Crazy Ideas!

[SV Wind Dancer]

 I'm constantly having crazy ideas about boats; usually impractical, never happen, but I just wonder: possible? Just to pick one!...Suppose I have two identical model monohull sailboats, say, two Catalina 27's, same year...can I join them into a Catalinamaran? Or: 2# Cut the bow off of one Catalina, the stern off the other, and epoxy together a Catalina Ketch? 3# Two Catalina Ketches into a Megaketchalinamaran? ;^) 

[Frank]

Good stuff eh  

[Frank]

your not that crazy...just 'creative'

I've been eyeballing a Cape Dory typhoon here at the dock. Real pretty lil Alberg design. It has a Vberth and 2 very tight quarter berths with a big cockpit. So...I was thinkin...do a mold off the existing front cabin curve....make a doghouse style cabin top for more headroom, extend the cabin back to just in front of the cockpit lockers for way more interior space with a smaller-safer cockpit and build in a nice bridgedeck. What an awesome 18fter that would be.

Like I said...not crazy, just another boat nut 

[SV Wind Dancer]

Oh, no, that wasn't the good stuff...when I roll the good stuff I get ideas like this: Take a steel hull, twin bilge keel sailboat, install reinforced portlights, sealing hatches, ballast tanks, compressors LOTS o' extra batteries & electric auxiliary, when storms threaten SUBMERGE & wait it out! Proceed to fave anchorage where instead of swinging on the hook, sink to the bottom resting on twin bilge keels, tip of mast emerging above surface gives snorkel ventilation + video of goings on topside; below you're listening to Vivaldi and watching fish swiw past the windows as you eat your Ramen noodles...!

[newt]

They have made a yacht that submerges, and a few of us have toyed with making our own submarine, just like I have thought about making a kit built helicopter. Both demand major engineering, and both exact a high price for failure. I will stick to the surface, but that is just me. I still enjoy diving ....

[s/v Faith]

Oh, no, that wasn't the good stuff...when I roll the good stuff I get ideas like this: Take a steel hull, twin bilge keel sailboat, install reinforced portlights, sealing hatches, ballast tanks, compressors LOTS o' extra batteries & electric auxiliary, when storms threaten SUBMERGE & wait it out! Proceed to fave anchorage where instead of swinging on the hook, sink to the bottom resting on twin bilge keels, tip of mast emerging above surface gives snorkel ventilation + video of goings on topside; below you're listening to Vivaldi and watching fish swiw past the windows as you eat your Ramen noodles...!

I am thinking you would need a large banner on the mast to warn away salvage crews and notify your mates in the anchorage that they did not need to mount a rescue attempt!   

  That and use special fasteners so the divers who are accustomed to stripping sunken boats could not remove your exposed hardware... those guys are like vultures on roadkill.... and may not be dissuaded by the eyes looking back at them through ports. 

[s/v Faith]

I'm constantly having crazy ideas about boats; usually impractical, never happen, but I just wonder: possible? Just to pick one!...Suppose I have two identical model monohull sailboats, say, two Catalina 27's, same year...can I join them into a Catalinamaran? Or: 2# Cut the bow off of one Catalina, the stern off the other, and epoxy together a Catalina Ketch? 3# Two Catalina Ketches into a Megaketchalinamaran? ;^) 

I listened to a guy talk about doing this with a pair of macgreggors.  He was... shall we say... a bit of a um.... how shall I say this.. he was a liar.

  He was the one who tried to convince my First Mate about how the gulf stream ran at 7 knots and how small boats of less then 35' could not cross it for scientific reasons... he was quite adamant about this.  He said that many tried and were never heard from again.  I wanted to ask where the big collection of small boats washed ashore but let it go.

  I was next to him in the yard when he hauled out his newly acquired production sailboat.  He was planning to spray the hull  (just feet away from me) so my launch date got pushed forward.

  He ended up spraying GELCOAT on and then tipping it with a paint brush.  It looked like it had been applied with a leaf rake! 

  He was all very impressed with himself.  Full of 'better ideas' that one was.   

[s/v Faith]

never answered the question.

  Here is what I was thinking about in the hours I entertained myself with this guys claim.

1. 2 monos are not the same as a cat.  The hulls are much heavier, and the wetted area is going to be significant.  You would have to remove the keels if you wanted to gain the advantage of a multi... and then refit some kind of dagger boards to keep it from sliding sideways.

2.  The masts along side of each other would seem to be be unsailable on all but a broad reach.  Whatever point of sail you choose would blanket some other sail and steal it's wind.  If you replaced the rigs with a single stick you would need to create the mother of all attachment systems.... which you would need anyway since the weight of these two former mono's would be substantial.

3.  The two rudders, and their attached steering linkage would be something to see.

4.  You would have a multi.... 



Fun stuff to think about though.     Grog to you for the exercise.

[CapnK]

Attach the two monohulls which typically sail at 15 degrees of heel to each other at the gunwales, so that they are heeled into each other already. Then, when under sail, the windward hull would lift, and you would only have one hulls' worth of wetted surface. Unheeled, you'd have shallower draft than the normal monohull on it's own. It could sit on the bottom like a bilge keeler. Sailing, one interior would always be level - no need for gimballed stoves, or lee cloths. One stick would always be vertical, to be able to use the full sail area, and the counterbalance of the other hull would work very similar to water ballast.

I don't know why they haven't made sailboats like this always, it makes perfect sense. Maybe because it would be too expensive to have to have duplicate equipment onboard, depending on which hull was sailing.

[SV Wind Dancer]

Comparing me to the liar and idiot of your recollection, SV Faith, did me some service, I was beginning to have unreasonable expectations about this group. Simply for my enjoyment, though...one more before I lurk.  Picture a fleet of sailboats arriving at a favorite island anchorage, each towing one length of floating dock module with a couple prefab sections lashed topside; on arrival the modules and sections assemble to become a floating private marina with a bar & grill.  And there ya go. Thanks for the imaginary grog, I pour it out to Poseidon as it appears I need the luck!

[s/v Faith]

Comparing me to the liar and idiot of your recollection, SV Faith, did me some service, I was beginning to have unreasonable expectations about this group. Simply for my enjoyment, though...one more before I lurk.  Picture a fleet of sailboats arriving at a favorite island anchorage, each towing one length of floating dock module with a couple prefab sections lashed topside; on arrival the modules and sections assemble to become a floating private marina with a bar & grill.  And there ya go. Thanks for the imaginary grog, I pour it out to Poseidon as it appears I need the luck!

Oh no, I promise that was not my intent at all... just conjuring up some dusty recollection.

  I did not in any way intend a slight.  Please accept my apology. 

[tomwatt]

Well, it's comforting to know I'm not the first that pondered pairing up another (in my case, Bristol Corsair) hull alongside mine. And I did think through the nightmare the attachment system for the mast out on the trampoline was going to be.
And while I did not consider sinking my boat, I did consider looking at going for a complete watertight batten down for storms. Until I researched the cost of the hardware. Cheaper to just sink and start over.

[Pablo]

...  Picture a fleet of sailboats arriving at a favorite island anchorage, each towing one length of floating dock module with a couple prefab sections lashed topside; on arrival the modules and sections assemble to become a floating private marina with a bar & grill.  And there ya go. Thanks for the imaginary grog, I pour it out to Poseidon as it appears I need the luck!

I love it! Have some more grog.

[s/v necessity]

I had thought of the pairing up concept before too.  Not to achieve the performance of a cat, but to allow two boats to be managed more as one  (connect the rudders together).  And to allow them to go their separate ways if necessary.  However now that I think about it, maintaining two 26' #6000 boats has got to be alot more trouble than managing one 32' 12,000# boat.

[Christopher]

This reminds me of the Enterprise in Star Trek the Next Generation where they could separate the hull section from the upper decks... 

[newt]

This reminds me of the Enterprise in Star Trek the Next Generation where they could separate the hull section from the upper decks... 

Isn't that what a lifeboat is? If I am ever sinking I will just call to the crew for  the saucer separation!

[Pablo]

This reminds me of the Enterprise in Star Trek the Next Generation where they could separate the hull section from the upper decks... 

Isn't that what a lifeboat is? If I am ever sinking I will just call to the crew for  the saucer separation!

It will also work if you have to do battle with the Borg.