Cruising is a maritime activity that involves staying aboard a watercraft for extended periods of time when the vessel is traveling on water at a steady speed. Cruising generally refers to leisurely trips on yachts and luxury cruiseships, with durations varying from day-trips to months-long round-the-world voyages.
A multihull is a boat or ship with more than one hull, whereas a vessel with a single hull is a monohull. The most common multihulls are catamarans, and trimarans. There are other types, with four or more hulls, but such examples are very rare and tend to be specialised for particular functions.
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a yacht, as opposed to a boat, such a pleasure vessel is likely to be at least 33 feet (10 m) in length and may have been judged to have good aesthetic qualities.
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.
A catamaran is a watercraft with two parallel hulls of equal size. The distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts resistance to rolling and overturning. Catamarans typically have less hull volume, smaller displacement, and shallower draft (draught) than monohulls of comparable length. The two hulls combined also often have a smaller hydrodynamic resistance than comparable monohulls, requiring less propulsive power from either sails or motors. The catamaran's wider stance on the water can reduce both heeling and wave-induced motion, as compared with a monohull, and can give reduced wakes.
Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls:
A trimaran is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreation or racing; others are ferries or warships. They originated from the traditional double-outrigger hulls of the Austronesian cultures of Maritime Southeast Asia; particularly in the Philippines and Eastern Indonesia, where it remains the dominant hull design of traditional fishing boats. Double-outriggers are derived from the older catamaran and single-outrigger boat designs.
A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another.
Beneteau or Bénéteau is a French sail and motor boat manufacturer, with production facilities in France and in the United States. The company is a large and recognized boat builder, with its holding company now also holding other prestige brands such as Jeanneau and its multihull subsidiary Lagoon in 1995.
A sailing hydrofoil, hydrofoil sailboat, or hydrosail is a sailboat with wing-like foils mounted under the hull. As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils lift the hull up and out of the water, greatly reducing wetted area, resulting in decreased drag and increased speed. A sailing hydrofoil can achieve speeds exceeding double and in some cases triple the wind speed.
A sailing yacht, is a leisure craft that uses sails as its primary means of propulsion. A yacht may be a sail or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, so the term applies here to sailing vessels that have a cabin with amenities that accommodate overnight use. To be termed a "yacht", as opposed to a "boat", such a vessel is likely to be at least 33 feet (10 m) in length and have been judged to have good aesthetic qualities. Sailboats that do not accommodate overnight use or are smaller than 30 feet (9.1 m) are not universally called yachts. Sailing yachts in excess of 130 feet (40 m) are generally considered to be superyachts.
ORMA 60 is a class of sailing trimarans administered by the Ocean Racing Multihull Association (ORMA) that created in 1996 by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) within the sport of sailing. The boats were built to a box rule that permitted 60 feet length and beam and a 100-foot mast.
Lagoon catamaran is a brand of twin-hulled boats that are designed and produced in Bordeaux, France.
Dragonfly Trimarans is a line of trimaran sailboats built by the Quorning Boats shipyard in Skærbæk, near Fredericia, Denmark.55°31′11.97″N9°38′8.08″E
Randolph L. Smyth is an American competitive sailor and two-time Olympic silver medalist. He is a multihull specialist, who won two Olympic silver medals racing catamarans, and has won innumerable national and world titles skippering multihulls. In a 2003 profile on him in Sailing World magazine he was described as America's greatest multihull sailor. He was born in Pasadena, California.
Nacra Sailing is a Dutch company that manufactures a line of small catamaran sailboats, or beachcats. NACRA was founded in 1975 to tap into the market created by Hobie Alter the founder of Hobie Cat, and several other companies offering small fiberglass catamarans designed to be sailed off the beach by a crew of one or two.
James Wharram was a British multihull pioneer and designer of catamarans.
Robert B. Harris was an American multihull sailboat designer.
The G-Cat 5.0 is an American catamaran sailing dinghy that was designed by Hans Geissler as a one-design racer and first built in 1975.
The G-Cat 5.7 is an American catamaran sailing dinghy that was designed by Hans Geissler as a one-design racer and first built in 1980.
