Design and Construction
The 9M measures 29 feet 3 inches overall, with a 25 foot 4 inch waterline and a beam of 13 feet 9 inches. Dry displacement is 8,000 lbs, while its modest draft is 2 feet 6 inches. Its beam-to-LOA ratio is 0.466, narrow beside contemporary designs.
This is a solid-GRP catamaran with thick hulls and glass windows, very strongly built by period standards. Parts of the superstructure use sandwich GRP, including the solid foredeck, which carries no trampoline.
A staggered sheerline distinguishes the 9M from its siblings and allows easy aft access from a pontoon. The model also has a platform aft of the cockpit and transoms, a feature absent from the smaller 8M. Rather than modern sugar-scoop sterns with transom steps, the 9M has vertical transoms.
Underwater, widely flaring chines and overhanging bows combine with considerable rocker. This profile gives the boat maneuverability and allows it to skid to leeward in high winds.
Rig and Handling
The sail plan is a modest-area masthead Bermuda sloop. The mainsail has a straight leech, short battens, and no roach. Twin backstays run to the transoms to keep the forestay taut, while a babystay introduces slight mast curvature so the main can be cut fuller. Roller furling on the forestay simplifies headsail handling.
Early boats had lifting, dinghy-type rudders. The change to fixed rudders protected by a skeg allowed the boats to sail a little closer to the wind.
No Catalac has ever pitchpoled or been blown over and upturned, a stability record that speaks to the platform’s inherent security.
Accommodation
Below, the 9M has a conventional layout. Two main berths sit on the bridgedeck forward of the saloon, with occasional single berths farther aft in the hulls. The galley is set below in either the port or starboard hull, and there is one head and shower room.
An aft cockpit with protected wheel steering completes the arrangement. For a boat of this size, it’s a practical cruising layout.
Propulsion and Refit History
Propulsion options included twin inboard diesels sited aft or a single, centrally placed steered outboard.
The change from lifting rudders to skeg-protected fixed units was the most significant factory refit in the model’s history and improved its windward ability. The 1990s US revival, sold as the Catalac 900, updated the same fundamental design.
The Verdict
Writing in Practical Boat Owner, reviewers described the 9M as a competent, versatile, and long-lasting catamaran. Owner Jim Andrews has praised its interior layout and sea-keeping qualities.
Its strongly built hulls, stable multihull platform with no capsize on record, and practical bridgedeck accommodation make the 9M a sensible small cruising catamaran. The narrow beam and vertical transoms look dated beside modern cruising cats, but the boat’s substance and track record are clear.
Pros
- Very strongly built, thick-GRP hulls
- No capsize or pitchpole on record
- Practical bridgedeck berths and protected wheel steering in the aft cockpit
- Skeg-protected fixed rudders improved windward performance
Cons
- Narrow beam and vertical transoms compared with modern designs
- Modest sail area and a non-overlapping mainsail with no roach
