Dazcat design philosophy

Weight and displacement are among the most important design features of a performance boat – and here at Dazcat we pride ourselves on only designing boats that perform, often beyond their owners’ expectations. Face it, who wants to design a clunker? And as weight can kill the performance of a boat, it is imperative to design features into the boat that will improve its stiffness, lighten the structure and so enhance its performance.

We do this by structural analysis of the design while the boat is in its primary design form. We then work from the inside out, productionising and eliminating as many parts as possible, making the structure lighter, smoother, stiffer and simpler to build.

Dazcats incorporate the headroom needed within a reverse sheer deck line, combined with hull surfaces that are designed to form three-dimensional, elliptical curves for increased stiffness and reduced weight. Chines are features in our larger boats, increasing hull stiffness by dividing the hull sides into two panels. This reduces weight, expands accommodation and gets rid of the slab-sided look that can ruin a boat’s aesthetic appeal.

Plumb bows are a standard feature, in order to increase the boat’s waterline length, which will in turn improve the length to beam ratio of the hulls, maximising its speed.

Volume and performance are a good evaluation of a boat’s cost. By increasing volume you increase surface area, which pushes up the cost of the boat by increasing the materials and time needed to build; the trade off is more internal living space and hence greater value. The interior volume of most cruising Dazcats is maximized for comfortable cruising. A high freeboard gives plenty of headroom all round, increases bridgedeck clearance, prevents bridgedeck slamming and creates a much drier working platform.

Performance is partly determined by the power-to-weight ratio of a boat. Extra power can be generated by increasing either the sail area or the lift coefficient by using different rig formats. There are many combinations of rig, ranging in performance and cost, but increasing rig or sail capacity has its limits, and depends on the individual client’s ability to be responsible with the increased power and to sail within both helm and crews’ experience and skills in order to ensure safe sailing. Our boats are great fun but they are not toys and need to be sailed intelligently. When they are, they really fly!

Another option for improving performance can be reducing overall boat weight by simplifying the design. One can do this and not compromise the internal volumes; remember length is a good thing but filling it all up with accommodation may not be. Bridgedecks offer fantastic space and are especially useful in our chilly UK waters, but they also add to cost, weight and windage. Quite often one could look at a longer boat without a bridgedeck being similar in cost to a shorter one with a bridgedeck.

There are several considerations that need to be factored into every element of any new design: what level of performance you want; the type of sailing; and how much money you want to spend. Once you have made these decisions you are ready to talk to us and we can make a start on realising your dreams. Alternatively, we have established designs listed on this site that you can choose from, and we are always happy to talk through any modifications you may want to make.

It is always great fun being involved in helping design and building a dream boat, and it will be our pleasure to help make your dreams come true.

Dazcat history

Why choose a multihull?