1. What Exactly Is a Sailing Hull?
The hull is simply to nautical term for main body of a sailboat. They can come in many different shapes depending on the size and type of sailboat. Most sailboats have one, two or three hulls.
2. A Breakdown of Sailing Hulls
A sailboat with one hull is called a monohull. Those with two or more are called multihulls. They can be divided into two categories: catamarans and trimarans. A catamaran has two hull joined by a frame and are said to have been used by the ancient Tamil Chola dynasty to move their fleets as far back as the 5th century AD. Trimarans are boats with three hulls. A trimaran is made of a main hull called a vaka and two smaller hulls called amas that are attached together with struts called akas. This type of boat was indigenous to native Pacific Islanders as long as four centuries ago.
3. A Closer Look at Monohulls
Sailing boats with a single hull are the most common. They're good because they move well in water even at low speeds. They also typically have more storage below deck. Monohulls have a larger carrying capacity and usually ride very smoothly. Resale value is high with monohull sailboats. The downside to monohulls is that they sit lower in the water which makes it easier for them to get caught on debris. They're also less stable that sailing boats with more than one hull.
4. The Pros and Cons of Multihulls
Multihulls include catamarans and trimarans. The pros to boats with this type of hull is they can move faster than comparable monohulls. Some sailors say there's as much as a 20 percent difference in speed. They're extremely difficult to sink and have a lot of cockpit and deck space. Multihulls usually can't carry as large loads and monohulls and they can sometimes be difficult to dock. Some people claim that multihulls may be harder to resell than the more traditional monohull, but this is open to debate. It depends what the demand is in your area.
5. Sailing Hull Bottoms
The underside of sailing hulls can vary. The occasional sailboat may have a vee bottom. The bottom is shaped, as the name implies, like the letter V. V-bottom boats can make for a smoother ride in rough water. The round bottom boat hull is more common in sailboats. These move easily through water even at slow speeds. They also tend to roll less.
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