vozdesign@earthlink.net

Despite the fact that Claire and I have been power boaters for most of our lives, this did not deter us from attending most of the sailboat shows on the East Coast. Year after year we visited the same boats or newer models, but nothing much moved us. Our interest in catamarans started with Claire's relatives in Virginia who sold their Seafarer 38 to purchase a Prout Snowgoose 37. As they've done extensive cruising, their research led them to choose a cat for the obvious reasons of stability and livability. We then subscribed to Multihulls Magazine and narrowed our focus at the boat shows primarily to catamarans. To our disappointment, most cats were out of our reach financially and too much boat for our needs.

Then at Newport one year, we ran across this guy enthusiastically detailing his Maine Cat 22. We explained that our ideal boat would have more accommodations and left him with our name and address. He responded by telling us of a boat that he was in the process of designing and was looking for folks that would be interested to participate in the development of said boat.

After many conservations, we made the decision that has subsequently change our lives and our long-term plans. We bit the bullet, gave Dick the mandatory deposit and secured hull #9. Mind you, we were not sailors and had an incredible learning curve ahead of us. When the boat was delivered, we were not without apprehension, but went ahead and started learning from scratch.

It's now been a little over a year and we remain totally in love with sailing (despite the frustrations of locking in irons still a little too often). But every sail is a new adventure and for the first time Claire is a full participating partner in this experience.

The Cat is ideally suited for life on the Barnegat Bay and has given us the confidence to venture further and in different conditions every time we have the opportunity. In fact, we like the boat so much that we offer this to any purchaser or delivery crew - on your way from Maine to your final destination, we welcome you of a stop over. The Barnegat inlet (under most conditions) is quite navigable, despite its reputation.

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