The HARDEST Decision When Buying A Catamaran

To get or not to get daggerboards, that is the question. And it was a huge, difficult decision we had to ponder for weeks. Especially because of this other option we never knew about called winglets.

Nikki Wynn

Jul 2, 2023 — 2 min read

The biggest benefit to hanging around such a bespoke boat factory is the unfettered access to some of the world’s leading experts. Because it seems there are new specialists coming in to collaborate on different boats every month.

And lucky us, we managed to make friends with Erik Berzins while he was visiting the factory. He is a Yacht designer and all-around incredible engineer at Morrelli & Melvin. If you know who M&M is, then you already know they are regarded as some of the best designers in the world. And wow, we learned heaps about all things sailing while carpooling to the factory and exploring on weekends together.

He designs and manages a wide variety of projects including some very cutting-edge multihulls with mighty fancy appendages (daggerboards, foils, winglets, rudders). And considering we wanted to make a video explaining why we choose NOT to get daggerboards…we knew he was just the person to help us break down exactly what all these different appendages do.

To get or not to get daggerboards, that is the question. And it was a huge, difficult decision we had to ponder for weeks. Especially because of this other option we never knew about called winglets.

Striking the balance between performance, maintenance, ease & cost isn’t easy. At the end of the day, we wanted a cruising boat. We’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of performance for ease of use and maintenance. Especially with the option of adding the winglets for a boost. It seems to be the perfect goldilocks middle solution for us.