Hello Hamka,
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Regarding your questions about alternative construction, and fit out with diesel engines and hydraulic steering, I would ask the question, WHY? I have built a few boats, including one of Bernd's designs, and have had 50 years of coastal and offshore sailing. Bernd designs a range of functional catamarans designed for amateur construction from plywood. Just about anyone with some woodworking skills, and a lot of perseverance can build a plywood boat. But to build from foam and carbon fiber requires a whole higher level of skill and experience, and complication, and if you do? not know what you are doing a greater chance of getting it wrong. Also you would need to have the whole design reengineered for foam construction as I am pretty sure Bernd has only done plans for plywood, but of course he can answer this best.
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Regarding the fitting of diesel engines and hydraulic steering, what you would really be doing there is adding in a whole lot of extra weight, complication, and expense. On a boat of this size outboard motors work very well. I speak from experience here as I have done ocean sailing on a 10 meter monohull which was fitted with one of those excellent Yamaha 9.9hp high thrust outboards. I never felt the need with that boat to replace the outboard with a diesel motor. As for the hydraulic steering, yes that is a way of achieving multiple steering stations, but why would you need to on a boat of this size. Hydraulic steering will add weight, complication, extra cost, and will be expensive to repair when it fails. You would be better to stick to the tiller steering, or a single wheel in the cockpit with Dyneema cables to connect the rudders, which is easily done, and a good tiller pilot for remote steering.?
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Plans can generally be purchased direct from Bernd himself, in addition to Duckworks. But my main message here is that you should not add extra complication to a very good boat which is designed for a particular use, which in this case is a simple, easily constructed plywood cruising catamaran with good performance and suited to coastal and offshore sailing.?
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No doubt Bernd, and others will express their opinion, but those are my thoughts.
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Regards,
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David
