Gemini 105 MC Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The 105 MC carries the same basic dimensions as the earlier Gemini 3400, with a 14-foot beam and a 9:1 hull length-to-width ratio carried over from the 105M introduced in 1995. The hulls, decks, and interior liners are solid fiberglass, and the liners are glassed and tabbed into the hull before the deck goes on. The lamination schedule uses vinylester resins over a barrier coat of 1.5-ounce mat and two layers of 18 x 15 Cofab mat, with the only coring being half-inch end-grain balsa across the foredeck, cabintop, and cockpit areas free of fittings. The hull-deck joint is a shoebox design bonded with a polyurethane-style putty from Cook’s, then secured with stainless fasteners on 5-inch centers and capped by a gunwale guard. Asymmetric centerboards of fiberglass mat and Kevlar around closed-cell foam pivot upward for shallow anchoring and are raised from the main saloon, while the hard deck runs fore and aft with bows extending about a foot beyond the foredeck, which is stepped and clears 39 inches at the bow.

Rig and Handling

The Mc’s mast is a foot taller than the 105M’s and carries a one-foot crane, with straight double spreaders stepped on deck atop the main bulkhead and a split backstay with tensioner opposing the headstay. The mainsail grew from 260 to 340 square feet with a large roach and full battens, and the 150% genoa adds 350 square feet. A flat-cut overlapping screecher of 490 square feet is available, sailing to within 50 degrees of apparent wind on a tack carriage that travels athwartships on a curved track across the bowsprit. Halyards are internal and led to mast winches, and the mainsheet runs to a track on the stern rail. Under sail, testers found her fast for a cruising catamaran, footing at 6.5 to 7 knots close-hauled and 7 to 12 when cracked off, with little heel under reefed main and a 90% jib in 25 to 35 knots, and easy, responsive steering avoiding crab pots. A single Vire diesel with a liftable outdrive leg propels her, the standard rating now 27 hp against 20 previously.

Accommodations

The step up in the foredeck creates volume over a bridge-deck master berth and the salon, and the cockpit sole was lowered to lift headroom to 6 feet 7 inches, with minimum headroom everywhere over 6 feet. The saloon’s 14-foot beam opens through an 11-inch doorframe to a C-shaped teak dining area that drops to a double berth and rotates to seat six to eight. A portlight array gives 360-degree sightlines with four overhead hatches. The layout runs a starboard elongated galley with a Voyager 2000 two-burner stove, twin sinks, a Dometic American refrigerator, and a built-in microwave, opposite a port navigator’s station with an 89-inch work surface. Forward amidships to starboard is the master with a queen island berth, forward to port the head with a fresh-water toilet flush, and aft are twin double staterooms with opening ports. Bunks total six to eight adults, though Smith calls her a couple’s boat.

Refits and Ownership

Smith judged the 105 MC roughly 1,000 pounds heavy and cut weight by swapping forward-stateroom drawers for bins, using half-inch plywood where three-quarter had been, and lightening nonload-bearing laminate. The build eased later appliance work with spare hoses run in and 12-volt wires in PVC; wiring looms are tied to the liner before hull bonding and are all but inaccessible, though mast wires reach a forward-stateroom panel. Propane and fume detectors with audible alarms are standard in the staterooms.

The Verdict

The Gemini 105 MC is a thoughtfully evolved owner-cruiser catamaran that trades bareboat volume for sensible sailing performance and a light, open interior. Her raised centerboards and liftable drive suit skinny water, and the enlarged mainsail plus optional screecher give real speed without pole-and-guy complexity. The bonded shoebox hull-deck joint and solid-glass structure read as durable, if the buried wiring demands planning before any major refit.

Pros