GL: Cats for the loop

[bruce carroll]

My wife and bought a pdq 34 last April.....and have put about 300 hours on
her, going from Stuart, stopping off at our home in Fripp Island, then
continuing up to Toronto via the ICW. For the rest of the summer we've
travelled up the Rideau Canal/Ottawa/Montreal...1000 Islands.
I only mention where we've been so you know that this boat has been stressed
tested under a variety of conditions and experiences.
The only other piece of relevent information before making comments about my
boat is that this is my  my first power boat....like most PDQ owners, I've
sailed for many years with my last sail boat being a Gemini. Another great
value boat.
1. I tested a whole bunch of trawlers before making this purchase.....but
sailing the Gemini made me a confirmed minstrel for cats. Terrific form
stability, yadda, yadda  but the two engines 16 feet apart make docking this
boat under any , and I mean any, kind of X wind, tides, etc as easy as you
could ever want. I really go into any Marina confident in our ability to
handle the twists and turns that we all have to do. When we arrived in one
Marina in Annapolis, a 20 foot birth had shrunk to just over 17 feet. It
happens. No problem with this boat.
2. The pdq offers more space/quality per square inch than any boat I've sailed
or cruised......full stop.
3. The claims about doing 15kt/4 gals/hour are true...well, maybe, more like
4.5. Or you can twiddle along at 8 kts and do it just under 2 gals/hour.
4. The site lines are fabulous.....top and bottom.
5. There is storage galore......we simply can't fill it up....nor should you.
Like most cats, she is Very sensitive to weight...more importantly, the
distribution of that weight.
6. I can't understand the chap who said it was too difficult to get to the sea
cocks or transmission (the other stuff is easy) . Yes, you do have to lift up
the articulated mattress, remove two light floorboards, climb over and maybe
climb down and straddle the drive (I don't)....but really. I can't believe
anybody who has owned a sailboat under 42 feet would find it awkward. I
certainly don't.
7.Two Queens plus King fill-in , in the main cabin. If you have
kids/grandchildren....a terrific playpen.
8.I've only found three things that have made me question the IQ of the
designer......
9. The Yanmars are the best.
10. This is simply the first boat I've owned where I didn't immediately feel
the compulsion to get something bigger. A compulsion which I never
ignored.(How do you buy 7 boats with none of them being owned for more than 3
years? Sick.  Brokers love me.
11.As Lee Iacoca might have said....if you can find a better boat, buy it. But
I don't think you can.

Bruce Carroll
Butterfly




> Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2008 04:05:10 -0700> From: valhalla360 at yahoo.com> To:
great-loop at lists.samurai.com> Subject: GL: Cats for the loop> > A lot is going
to depend on what your disability is.> > Most Cats still have stairs to get to
the different areas. Also a lot of the> newer boats over 40 foot have what I
consider extreme freeboard pushing 6+> feet. It allows for nice standing
headroom inside and keeps waves slapping the> bridge deck down. If you are
docking it is going to be a problem getting tied> up without help on the dock
and getting on and off can be a problem if you> can't get the stern stairs
next to the dock.> > One nice thing about the power cats is if you keep the
speed down in the 6-8> knot range, you get really nice fuel efficency, but if
you need it, most will> do 15-20 knots.> > On the loop we have seen a lot of
power cats. The two most common:> > The PDQ 34 seems to be the most common. It
has nice wide side decks and is a> managable size. We would consider it if
switching to a power cat. Haven't seen> any of the larger versions.> > The
other that we see a lot of are the Endevor cats. They have a mid 30foot> and a
44 foot model. I think of these as being like a Jeep. If you look at it>
stricktly from a styling point of view, they are butt ugly. If you look at
how> form follows fuction they are gorgeous. Excellent interior space. I
would> definetly consider swapping out or Gemini for an Endevor 36 if the
price was> right. (not sure if they are still building the smaller version)> >
One word of advice when getting a slip. Give the marina your length, width
and> draft. If you tell them you are a catamaran some marinas will charge
extra (or> even claim they can't handle you). Of course if you get a monster
with a 25> foot beam they will probalby catch on and charge you anyway. I
figure if they> have all the pertinent data and we fit into a normal slip,
they will have to> explain why they want more, which they probably won't. Push
comes to shove,> we've never not been able to get a slip, but we only have a
14' beam.> > As mentioned we have a Gemini sail catamaran. We do know of a
couple that have> had the mast removed and the motor upgraded to a 60hp
(typical is 25-40hp).> Haven't seen them, but they claim an 8 knot cruise
speed. With our 25hp, we> can cruise at 6 knots. Excellent value for the
price.> > If stairs and docking are a concern, I would consider a house boat.
Most have> modest freeboard and many have a single level layout. For most of
the loop> they are plenty seaworthy. When you do get to the few places you
have to go> offshore, just be patient and wait for good weather.> > Mike &
Tammy> Valhalla II (Gemini 3400)> Currently Myrtle Beach, SC> > >
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