Fusion Catamarans Have Sailed Home
From humble beginnings in Airlie Beach in North Queensland to a major composite manufacturer in Composite Marine Industries/Cobra in Thailand, Fusion Catamarans have come full circle and returned their manufacturing back to South East Queensland, Australia.
The Good, the Bad and the Downright Ugly
Just after Christmas 2009 our family decided to go sailing once again after being land-locked in Darwin for 18 years. We had made a decision that we needed a boat and that we needed to become a sailing family and have some fun as work gave us all (me) rectal pains. I think I already had it in my mind that we would sail extensively but I had no idea what could happen, and what could eventuate with Chaotic Harmony and our family.
Designed by Roger Hill • Built by Noosa Marine • images James Dumergue
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This project began with a call from the client enquiring about a 14m semi displacement alloy/composite (composite fly bridge) RHYD power cat that was for sale. He needed to confirm the overall dimensions as it was critical for fitting into their berth, the beam was about 50mm too wide, Murphy’s Law. They were very disappointed as the boat ticked most of the boxes for what they were looking for to take long range cruising holidays out of Perth, WA.
Alex Stone provides pointers to storm seamanship in a catamaran after a difficult Tasman crossing.
The Tasman can throw it at you. And it did. On an eastbound crossing from Bundaberg to New Zealand we survived two gales and one intense storm. We sailed nearly 400nm without rudders. We sat at sea anchor for a total of eight nights. A weather window that should have been open – no less than six prediction systems assured us of it, two weeks of westerlies, none more than 25kts – well, that weather window had slammed shut. Decisively.
Tasman: (synonym) unpredictable, challenging, arduous.
The journey of a couple who built the catamaran of their dreams and then went sailing – the hows, whys, and wherefores of it all.
Courtesy Boating New Zealand
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