Guide to Buying a Monohull Sailboat

There are many different types of monohull sailboats, including types that are livable or not, dinghy or keel type, racing boat or pleasure boat. Buying a monohull sailboat is a crucial step in starting the freedom of sailing on the sea, and this guide will take you through an in-depth look at monohull sailboats to help you choose the one of your choices and start your journey on the sea without any problems.

Features of monohulls

One of the most distinctive features of a monohull sailboat is that it has only one hull. In addition to this, it has a narrow profile, a triangular-shaped bow, and a split two-level living space. When it comes to marina mooring, monohull sailboats have a significant advantage. Most marinas are designed to accommodate monohull sailboats, while some marinas have difficulty accommodating the beam of sailing catamarans and power catamarans. As a result, buying a monohull sailboat is much easier than a catamaran, both in terms of finding a year's worth of moorings in the home harbour and after sailing.

Monohulls will lean substantially when sailing because the pressure of the wind acting on the monohull sails causes the monohull hull to tilt sideways. Unlike multihulls, where lateral lean is almost non-existent (less than 5°), monohulls can easily reach an angle of lean of more than 20°. In this process, the skipper is keenly aware of every movement of the boat as it sails. Adjusting the sails is much more delicate, and accelerating is much more powerful, making it a true sailing experience.

Benefits of buying a monohull

There are many reasons why most people choose to buy a monohull sailboat over a catamaran, here are the benefits of buying a monohull sailboat:

Excellent balance

The keel is the weighted element located below the draft line in the center of the hull that keeps the boat balanced and counteracts drift. The rudder is the submerged portion of the rudder underneath a monohull sailboat, located at the rear of the boat, usually guided by a steering wheel, and is used to deflect the current to change the direction of sailing. Some sailboats smaller than 30 feet still use tillers because they take up very little space, but are more laborious to operate than a rudder.

More space and visibility

Monohulls are usually equipped with two steering wheels, giving the driver more space and visibility. The two steering wheels are located on the port and starboard sides, a design that frees up a lot of space in the center of the cockpit. In everyday use, whether getting on and off the boat or engaging in water activities such as swimming after mooring, this provides more space to move around and enhances the experience.

From the viewpoint of vision and maneuvering, the design of two steering wheels has more obvious advantages when dealing with upwind sailing. With two steering wheels, the driver can control the sails more easily and accurately, and at the same time have an all-round view of the surrounding water conditions, which effectively improves the safety and maneuverability when sailing against the wind.

Good upwind sailing ability

Monohulls have an outstanding ability to sail upwind, which is one of the significant advantages of monohulls. Compared to multihulls, monohulls are able to sail on average 10 to 20 degrees more upwind, which significantly reduces the distance travelled upwind. The unique shape of a monohull sailing yacht fits perfectly into the contours of the waves and gives the helmsman a sense of security when the sea forms troughs several meters deep. In addition, in terms of maintenance, monohulls have a small surface area in the water and are light, making them easy to lift and less costly to maintain on a regular basis (e.g. re-fit, anti-fouling, etc.).

Cost of buying a monohull sailboat

When buying a boat, cost is a key consideration and monohulls have an advantage in this respect. From the purchase price, to the cost of mooring space, to the cost of ongoing maintenance, the overall overheads of a monohull sailboat are much lower than those of a catamaran, and the choice of monohulls is much wider than that of multihulls.

Berthing fees are a large expense for boat owners, and this is something to focus on when choosing which sailboat to buy. Typically, monohull sailboats are 20-50 per cent cheaper to berth than similar sized catamarans, and the cost of replenishing them while docked is lower, which is key to controlling the budget.