Admiral 38
Shhhh, don’t tell Famous Potatoes she’s being included in an article about starter cats. She thinks she’s at least 42 feet long, and she’s about convinced me of it too. The most impressive thing about this boat is her incredibly spacious feel. Owners of larger cats have come aboard and exclaimed,“Wow, you have so much room! What a beautiful boat!”
I fell in love with her lines when I first saw her at the 2005 Miami Boat Show. She looks sleek and fast, and indeed she is. On passages I love to see another sailboat ahead of us,especially if it’s a larger cat.I like
to sail past and pretend I’m reading a book. She is capable, too. I sailed her from South Africa to Florida with 25-to-37-knot winds and some 20-foot waves for the first three days. We reached top speeds near 20 knots while surfing down them. The autopilot and boat both handled it with ease, but I admit that on two occasions I had to grab my wineglass as it slid across the dinner table.
The roomy, open galley-up is brilliantly laid out, a pleasure to cook in, and easy to clean. We entertain a lot and once had 26 fellow cruisers partying aboard. We have the owner’s version, and our bed is huge; the fore/aft layout means there’s no crawling over one another during the night. The 2-foot, 9-inch draft put the Admiral on our “top three” list immediately. In the clear waters of the Bahamas and the Caribbean I can sail right through reefs that other cats (to say nothing of monohulls) fear. We love finding a secluded sandy beach and anchoring in 4 feet of water; then taking a stern anchor ashore so we can step off the sugar scoop and walk in to our private beach paradise.
What more could you want from a 42-foot—whoops, I mean a 38-foot—cat? She looks lovely, feels good, and sails beautifully.We love this boat!
Fact File
Admiral catamarans are built in South Africa; there is also a 40-foot model. The 38 is available in two versions—sailaway and executive—with varying levels of trim and equipment.
LOA: 38'
BEAM: 23'1"
DRAFT: 3'4"
DISPLACEMENT: 18,700 lbs
ENGINES: (2) 29-hp
PRICE: $349,000 (sailaway)
