Awkward dinghy boarding:

Since the transom corners are sloping forward from the low boarding deck, there is no convenient handhold while making the crossing from the dinghy to the ship. In calm waters or a marina this may be tolerable but in a rough anchorage with the boat pitching even moderately and the dinghy bobbing up and down this is not only just awkward but potentially dangerous. If the transom surface is broad and the stairs are narrow, it can be a real challenge to get aboard. Under these conditions an additional vertical side boarding ladder is essential . This situation was clearly observed after launching our recent project with this type of stern. Even in calm conditions everyone preferred to board on a springy stern netting installed between the hulls, rather than on the stern steps of the hulls.

The Visayan transom is not intended to be a boarding area, so appropriate and safe side- boarding ladders are always in place or available.

Obstructive Vertical Aft beam:

Catamarans require a strong cross beam between the hulls in the stern area. As it is not carrying the mast compression loads the after beam can be smaller than the massive forward beam, but it still remains a significant structural feature of the arrangement of the boat.

By elaborate arrangement of deck levels, helm stations, seats on the beam, winch and traveler track placement, and so on, the designer can make logical use of and somewhat reduce the obstruction caused by the stern cross beam. It almost always leaves a significant change of level however from the external side decks to the interior bridgedeck floor level. In many designs it acts much like a fence to clamber over as one moves about in the stern area of the boat. Usually the area aft of it can be used for nothing but a dinghy on davits. In harbor the after quarter of the boat between the hulls is an unuseable void.

Interestingly the bigger forward beam is frequently less obvious than the after beam, as it provides useful forward deck area, interior bunk or stowage space, and can be pierced in the hulls by doorways. We decided to apply the same functionality to the after beam.

The Visayan aft cross beam has been rotated to a horizontal position and buried in the after deck. Because it is an integral part of the large external deck surface and the interior salon floor/underwing the beam depth can be made quite shallow. We are able to design this depth to be the optimum amount between the aft hull sheer level and the slightly lowered bridge deck level. Generally this is only two very comfortable steps. We usually use the forward portions of the hollow beam for fuel or water tanks, and because it has so much surface area, we can also cut sizeable hatches into other areas of it to provide useful wet locker stowage without compromising it's overall strength. The result is there is no aft "fence", and a large and very useful deck area is created in the stern of the boat from sheer to sheer.

It is necessary to enclose this with stout lifelines of course, and provide as many hand holds as possible for safety when the boat is moving. Some of the stanchions are made removable to allow dinghy stowage on the aft deck when underway, with sufficient deck area still available for operation of winches and general traffic.

Loss of Deck area:

With the modern arrangement as much as 30% of the potentially available bridgedeck surface area has been removed from the boat, and in the raked area aft on the hulls themselves the surface can not be walked on due to the extreme slope. The reduction of bridgedeck area is inconvenient. The loss of hull stern deck area is functionally awkward and can present dangers. We have seen catamaran designs from well regarded designers which have almost no more useable exterior deck surface than a similar sized monohull.

In cold weather sailing or living aboard the interior of the boat is where most of life goes on, and this loss of deck area may not be missed so much, but in the tropics if shade is available life is lived outside as much as possible at the anchorage and even underway.

All of the Visayan catamarans retain the central stern deck area all the way to the transom, and at one gently cambered level from sheer to sheer. At first glance this may appear bulky when looked at in the plan views, but the usefulness and the overall feeling of spaciousness this provides to the boat is immediately appreciated when first stepping aboard. [back to features list]