At first a Catamaran might seem odd as the ideal charter boat - as Seth describes, they are notoriously hard to handle under power and the wind pushes them around in narrow channels.

But the disadvantages described by the Checkout 'skipper' aren't really there. Most cruising cats don't have enough power to lose their rig or even to get flipped. And really getting flipped is the biggest danger catamarans have - unlike "monohulls" who's keel will right them even if they heel far enough to put the tip of the mast in the water, a catamaran has no keel and at that point will flip.

Once flipped, the mass of the mast will keep her upside down until she sinks.

So cruising cats in the carribean are purposely "under canvased" (not enough sail area) to have this happen to them.

Now to the advanatages they have for cruising:

• with two hulls - albeit about 1/3 the width of a monoholl - they offer auditory isolation either between kids and parents or two couples chartering the same boat. (thnk Four Seasons
• with no keel, you are less likely to ground the boat.
• With two wide hulls, the boat heels dramatically less. So "non-sailors" don't feel as uncomforatable
• With a wide flat deck separateing the two hulls, you can have a more comfortable "salon" in which to spend any wet weather and a nice big net to go sunbathing on at anchor. The net also allos for watching the waer fly by underneath quite safely.
• Foot for foot, catamarans are a bit faster than monohulls.

All in all, its not surprising that the cruising fleet has largely converted to monos