Q&A with Collin Marshall on the Kinetic Catamarans sailing systems

You have been an integral part of the Kinetic team in fine-tuning the sailing systems. Can you give us a brief background of your sailing history?

Well certainly! I was born and raised on a 50’ sailing ketch in the Bahamas in the early 80s and have been fascinated with the sport and lifestyle ever since. Growing up mostly cruising I’ve always been extremely interested with how to squeeze every bit of performance you can out of all sailing vessels. After university, I moved to Newport, RI where I dove full force into the racing scene on types of sailing yachts such as 12 meters (previous Americas cup designs), Swans, Farr, Carkeek, and any other race machine that would take a very determined and eager bowman. As my racing career progressed so did my “need for speed” on the water which is when I asked to race on a GunBoat 60. After hitting over 20 knots consistently I was hooked and have been racing on all carbon fiber catamarans ever since. In the summer of 2016, I was asked to captain and project manage an HH66 to campaign regattas on the Caribbean and New England circuits. What I enjoyed most was not only the opportunity to focus on keeping these amazing carbon machines light in weight to maximize performance, but also to keep the sailing systems simple, innovative, and user friendly. I met Bob Hayward in 2018, when he proposed an opportunity of a lifetime to help build performance cruising catamarans in one the of the most beautiful places on earth, Knysna, South Africa.

What changes and decisions were made to improve the sailing performance of Kinetic Catamarans?

We focused on keeping the sail controls set up for short-handed sailing and to do so we had to be very careful of how the running rigging is set up. Larger catamarans tend to get overwhelming especially when the bigger sails get deployed so we teamed up with North Sails and Rigging Projects to ensure powerful sails are easy to handle for couples or just clients who want to go fast with minimal crew. All of our models come with a hydraulic main sheet system to minimize winches and deck hardware. We also set up push-button sail control panels next to the inside helm station along with repeater controls back aft at each outdoor helm seat.

 All of the sails once hoisted get put on mast locks to take the load of the sails which eliminates the halyard compression on the spar. Each sail has a designated electric or manual furler so once sail is locked off aloft it’s as easy as pushing the furler button or electric winch button for full deployment and trim of the sail. These are just some of the many systems Kinetic has adopted to achieve speed, safety, and of course simplicity.

The Kinetic Cats are set up for shorthanded sailing, what features allow for this and make sailing these performance cats easier?

Kinetic Catamarans have several features that help entertain short-handed sailors. For sail handling, we’ve set up all forward sails to be on a continuous or standard manual roller furlers that have control line running to electric winches. We can also upgrade the forward furling sails to be controlled by lineless eclectic or hydraulic furlers which is just a push of a button.

We’ve also adopted the furling mainsail into the boom working closely with Offshore Spars. This probably the most important feature for short-handed sailors because the mainsails being full battened tend to be a handful for just 2 people when raising, dropping, and especially reefing. 

Kinetic Catamarans also come with very powerful 3 speed electric Harken winches for furling and trimming sails. 

We have set up the anchoring procedure to be done completely from the forward cockpit with remote control. The anchor is recessed into the bridge deck with access to the chain and bridle in the lazarette. We found this much more practical then operating from the trampoline. We Also have a forward-facing camera that captures the view between the hulls under the longeron so you can see the positioning of the anchor or mooring ball. 

Kinetic Catamarans has installed Dockmate system to remotely control the engines and bow thruster for short-handed manoeuvring when coming into the marina. Again all of these unique features have been implemented into the Kinetics DNA from decades of shorthand experience. 

 From a sailing perspective, how have you found the forward cockpit and helm setup?

The forward cockpit is a must for cruisers in my opinion. Having the halyards and sheets running forward keeps the helmsman very close to the action which is important for communication and short-handed sailing. Imagine you are offshore sailing and you see unsettling weather approaching fast. Well with the sail controls and halyards being reachable from the inside helm you can quickly reef down and furl away sail without having to leave the safely of the forward cockpit while remaining close to the wheel. As an offshore sailor, I find these features to be brilliant when practising conservative safe passages. Steering Kinetic from indoors is more practical than one might think as it allows you to get out of the elements quickly while keeping  360 degrees of visibility through our large window panels. Again a very smart setup for short-handed sailing which is becoming more and more popular during the time of social distancing.

Some sailors have found that you get wet when in the forward cockpit. How have you dealt with this?

This can be true in certain weather conditions but for the most part, the water is deflected by the convex bridge deck. Kinetic has a very unique chine just above the water line which also help deflect water spray from climbing up the inner hulls and into the forward cockpit. When conditions are rough you can always put on a jacket before exiting the forward watertight doors to execute your desired sail trim and re-enter speedily to keep dry. Kinetic’s forward cockpit is equipped with a very large 4 scupper drainage system that keeps all likes of water from building up in this area. 

What about the coachroof mounted mast and curved traveller?

The coach roof stepped mast is remarkable for a few reasons. 

1. It allows for the large forward cockpit to exist and convert to a leisure station 

2. Halyards and sheets lead through the coach roof which allows for more organized line control stations

3. Curved tracks and travelers are easier on hardware due to the natural swing radius of the boom and sails.

4. It’s safer for these highly loaded sails to be sheeted above head level. 

Which areas of the KC62 have surprised/pleased you most? 

I’m still blown away by how much salon space has been achieved on the 62. Also the visibility is unbeatable in the performance catamaran world, there is just no comparison to Kinetic. My all-time favorite though is the forward cockpit. Action station while under sail that quickly becomes the desired area to enjoy a well-deserved cocktail while reflecting on the day’s events.

How have you found the boat speeds on the KC62? 

KC62 is nothing but impressive across the water for the standard rig package. Being the speed demon that I am I’m constantly looking for ways to increase performance whether that be speed or helm feel. She sails nicely upwind around 30 to 33 degrees apparent wind angle while achieving 10 to 12 knots of boat speed in various conditions. Off the wind is she is a different animal all together where we have found with the right sails deployed Kinetic can sail with 20 knots of boat speed quite effortlessly. 

The KC62 comes standard with centerboards rather than daggerboards. What has been your experience with them? Particularly for a performance cruiser.

For optimism racing performance daggerboards would always be my 1st choice, however, swing boards are a performance cruisers dream. Growing up in the Bahamas I’ve learned to sail in some pretty shallow conditions and the swing boards ease the stress of damaging the boat if Kinetic was to strike a submerged object or sandbar. We developed an inline fuse system that allows for the swing board to retract into the trunk after a certain amount of pressure gets applied to the board e.g. hitting a coral head. The fuse is simply a strop with lighter line, so once the fuse pops the board automatically releases and it stops the impact load from transferring to other areas of the boat. Replace the fuse strop and you are back sailing. Kinetic’s line-driven wet chive boxes are also a smart feature since there is no way for the swing boards to leak.

Can you tell us about the sail plan and why the North Sails 3di package comes standard on Kinetic Catamarans?

We are building performance catamarans and to me, nothing says performance like North Sails 3di material. Not only is Norths design team outstanding they are also very hands-on which is a quality we look for when producing high-quality cats. 3di is very long-lasting and durable which is great for owners who don’t want to buy new sails every few years. We build great boats and simply wanted great sails to go with them.

Kinetic Catamarans standard sail package consists of the Mainsail, Solent(jib), Staysail, and a J0(genoa) or FRO(screecher) all made from 3di. We also provide an all-purpose spinnaker made out of AirX for those fun downwind points of sail. All sails easily roll away on furlers on demand except for the main which is still dropped traditionally if a buyer chooses a slab reefing system. We are developing an option for the mainsail to be furled into the boom. 

The hull width of the Kinetic Catamarans is narrower below the waterline, how does this aid your sailing experience?

Having narrow hulls not only slices through the water better but we achieve less displacement which is very important in light air conditions. Narrow also means it’s more comfortable in large sea states allowing Kinetic to pierce through waves rather than pound which you would find more common if the hulls were wider and flatter.

Kinetic Catamarans offer 2 different rig setups, performance cruising and racing. Can you explain the difference for us and how are the boats otherwise modified for racing?

The difference is quite simple really as “bigger is better”(faster) when it comes to sail plans. Remember the rig is not only taller for more mainsail area but all of the spars increase. Larger boom means more leach projection, longer longeran means bigger headsails and so forth. Our racing 62 flagship comes equipped with daggerboards to help with lift performance. You can modify any boat to perform better but as a racer, I know the 1st step is to keep the boat light which we can achieve by removing excess fluids and some cruising installs. Let’s just say we don’t have to race with the washer/dryer and can remove it when getting ready for a regatta. Another rig upgrade is the standing rigging package where Kinetic uses all carbon Smart Rigging very comparable to EC6 in weight and strength, where on the standard rig plan Kinetic uses Arimid and PBO.

Can you tell us about the Rigging Projects’ shroud & forestay chainplate strop attachments and their advantages?

The soft strop chain plate attachments are very smart for a few key reasons. Soft attachments to metal fixings are easier on the alloy. Metal on metal can cause corrosion, pitting, and are just downright heavy. Rigging Projects does a very nice job of supplying an app and barcode system on their strops so the owner can scan and easily keep a record of when replacement is necessary. These days line is as strong if not stronger than stainless and as said above keeping weight down is key for performance.

The Kinetic Cats have a unique and easy to use docking system. Can you explain and tell us about the advantages?

DockMate is the name and what a game-changer it is for short-handed docking and manoeuvring. It is a remote device that links into your auxiliary power (engines), bow thruster and windless. It allows the helmsman to walk around the vessel while remaining in complete control when coming into a dock or up to a mooring or dropping or raising the anchor. The DockMate system allows you to control the throttles and bow thrust with a single joystick from anywhere on the boat.