READER ALERT -- THE FOLLOWING LETTER IS FROM (GASP!) A CATAMARAN DEALER. [R.G.] Dear Forum, Well..."bold and virile" the MCAT 88' may be. (available for viewing at: http://tinyurl.com/2ug5z7) But new? No. And does its functionality appear to equal it's "hunk-iness"? Alas, definitely not! The MCAT 88's design's lines/exterior smack closely (albeit with perhaps greater elan) of the "Sophie," a 60-plus cat project, whose drawings were first presented to the public about 5 years ago. (And I believe the first one is launching -- or has just launched -- at an Asian yard.) This MCAT design also appears to be but an aesthetic refinement of a design that Kurt Hughes created a couple of years ago. (Who was actually first off the boards, I don't know.) Not that that makes the MCAT 88 "bad"....but it's not a new profile/configuration. (Having said that, I quite like its appearance.) Unfortunately (and this is a MAJOR "unfortunately"), a hot exterior sometimes reveals a less than stellar layout. Such, alas, appears to be the case here. And, as a cat dealer who is forever fielding the questions/complaints of would-be buyers, as soon as I saw the interior photos of the MCAT I saw some things that are considered by would-be-buyers as at LEAST a nuisance -- in some instances, outright deal-breakers -- among smaller cats. So, if there's deal-breakers in smaller, MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE cats, such items should NEVER (IMHO) be present in so much larger-and-costly of a yacht. There's simply no excuse for it. In no particular order: GALLEY -- whew...."where's the beef"? It seems so small. And accessing a hot oven at a right angle like that? BAD ergonomics. (which is probably my biggest complaint about this boat ... of course that's based on simply my quick, cursory 5-minute view of the various photos. The ergonomics may, in fact, be better than these photos suggest....or worse!) UNEVEN SALON SOLE .... PLEASE!, when underway, the presence of steps is a major drawback in any yacht. (i.e., the nine (!!) steps separating the galley from the dinette on one of the Hood power cats...similarly, the multiple staircases in most of the power cats currently being exhibited at Annapolis and Miami powerboat shows, etc. BAD DESIGN!) These different "platform heights" seem no problem in the calm setting of a boat show. But underway, in a seaway, they're a CONSTANT aggravation. KNEE-&-SHIN-BUSTER bed frames. PLEASE!!! Nine-year-olds have no problem climbing into or out of hard, wood-framed beds. But past about that age, such solid and unyielding perimeters are nothing but an aggravation. Oh sure, they LOOK great, with all that fine wood trim. But either have the mattress overhang the bed's base by just a 1/2" or so...OR have well padded/upholstered frames around the mattresses. But these wood perimeters will elicit a never-ending string of epithets during any entrance into, or exit from, said wood-framed beds..especially during the dark of the night. SINKS WITHOUT FIDDLES: Yeah, yeah, I know...cats are "stable." Nonetheless, in my experience ANY counter that houses a sink on a boat should have fiddles. One need only spill a bit of water while washing ones hands or face, or rinsing off the mornin's shaving cream...or whatever...and suddenly, that ounce or two of fluid that's so innocuous on a stable, shoreside countertop, becomes like unbridled mercury, flowing every which way, but INVARIABLY over the exposed lip and onto the floor, AND the front of the clothing of whoever's standing at that counter lip. A small fiddle (raised lip) secured along the counter's edge keeps the liquid on the countertop for just those few seconds while you grab for a towel. And while attaching fiddles to a counter's edge, PLEASE leave a 1" or 2" cut away somewhere along its length so crumbs or particles one is trying to wipe from the counter top can be flitted into a dust pan, open palm, whatever. Those who fully fiddle a countertop should have their own particular substrata in the acquatic version of Dante's levels of hell. MAJOR DEAL-BREAKER! What's with the windows waaaaayyyy above the site lines of anyone sitting on the salon sofa or at the salon dining table??? YIKES!! Sure, I see there's a boffo/humonguous fixed port along either side of the salon....apparently just dandy for a second or two while someone's climbing or descending the open staircase. But I tell clients that any "small" cat (i.e. 35' to 60') that doesn't offer EASY, and UNIMPEDED visibility to the surrounding sea and scenery from the sofa AND the dining table should be considered a non-starter from the get go. So, to see that that apparently NEITHER of those seating areas offers "an EASY and UNIMPEDED" view outside of the yacht....well, if that's the case, then this is a PRIME example of creating a gorgeous yacht, which is nonetheless "bust" in terms of interior ergonomics. But again, I must stress: the above observations are offered as simply random comments about a design of which I have no first-hand experience, and only these half-dozen or so photos from which to make any observations. However, unless I'm mistaken on some of the aforementioned points, this (again!) is just one more power cat for which the designers have listened to their "inner design voice" with great precision....but have seemingly disregarded the all-important buying public's (seldom wrong) "purchase-voting" voice. And until cat designers DO pay attention to that public, we will continue to have the current crop of less-than-excellent power cat designs (ergonomically speaking) that currently leave that public -- and yours truly -- both annoyed and dismayed by the inherently BAD DESIGN CHOICES nearly all represent. (Given that I sell catamarans, that's a dismal reality to be faced with!) The good news? There are some really GOOD power cats (i.e., with smart, thoughtful, sensible ergonomics) now on the horizon. It'll be interesting to see if their launchings, in another year or so, reveal that their designers have LISTENED to what cruising power sailors actually WANT!?!) Cheers, Rod ("the design curmudgeon") Gibbons founder: Cruising Cats USA Seattle - Portland - San Francisco - Hawaii > >http://tinyurl.com/2ug5z7

Dear Rod, Interesting comments. The one that really gets me is not being able to see out the windows when sitting down. This is particularly galling on sailing catamarans because this is an area where they have a major advantage over keel boats where you are stuck below decks down in the hull. Regards, Malcolm Tennant. ps. As a designer I will be particularly interested to hear your 10 must haves. MALCOLM TENNANT MULTIHULL DESIGN LTD PO Box 60513, Titirangi. Waitakere 0642 NEW ZEALAND Ph: +64 9 817 1988 e-mail: malcolm@tennantdesign.co.nz www.tennantdesign.co.nz www.catdesigners.com