Sailing Area for the British and other non-EU nationals
We looked at some condo cats and also looked at the idea of selling up and sailing off for good. Unfortunately the current post-Brexit situation means that it has become very difficult to start this process - our first thoughts had always turned to Europe and the Mediterranean - indeed the idea of a cat which would fit the French canals had always appealed. Now (2024) we are classed as a third country so Brits without additional visas may only stay in the Schengen area for 90 days in any 180 days.
That makes it very difficult as you need to get yourselves out of the Schengen area every 3 months - and the number of non-Schengen countries is decreasing. Currently as I write, you can visit North Africa (although it is not a favourite with insurers so can be pretty expensive). The other countries are Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Cyprus, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Albania and North Macedonia.
So you've got a pretty long way to go in that 90 days. Of course you do have the option of applying for visas for a longer stay but these need to be done on a country-by-country basis, each costing time and money. There is no "I'd like to stay in the EU/Schengen for more than 90 days" visa.
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Beam Matters More Than You May Think
One of the factors we had paid too little attention to when acquiring a cat - even one of modest beam (less than 5 metres/16 feet) - is that it restricts you in 2 ways :
- Hauling out
- Marina berthing
In the past we had been turned away from boatyards because our Rival 41 was too heavy for the crane/boat hoist. Now we discovered that only a fairly small proportion of yards/marinas cater for wider beam. On the River Dart, for example, only 2 of the 4 places we could haul out can take our beam. One boatyard has recently decided not to take multi-hulls at all - despite us hauling out there before. The wider you go the more difficult it is.
Much the same is true when you ask for a visitor berth in a marina - these days they take bigger and bigger boats but that's on the basis of length not beam. If you get lucky then you will be offered a berth on a hammer-head or an outside pontoon but, especially at busy periods, expect to be on a mooring or at anchor.
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Budget and Running Costs
The cost of a condo cat often starts above 6 figures (GBP) and there are many from half a million pounds and upwards. So there is often a pretty enormous disparity between cost of an older cat sub 40ft/12m and the more modern cats. As I've mentioned elsewhere, the cost of building smaller boats, cats included, is not matched by the price for which they sell. So you will find fewer small boats being built and that's particularly true of cats.
Not only is the purchase price a big issue - but the larger the boat the more the cost of repairs and renewing gear goes up - and the line is NOT linear - bigger boats cost MUCH more to maintain. In addition, condo cats tend to have a lot of extras and goodies - partially because the main market is the charter fleets and partially because there are a great many in the West Indies. So luxuries such as air-conditioning, washing machines, dishwashers and water-makers are fairly common. Charter cats also tend to have a great many berths - 4 double cabins, each with an en-suite heads are available in much greater numbers than the "Owners Version" simply because of demand. Even if you don't need 4 heads you may be stuck with them. You can of course convert them but its not an easy job with moulded hulls and you'll still have the holes in the bottom.
We did find one or 2 affordable condo cats and considered them - notably the Lagoon 380. But even then the layout presents some downsides for a European climate, especially the north of Europe. See
Accommodation below.
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Accommodation
It's a bit of a broad generalisation but many condo cats are built for the tropics and the general theme seems to be a deck saloon with galley up - which takes up quite a lot of lounging room. But then they often have very generous cockpits which also provide space for dining and lounging. Ideal in some climates but not necessarily in our part of the world.
They do tend to be amazingly luxurious and to have wonderful all-round views. There are some however who doubt the resilience of more modern mass-market boats with lighter build quality. If you Google there are several catamarans where significant structural issues such as loose bulkheads have been reported. Having said that, there are other issues known with certain modern models/makes of monohull e.g. keels dropping off.
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Berths
I mentioned earlier that there are usually far more berths on a condo cat than the average cruising couple, or even cruising family, need. The effect is that the living space is more restricted - notably when compared to the galley down catamarans - and the cabins won't necessarily have good views or island berths. Island berths are notable by their absence on most cats till you get to the really vast ones with owners' suites whereas even some moderate sized monohulls have an island berth for the owners (e.g. a Moody 36 we looked at many moons ago).
Some cabins can be turned into office space or workshop space but its not always easy.
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Galley Up vs Galley Down
You may say that I verge on paranoia at this point. You could be right. I once cooked for my boyfriend and two of his friends in our lounge/diner/kitchen whilst a student. Sieving the lumps out of the custard while they tried not to watch was not one of my finest entertaining experiences. Doubtless you don't do things like that - but even if you want to leave washing up the pots and pans till after supper then having the galley down will hide your sins. Pro-rata there is more galley space in a hull than is achievable on the bridge-deck - though against that you should measure the much larger beam that these condo cats have when compared to their smaller sisters.
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