WI the Royal Navy adopted the catamaran in the 1670s?

[David S Poepoe]

Sir William Petty in the 1660s developed the catamaran in his search to build a better boat. A few ships were built, getting progressively larger each time, and won races when they were sinking and taking their crews with them. These early catamarans suffered from being overweight and constrained by the rigging of the age. Its been mentioned that the fact that a catamaran warship could carry a heavy armament and still be shallow draft caused the Crown and the Royal Navy to worry about the possibility that the Dutch would eventually adopt these ships also. In the end, the ships were a little ahead of the time, but what if experimentation was continued by both the Royal Society and the Royal Navy.

These spry quick craft could serve as the eyes of the fleet and operate close to shore. I would wonder about the possibility of catamaran ships of the battle line - much like a sail driven Demologus.

 

[Max Sinister]

Or WI the Dutch invented them instead?

 

[Mike Stearns]

This could have an effect on the kind of ships that are built today.If this idea was adopted and perfectd, we might have seen ships like HMS Dreadnaught built as a twin hulled warship, which would probably have some definet advantages in naval artillery duels, as you would be able to increas the number of that ship can carry from to potentially as many as 8.You would aslo be able to bring more of to bear on at a time.

 

[Smaug]

much more stable gunnery platform.... and If they could make provisions for separating the hulls in case one was destroyed, all the better. ( I know, kinda Star Trekkish)

 

[Jason]

I don't know much about catamarans so, are they only suitable for inshore work and short journeys or is the design ok for crossing oceans and surviving atlantic storms etc?

 

[DuQuense]

A Catmaran holds the World [wind powered] speed record for both the Trans Atlantic and theTrans Pacific runs, and IIRC a Cat holds the Trans Atlantic record for any ship [wind or powered].

Having high speed mail ships on the Atlanic would change the whole politics of North America.

 

[MrP]

I don't know much about catamarans so, are they only suitable for inshore work and short journeys or is the design ok for crossing oceans and surviving atlantic storms etc?

Well, the USN has considered 'em. I'm sure I recall seeing plans for Russian and RN catamaran carriers in the last few years.

an AH WWII catamaran
Freight catamaran
Discussion of next USN carrier mentions a 13,500 ton catamaran type as an alternative to the "big uns"
Discussion of benefits of modern catamaran warship design

I think it'd certainly be interesting to see these ships as scouts. I don't know much about the practicalities and demands of the design. However, obviously they couldn't have the same facility in battle as mono-hulled vessels in the 17th C.

 

[Nik]

'Weird Ships'

IIRC, Victorians tried a catamaran Channel Ferry --Dover/Calais-- specifically designed to have a gimballed cabin.

In practice, the motion was 'too odd', even for sea-legged travellers, and there was some concern about being trapped...

Snag with catamarans and other multi-hulls is the torque in a sea-way. Fast craft may be wave-piercing, but that can limit deck load. Alternative is a *very* wet ship...

Hmm: limiting 'outboard' to proa floats etc could make for a *very* nimble craft, but vulnerable to damage...

Despite all that, it could be done, possibly strapping two slim hulls together as a gun-boat, then working up. Another route could be via 'mortar boats', flanked by barges to get them further inshore for siege work.

Er, I don't think the individual wing-hulls could be stable without some serious improvisation and hasty dumping of deck-loads.