Design and Construction
The 9M is a solid-GRP catamaran with thick hulls and glass windows, very strongly built by period standards. Part of the superstructure, including the solid foredeck, uses sandwich GRP, while the foredeck itself carries no trampoline. A staggered sheerline sets the 9M apart from its siblings and permits easy aft access from a pontoon, and the model also has a platform aft of the cockpit and transoms — a feature the smaller 8M lacks. Underwater, widely flaring chines and overhanging bows combine with a considerable rocker profile that gives the boat maneuverability and lets it skid to leeward under high winds. Vertical transoms are used rather than the modern sugar-scoop with transom steps, and the beam, at 0.466 of LOA, is narrow beside contemporary designs.
Rig and Handling
The sailplan is a masthead Bermuda sloop of modest area, carrying a mainsail with 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 used lifting dinghy-type rudders; the move to fixed rudders protected by a skeg let the boats 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.
Accommodations
Below, the 9M follows a conventional arrangement with two main berths on the bridgedeck forward of the saloon and occasional single berths further aft in the hulls. The galley sits below in either the port or starboard hull, and there is a single head and shower room. An aft cockpit with protected wheel steering rounds out the layout, a practical cruising footprint for a boat of this size.
Power and Refit History
Propulsion was offered as twin inboard diesels sited aft or a single centrally placed steered outboard. The rudder change from lifting to skeg-protected fixed units is the most significant factory refit in the model's history and improved windward ability. The 1990s US revival as the Catalac 900 brought an updated iteration of the same fundamental design.
The Verdict
Writing in Practical Boat Owner, reviewers summarized the 9M as a competent, versatile and long-lasting cat, and owner Jim Andrews has praised its interior layout and sea-keeping qualities. The combination of a strongly built hull, a stable multihull platform with no capsize on record, and a practical bridge-deck accommodation plan makes the 9M a sensible small cruising catamaran. Its narrow beam and vertical transoms read as dated next to 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 aft cockpit steering
- Skeg-protected fixed rudders improved windward performance
Cons
- Narrow beam and vertical transoms compared with modern designs
- Modest sail area and non-overlapping main with no roach
