Phil Eslinger had written: Several years ago when I was researching what boat I wanted to have as a passagemaker, I found many very good advantages for a catamaran hull and only a few disadvantages. The first disadvantage is transient: it is a developing market here in the states and resale would not be as good for the time being. Also, finding marinas that could accommodate the extra width of a cat might be a slight nuisance. The one disadvantage that kept me away from a catamaran is hull slam in a heavy sea. I know that many cats have anti-slam nacelles to redirect the water, but it still remains a problem. I was reminded of this a week ago in Maui. I was diving with one company at Molokini and noticed a very good looking aluminum cat also conducting dive operations. I asked my captain if he had ridden on that cat in heavy weather? He laughed and obviously figured out what I was getting at. He replied that the boat in question had to be sent to Oahu earlier in the year to have its hull re-welded to the pontoons. Is there anything on the horizon to address this problem with passagemaking catamarans? I own a mono hull with a bulbous bow. When we are cruising in seas heavy enough to lift the bow out of the water, we get bulb slap which is obnoxious in its own right. I am considering moving to a mono hull with a fine entry bow. Brian Eiland responded: I am on again and off again about the advantages of bulbs. But I would venture a guess that your bulbs are cylindrical in shape as I have seen on a number of displacement monohulls. This shape will slap. It might be possible to add a new bottom shape to this bulb that might reduce this slapping. Brian Eiland beiland@usa.net http://www.RunningTideYachts.com distinctive multihull expedition yachts