Having decided on a catamaran, we reviewed as many as we could. The Solaris Sunrise 36 came closest to fitting the list of requirements and desirables as would match our budget. And we're pleased, after 3 years, that we made the right decision.
Lounging in the Deck Saloon
A deck saloon is truly wonderful. Ideal for relaxing, entertaining and watching everyone else around. Good on a hot day as its got lots of opening hatches/windows and perfect on a rainy day when you can watch all those poor people getting wet !
The Solaris has glass front windows and glass side windows so none of that crazed plastic. Light, airy and comfortable. And with a full-length glass door into the cockpit for more light and views.
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Accommodation Accommodation Accomodation
When I first went on board our 41ft monohull I was amazed by the space. But the catamaran beats it hands down in almost every aspect.
Full Queen-sized Double Berths
The two athwartship double berths in the aft cabins are very comfortable. Pillows are stacked inboard and there are views from bed both through the glass opening stern hatch and the glass side window. I cannot think of a better place to have a morning coffee and we often sit counting herons and little egrets from there.
There's also a forecabin with 2 bunk berths and the saloon seating makes very comfortable berths if you really want to pack in friends and family.
Large Galley with Raised Fridge and Oven/Grill
The galley-down model suits us best. Lots of condo cats have galley-up which is supposed to be friendlier. But in the Solaris (as with most smaller British-built cats) the galley-down allows a larger galley and the added benefit of keeping the saloon tidy. Nor are you isolated - its still easy to be part of the conversation - one of the benefits of being that little bit smaller than a condo cat. Facing outboard with views to boot, we have a long worktop, a hob and oven/grill. On the inboard side is a double sink with lots of space behind for a plate drainer, cutlery drainer etc.
Large Moulded Heads/Shower Compartment
Spacious, light with an opening hatch, the moulded compartment makes it very easy to clean. The showerhead is neatly enclosed in its own cupboard so tidy when not in use. Much larger than any heads/shower we've had on previous boats.
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Ease of Handling
One of the things we wanted from our "down-sizing" was lightweight gear and ease of handling - we wanted to be able to sail the boat for many more years - and we do almost all our sailing 2-handed (with a dog to add to the conundrum).
The mast is mounted at the front of the cockpit so all halyards are led directly into the cockpit - the sail handling is easy and so is moving the boat. My personal "bete-noire" is parking and un-parking - but with the folding props set 15ft apart manoeuvring the boat under sail or power is pretty easy - if it does take a little getting used to ! She seemed very big at first although she's 5ft shorter than our last boat its the rectangular bow which you need to get used to.
Twin engines with sail drives and folding props make motoring and parking/unparking easy and much quieter than our monohulls as the engines are insulated beneath the aft berths and well away from the saloon.
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Outdoor Space
Not only do we have a huge deck saloon, we also have a very spacious cockpit - lots of sitting room and good cushions, helmsman's seat and a cockpit table you can put up in a couple of minutes if you want it, instead of it cluttering the place when you don't need it.
The foredeck is again huge. Daughter and boyfriend had a Smorgasbord supper on the foredeck when they borrowed the boat - with an even better view of the river than from the saloon.
It's also a really easy space to use if you want to store the dinghy - on short trips it lives in davits but on longer ones we just pop it inflated on the foredeck if we're feeling lazy.
Access to the electric anchor winch is easy and safe - none of this hovering about on the pointy bit as we've done with our monohulls.
Line handling - including parking with our amazing Heath Robinson "catch-a-cleat" device - is also easy with so much space to move around on a steady platform. The top sides are quite high so we don't leap about as we used to - merely putting on a midship line with the device and then taking our time to put on the other lines at our leisure - using either the aft steps or the fender-step to get on/off the pontoon.
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Solar Power and the Luxury of Free Electricity
Having lots of power - especially since most of it is FREE - is a great luxury. The space on the coach roof allows room for 4 solar panels and, coupled with our upgraded house battery bank, means we can have lights, pressurised water, laptops, tablets, phones, TV etc. On an earlier boat the diesel heater used to flatten the house battery but that's not true on the Solaris.
Before upgrading the batteries we occasionally had to use our suitcase generator but even that is not unpleasant - it can be sited well away from the saloon and can barely be heard.
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