Dudley Dix has a new cat...

Over the last few years I have found myself going through something of a sea-change regarding multihull designs for cruising... I used to think they made lots of sense for cruising but these days, well not so much.

Which does not mean I do not think cats and tris don't make a lot of sense in some areas but simply where cruising and voyaging is concerned catamarans are not the way to go. I'll make a correction to that overly general statement and say that multihulls along the lines of the Wharram/Jim Brown philosophy can make a lot of sense but I'll go into all of that at some other time.

On the other hand, if you want to go into charter Dudley Dix may just have exactly what you are looking for in the Gunboatesque DH55 and new Dix 470 which are both very cool boats.

Dix certainly has a way with plywood and I am a huge fan of his DIDI series of monohulls (which have never quit being on my short list for the next boat I build). Unlike so many designers Mr Dix actually seems to have a feel for how to build a boat as well, which is not all that surprising since he has built boats himself in the same situation and conditions that his home building clients would encounter. This, in my opinion, is a great part of his success as he simply understands his clients needs.