What is a catamaran: advantages and disadvantages
The word “catamaran” comes from the Tamil word and means “logs bound together”. This type of vessel was very popular among people of Oceania and Polynesia, yet the materials were not firm and cats were hardly usable for long distances.
A modern cat is a multi-hulled watercraft featured two parallel hulls of equal size. The most prominent feature is great stability and lower resistance to passage through the water.
There are several advantages of such a type of watercraft:
- Greater stability in comparison to monohulls
- Elimination of seasickness for passengers
- Fuel efficiency due to steadiness of rise in speed
- More comfortable to stay aboard because of spaciousness
- Greater load distribution because of the rectangular shape of the hull
However, catamarans are not about speed of ride because of their design, they can be easily overturned by a huge wave, and their construction complexity is a reason for high cost.
