Ketch or not to ketch

javsar · Post by **javsar** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:43 pm

Just a general enquiry to the proper sailers out there, is a ketch difficult to sail as compared to other types of sailing boats. If the answer is yes, with modern electronic aids can this be overcome.

DaveA · Post by **DaveA** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 3:55 pm

Never sailed one so can't really comment on that aspect, but I don't think they would be any harder than another type of sail boat. Personally speaking I like them

bobholiday · Post by **bobholiday** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:58 pm

I was looking at a Cat Ketch very seriously a few months ago. Gorgeous one available for sale at Weir Quay on the Tamar at the moment. Cat Ketch is VERY easy to sail and has two unstayed masts. Tacking and gybeing - you simply steer the way you want to go.

Only drawback is that anything other than a bermudan sloop rigged yacht can be a little more difficult to sell in the future. The vast majority of people want bermudan sloops.

bobholiday · Post by **bobholiday** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:59 pm

PS. Also, cat ketch and junk rigged are similar. No standing rigging. Tacking and gybeing - you just steer and it all happens automatically. Very simple. Less heeling than sloop, and cheaper to maintain. More reliable. Less prone to damage. Cheaper to buy. Less stress on the boat.

Why haven't I got one!!??

DaveA · Post by **DaveA** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:32 pm

Exactly what I was thinking Bob

Sounds like the kind of boat for me too

javsar · Post by **javsar** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 5:19 pm

OK. So a ketch has a lot going for it. For me (a complete beginner) what really appealed to me was the look of the design, it looks very impressive. Another plus was that you can get larger boats, with more room, important for me. ( will be traveling with family)

Another question, what do you members prefer as regards hull material and why?. I am interested in steel, any problems I should be aware on?

Post by **admin** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:46 pm

"Ketch" and "Cat Ketch" are different.

Steel - it's heavy (=slow) and it rusts. Hard to check integrity of an old steel hull without expensive x-ray work... it doesn't suffer from osmosis though!

DaveA · Post by **DaveA** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 7:09 pm

Different hull materials have different properties, and their own good and bad sides.
Wood - Can leak and rot, but is easier to repair than metal
Plastic - Can leak at joins and through fitting screws/bolts, and if made with a balsa core that can also rot, also you have osmosis to think about
Steel - Can leak and rust, also hard to tell how sound it is
Ferro cement - Never liked the idea of these but I can see how they appeal to some

Personal favourite would be GRP but wood comes a close second, steel if I was loaded, which I'm not, would be my choice from new or nearly new. I can't weld so anything old would be too much of a gamble.

javsar · Post by **javsar** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 6:50 am

I assume you would put aluminium in the same catergory as steel?

DaveA · Post by **DaveA** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 9:38 pm

Don't know much about alluminium TBH, but steel can be welded and as far as I know, alluminium can, but it's not easy to do

javsar · Post by **javsar** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 5:57 pm

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you all, but the slow pace of life out here is starting to effect me. The main reason I am interested in a large ketch, steel hulled and all the good/bad points involved with it, is I have seen a possible candidate for purchase. This will not happen anytime soon, but if its available at the right time, who knows!

I would like the yacht forum members to cast there expert eye over something I saw on ebay. Instead of me detailing everything please have a look for yourself, item number- 280290589729.

What do you guestemate the costs of getting something like this on the water. Would it be financially viable?

Would be interested to know what you think.

DaveA · Post by **DaveA** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 7:01 pm

Don't know what anyone else thinks, but personally, I think something smells decidedly whiffy about this.
They've spent what sounds like a fortune, on a steel boat, with nothing inside, and now they need to sell it quickly ?.
I know I'm a bit cynical, but before going anywhere with that I would want some answers from the boatyard, not the owner.
First thing I would want to know, is can the boat stay there until it's completed.
Fallen victim to one of these before, when I bought a 102ft barge and then found out it had to be moved, but couldn't be moved
Long story, but once bitten, never again. Find out where it is and try to speak to the owner of the yard for more info
Other than that, not a bad price for the boat, and you have a free hand with the internal layout too, hope you're good at design

javsar · Post by **javsar** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:11 pm

Were all good at dreaming what the interior of a boat should be like, we all have different tastes. Just out of curiosity what would you guess the cost of a refit would be. Top end price, done by pro`s/ low end price done with mates, buying gear of ebay and auctions.

As an example, a work collegue retired and he purchased a barge. To save costs he actually purchased the kitchen from Ikea and installed it himself. Seen the photos and it looks really good.

Your right to be cynical, but theres a credit crisis going on so people probably need to release funds one way or another. Maybe thats what happened here, a project taken on at a time when credit was no problem.

DaveA · Post by **DaveA** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:07 pm

To be honest, I would have no idea about costs, and wouldn't even want to begin thinking about it, if I did it would never happen

A boat is not something you want to try and budget for, if you looked into the financial side too much you would never do it

javsar · Post by **javsar** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:08 am

I know this sounds very simple, but if I viewed a house in need of some TLC and updating, I could give a guess as to what I think (by no means an expert builder) it needed and how much I think it would cost.

Is a boat interior that different/alien from that of a house.?? Or does it just sound expensive.