel that possesses two parallel, bilaterally symmetrical hulls—a characteristic that allows it to have a beam wide enough to be supremely stable on water. Thanks to this and the other advantages that they offer, catamarans are fast becoming a popular choice for sailing enthusiasts in the Philippines.
In fact, catamarans from world-renowned boat builder Lagoon—part of the French yachting conglomerate Groupe Bénéteau—headlined the recently concluded Lagoon Escapade Philippines 2019. Organized by Europa Yachts Philippines, the country’s premier yachting authority, the escapade’s highlight was a sailing rally that saw 11 majestic Lagoon catamarans set sail from Club Punta Fuego in Batangas to Puerto Galera in Mindoro.
If you dream about joining such events in the future, or you simply want a boat that is both luxuriously appointed and highly reliable under sail, then you should really look into getting a catamaran—particularly one made by Lagoon. Here are five reasons why you may want to consider acquiring one for your sailing adventures across the Philippines.
Sailing catamarans tend to be very stable on water
The stability of catamarans make them very forgiving vessels for experienced sailors and their passengers alike. Their multihull design allows them to resist heeling, which—more often than not—translates to a more satisfying cruising experience for those on board.
This stability also makes catamarans pleasant at anchor. Since a lot of boat owners in the Philippines are also keen about hosting gatherings and soirées on board, it makes perfect sense for them to get a boat that won’t easily tilt due to the pressure of wind and water movements, or because of weight distribution issues on board.
Catamarans provide generous deck and saloon spaces
Multihull boats like catamarans tend to have generous deck spaces and expansive main saloons, thanks in no small part to the wide breadth afforded by their unique deck plans that straddle their port hull and their starboard hull.
This means that catamarans—compared to other boats—usually have more room for entertaining guests, lounging around, and experiencing the other unique thrills and joys of sailing. If you’re the type who’s looking for a boat that your family and friends can roam around in more freely and enjoy more fully, then a catamaran may just be your best option.
Catamarans typically afford more options for cabin layouts
One nice perk of many contemporary catamaran designs, such as those produced by Lagoon, is that a boat owner can have more than one option when it comes to the cabin layout. The double hull configuration of the boat typically means there is a lot of space below deck to move the rooms around. Depending on the overall size and design of the boat, you can have anywhere from 3 to 6 cabins within.
Do you want a boat with a huge cabin that can serve as a grand master bedroom just for yourself? You can choose a cat with provisions for a cabin that runs the length of an entire hull. Do you need a kitchen and dining space near your bedroom for those late-night raids to the fridge or those intimate informal dinners with your significant other? You can choose a catamaran that has provisions for a below-deck lateral galley. The sky’s the limit when you choose a catamaran.
Catamarans can be very fuel efficient under the right conditions
There are a lot of factors that come into play when we talk about the fuel economy of boats. For example, sailboats tend to be more fuel-efficient than powerboats because they can use their sails for propulsion and their engines tend to be smaller and less powerful than those of true motorboats.
When it comes to sailing catamarans, fuel efficiency can be achieved thanks to the design of their hulls. Missing the large ballasted keels of other boats, a typical sailing catamaran will have much less wetted surface area, which means that less of its hull is immersed in water. Under serene weather conditions, this can make the catamaran a very fuel efficient vessel because it can move at great speeds without much resistance from the water.
However, you can probably imagine how other sailboats—with hulls designed to cut through the water instead of gliding on it—can be more fuel efficient under rougher weather conditions. A single-hull sailboat with a displacement hull, for example, may present less resistance on bumpy waters, which means it can be more fuel-efficient than the catamaran above, assuming their engines generate an equal amount of horsepower.
In the end, fuel efficiency can be considered on a case by case basis, but the benefits of a sailing catamaran in terms of fuel economy should never be disregarded.
Catamarans are ideal for use both in the high seas and close to shore
Catamarans are excellent cruising vessels that let sailors experience optimum freedom in the high seas, but should you ever desire staying closer to shore, this type of boat will not disappoint. Because they lack the heavy and large keels of other sailboats, sailing catamarans tend to have shallower drafts, which means there is less distance between the waterline and the bottom of their hulls. Since they can avoid grazing the ocean floor, catamarans are able to access more areas closer to shore compared to other boats of similar length.
The advantage for the boat owner and their guests, of course, is that they get to stop on spots that can be considered great locations for near-shore activities such as swimming, snorkeling, kiteboarding, and windsurfing. Given the Philippine coastlines’ extreme combined length and the diversity of marine features and environments that can be surveyed, catamarans are an excellent choice for sailing enthusiasts who also desire to explore the country closer to its shores.
In the end, catamarans and other boats each have their own qualities that make them appeal to different types of boating aficionados. It’s hard, if not impossible, to recommend a boat based solely on its hull design, so each model should be evaluated on its own merits.
Get in touch with Europa Yachts Philippines to find out whether a catamaran might be a great fit for your requirements. Europa Yachts Philippines offers a curated selection of boats from Lagoon and other celebrated boat makers from Europe. Contact them today at info@europayachts.net, or call (+632) 553-2027.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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