SAFETY

SPEED

“Speed kills”. This is the kind of warning you read on flashing boards above a motorway.

On a boat however, speed is actually what will help you prevent dangerous situations. Fast sailing catamarans covering 200-300 miles a day will be able to steer away from approaching bad weather systems.

Routing is nowadays not exclusively available to offshore race yachts, but to any yacht equipped with suitable electronics. The combination of weather routing and high performance helps you sail safely on long passages.

SAILING COMFORT

Comfort at sea is a crucial part of safety on board. Reading accounts of tragedies at sea, it appears that very often, the weak physical condition of the crew has lead to a lowered level of awareness and forced the skipper or crew to make a poor decision. It is obvious that a crew fatigued after hours and hours of extremely uncomfortable sailing in rough seas in a slow, pitching multihull is in a position to make the wrong call.

Round the world racers know that not only do they need to take care of the boat, but they need to pay attention to the physical condition of the crew. Sailing comfort is achieved through the following elements:

HIGH BRIDGE DECK CLEARANCE

The BAÑULS catamarans are seaworthy catamarans with a high bridge deck clearance (BAÑULS 53 : 115 cm, BAÑULS 60 : 125 cm, BAÑULS 78 : 160 cm) which will move through the waves much more comfortably than the average 40-60cm clearance seen on many sailing catamarans. Observations of modern design racing multihulls confirm none with a low clearance.

CENTER OF GRAVITY

A sailing catamaran that is less subject to pitching and rolling is not only more comfortable but also safer.

The BAÑULS catamarans are specifically designed so that all heavy equipment is located as much as possible around the mast. The carbon rig allows us to substantially lower the center of gravity.

UNSINKABLE

Unlike monohulls, a modern catamaran is virtually unsinkable.

Watertight bulkheads and sacrificial bows (crash box) all assist in this.

DAGGERBOARDS UP WAVES SIDEWAYS

In heavy beam seas, a catamaran with its raised daggerboards will slide down the waves much easier than a catamaran fitted with fixed fin keels.

SHEET CONTROLS

Being able to instantly and easily ease the mainsail traveler, the mainsail sheet and the headsail sheet is a major safety features that our deck layout allows. Read more in the SHORTHANDED SAILING section.

PUSH- BUTTON SAILING

We were tempted by the ease of push-button sailing that fits well with the concept of luxury catamaran and improves the aesthetics as everything hides under the deck, in the boom or in the mast but took the position that:

The more systems you have on board, the higher the risk of a system breakdown, and
These systems are heavy and not compatible with a weight saving obsession.

We do not feel comfortable with a fully recessed (and therefore not easily accessible) push-button sail handling system. These systems might be designed and manufactured by the best specialists – but this can never exclude the risk of failure. We take the view that these systems are adequate for large boats where a full time engineer is onboard, not for an owner-driven boat.

What happens if the in-boom sheeting system is not working?

What happens if the in-boom furling system is jammed?

What happens if the captive reel winch is not functioning?

We propose electric winches as an option since it is always possible to easily and immediately use these winches in manual mode in case of electrical malfunction.

The BAÑULS catamarans are offered as a semi-custom catamarans and if one owner is confident with the push-button concept, we can of course offer solutions.