Catamarans are among the fastest sailboats, specially the larger ones. A catamaran has twin hulls, but as these are very narrow compared with a monohull sailboat, they slice through the water with very little resistance. This is why catamarans are fast sailboats.

One of the most popular small catamaran is the Hobie Cat, which is about 16 feet long and a trampoline fixed between the twin hulls. The mast is mounted well forward on a crossbar between the hulls, to leave space for the crew of two – normally – to handle the boat.

You sit on the trampoline when the airs are fairly light, but lean out when the wind gets stronger. In strong winds, you need to be attached by a trapeze, so you can lean right out to counterbalance the effect of the wind.

Small catamarans like the Hobie Cat make for very exciting sailing. There are many other makes of catamarans of all sizes, for cruising and racing, but for the fastest ocean racing, trimarans are preferred.

Catamarans make good cruising boats because you get a lot of space below – well, not really below because the main saloon is above the water, between the two hulls. There is also room for sleeping cabins and the galley, etc, in the hulls.

Catamarans make fast cruising yachts

Catamaran are faster than monohull cruising or yachts owing to the two fairly narrow hulls. They have the speed and interior space of a larger sailboat. For example,

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