A Horror Story.... 2 year old boat major delamination... $33K repairs

[Owly055]

     I still don't have my boat ;-)  ......... but I'm still more or less on my timeline.    I've more or less concluded that the boat for me is a catamaran, but finding one that meets my criteria and is within reach is a challenge.  I've come to the conclusion that I probably will be forced to build.  There are numerous reasons for these conclusions.
      Ideally I would prefer to buy, rather than build, but my criteria on overall beam (wide), length (about 30'), adequate bridge deck clearance, with the bridge deck beginning well aft, full inclusive cabin arrangement, low windage (less than standing headroom being the price for good clearance and low windage), pretty much leave everything commercially built out.  I'm good with plywood, or foam sandwich.  Payload is important as this will be my voyaging home.   I want it fairly small with a fairly small rig.  There is a super abundance of space in a cat with a full inclusive bridge deck cabin.   Richard Woods Sagitta seems to fit the bill better than about anything else out there, though it is light on payload.

      In pursuit of possible commercial cats, I ran across a 35 foot Wildcat.... A stripped out shell, project cat, with good engines........ It of course has too little clearance as a concession to allow standing headroom, but it's hard not to find this interesting anyway.   What I dredged up on these cats built by Charter Cats of SA, is horrifying.   The first thing that I learned was that they are fully cored with end grain balsa, and built using polyester resin..... At that point my interest which was already just academic set me off on a quest of information.   The idea of end grain balsa below the waterline caused me to lose interest in one very attractive monohull early on, though there was not a record of a lot of problems with it.  This led me to a cruiser's blog called Bumfuzzle.   A Chicago couple who really were not cut out for the cruising life, they just thought it would be cool to circumnavigate.  The boat they purchased was a 2 year old Wildcat, and they had massive structural problems, resulting in a stop over in New Zealand for $33k (usd) in major repairs and many months.  The tale of the haul out and repairs and correspondence between the owners, the builder, and the surveyor is quite long, and it makes for interesting reading...... far too much of it.  https://www.bumfuzzle.com/2002-wildcat-catamaran-blistering-and-delamination/

Note that this story is from 2005

                                                             H.W.

[CharlieJ]

I have the study plans for Saggitta. Was planning her as a live-aboard for two. Another boat fell into my lap. 

By the way, I've met Richard several  times.

[SeaHusky]

If you are going to build and want more payload how about scaling it up and build a 110% Sagitta?
Or if you find a boat that has everything but too much windage perhaps lower the cabin roof a few inches?
My boat has just about everything I want exept standing head room and I have pondered raising the cabin 4". I have seen a picture where I think that had been done, perhaps already att the build stage.

[Bubba the Pirate]

I carried around the Wharram Catamaran design book for many years. I was convinced that I would build one.

My Emma, a Westsail 32, is a heavy, old school, full keel monohull; about as far removed from a Wharram Cat as you can get. For my own reasons, I am a committed monohull sailor and perfectly happy with my choice. :-)

Also, I have a copy of the Sharpie Book by Reuel Parker, who is building a boat right now at Riverside Marina where Emma is; another completely divergent concept. 

[Owly055]

If you are going to build and want more payload how about scaling it up and build a 110% Sagitta?
Or if you find a boat that has everything but too much windage perhaps lower the cabin roof a few inches?
My boat has just about everything I want exept standing head room and I have pondered raising the cabin 4". I have seen a picture where I think that had been done, perhaps already att the build stage.

Richard himself suggested building the eclipse hulls..... essentially 6% longer.   8200 lbs displacement loaded versus 5940.  Empty weight of Sagitta is 3960, versus 6100 for Eclipse.   That's over a ton more empty weight.   I don't need (or want) the larger accommodations.  What I do want is the payload, and bridge deck clearance.   It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that standing headroom in a cat of only 32 feet means giving up bridge deck clearance, and / or increasing windage.   I have no issue at all with less than standing head room in the saloon. 
     You will naturally note that the payload of Eclipse is only 120 lbs more than Sagitta.   A ton more boat for 120 pounds more payload.   A ton more boat for 2' more LOA.   Not a very good equation unless one is looking for more space and standing headroom rather than payload.    It's pretty clear that 2' more hull doesn't add up to 2100 lbs more boat.   50% more boat weight = 50% more materials cost........ and more time and work to build, and a larger rig & taller mast, bigger engines, etc.....
     My inclination is toward minimalism..... The smallest boat that will serve my live aboard voyaging purposes.   I found it interesting that Richard suggested exactly what I had been thinking... essentially that I build Sagitta on Eclipse hulls.   2260 lbs more loaded displacement, the same draft, the hulls are obviously fatter as well as longer.  I'm thinking that the topside stuff accounts for at least half of the weight difference, meaning that I could probably gain almost 1000 lbs payload.   
     3000 pounds payload sounds like a lot of stuff until you start to add things up.   Bodies, their personal gear, the food and water to sustain them, the safety equipment, life raft, dinghy, engines and fuel, furniture & upholstery, bedding, bimini, electronics, batteries, charging systems, ground tackle, galley equipment and cooking fuel, cleaning and maintenance supplies, spares, tools, bicycles for shore transportation, books, computers, entertainment system if you want one, the list goes on and on.   For me, a workshop area opposite (hull) the galley, well equipped for maintenance and fabrication / repair, is vitally important.  I demand to be self sufficient to the greatest possible extent....Always have.  I don't need a 4 hob cook stove and oven, and a bunch of galley appliances, or even running water.   A plastic water jug with a spigot works fine for me.  I wouldn't even consider anything other than a composting head.   The only shower will be a solar shower (gravity).  A watermaker is absolutely non-negotiable.  Far too many places have limited, expensive, or questionable water..... or all three..... I'm spoiled.   I have unlimited superb water at almost no cost..... the cost to pump it.... But a watermaker (home built) will be a weight savings, not a liability.   
     I suspect that few voyagers keep a really honest accounting of what they are packing onto their boat in terms of weight, and in particular, I would be willing to bet pretty heavily that nearly all multihulls are overloaded on passage, if not all the time.

                                                                  H.W.