#7: Decisions, Decisions!
It’s been pretty overwhelming at times, making decisions on all-things-sailing so far. Catamaran or trimaran? Buy a fixer-upper catamaran or build (for years) to our liking? Where would we even build a boat? Which company do we buy a kit from? Which specific design do we go with (and customize thereafter)? Aluminum hulls or fiberglass? How long of a boat do we need? Galley up or down? How many berths (bedrooms)? Master berth on bridge deck or in a hull? Which types of sails do we need at first, and what materials should they be? You get the gist.
First things first. Nick created a lengthy spreadsheet, comparing all the possible vessels we could buy or build, including info on light and heavy displacement, draft, performance ratio, estimated time to build if ordering from a kit, price, and so on. After much deliberation, we decided to build a catamaran of about 48-foot to 52-foot length on an empty lot that we already owned at the Texas coast. The next step was to design a structure to house the boat during construction. Metal barndominiums are very popular in a nearby coastal town, so we were inspired to go that route. Nick spent a good amount of time designing the metal structure for our future catamaran, which will later—after we dismantle the front facade and pull the cat out—transform into the design for a contemporary two-story barndominium, complete with balconies and a garage spacious enough to fit two vehicles and a fishing boat or RV.
As for building a catamaran from a kit, some of the features we were looking for included a safe, well-designed cruising boat, large enough for a family of full-time liveaboards and still be performance-oriented enough so that it can be fun to sail, even in light wind. Something worthy of every penny, bead of sweat, and minute of time we put into it. We eventually hired the good people at Schionning Designs, based out of Australia and South Africa, to customize their 49-foot-long Arrow 1500 catamaran for us. This year’s phone conversations with our affable consulting engineer at Schionning have been super informative and fun as we tweaked the original design and leaned on his knowledge and experience in sailing.
As of right now, our decisions are being set in stone—or, to be exact, cut (water-jetted) into composite panels—because the kit parts are in the midst of being cut in South Africa. The cutting and packing process should be complete by the beginning of November, but then we have to wait for a container ship to drop it off in Houston for us, which probably won’t be before mid-December. In the meantime, we’re working on sitework at the barndo before the construction of Felicity becomes all-encompassing!
