I would like to make a few points about using the 860 for ocean cruising. I think the 850 is a nice small cruising catamaran for crew with
discipline to not overload. However, it's size limits capsize resistance
in big breaking waves, limiting the passages to places with reasonable?
waves.
Weight capacity is adequate if the crew is disciplined about what they bring. Many cruising crew are not disciplined enough for even much larger catamarans. Because the 860 is so small, it puts a premium on this skill. Sit down and make a careful weight study of what you need. It only takes a few hours. If you still have reasonable reserve capacity, you should be OK as long as you don't become a pack-rat. For my own boat, I remove everything not screwed down once each year, clean the inside of the boat with bleach solution and then only restow what is truly needed. Over the years I have had very little increase in variable load.
Size affects the seaworthiness of multihulls. Any skilled sailor can reef early to prevent capsize from wind. However, smaller multihulls are more sensitive to big waves. I have never capsized a catamaran in big waves and I have sailed in 50-knot winds, gusting much higher, and 25+ feet breaking waves. The point is that the crew has less control over capsize when the waves get really large and steep. When the face of a breaking wave jets against a hull it can impart tremendous energy that tries to capsize the boat. This force is resisted by the hull slipping and its mass moment of inertia. So large catamarans can withstand much bigger waves because they have a much bigger moment of inertia.
In Practical terms this means that where you sail effects the safety from capsize due to waves. Some parts of the world are very difficult. For example the area between Hawaii and the Philippians has over 40-ft breaking waves during typhoons, there is no safe season and distances are vast so that a clear weather window can be too short for a crossing. I think larger multihulls are much safer in areas like this. However, most of the worlds oceans are not as difficult and smaller boats are a better fit.
