Hello Michael,

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Being an Eco 6 builder and owner perhaps I can respond to your email.

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To start with the Eco 6; If you want a comfortable boat for 2 people for either day sailing or cruising then the Eco 6 is the boat. There is a wonderful amount of space inside, especially with the modification to the aft cabin bulkhead which I did. I moved that bulkhead 200mm further aft and made it vertical. This has almost doubled the amount of volume in after cabin area. The Eco 6 will also be the more robust sailing boat because of it’s size. With regard to the rig, you do not need to spend a lot of money on a commercially made mast. You can go to the designed gunter rig, or as I did, I changed the rig to a gaff main with a slightly larger jib. My mast is a 6.7 meter length of 100mm alloy tube, and I made all my mast fittings, so the rig cost very little money. I also made my own furler for the jib, so once again very little money spent. Cons of the Eco 6 – it is not really a trailerable boat because of the beam, I keep mine on a mooring. Also being the biggest of the designs it is going to take the longest to build, you are probably looking at 2 years minimum, probably more for a part time builder.

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That really leaves Eco 5.5, Duo 480, or the new Eco 5.20. I personally would build the 5.20. Unlike the Eco 5.5 it does not need a centerboard, or keels. This is because of the asymmetric hull shape. I do not think the rig would present problems tacking. I have owned 3 cutter rig yachts, that is two headsails, a staysail, and a genoa or yankee on the forestay. I have sailed each of these boats extensively including ocean crossing, and I never had any particular problem getting the front sail around the staysail. The rig for 5.20 will be relatively inexpensive to build yourself, and you can make your own furlers. Yes there will be a bit of a tangle of rigging to sort out with the forestays and shrouds, but that is more about how things are organised, and it will be no worse than any other trailerable yacht.

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The Eco 5.5 will maybe have a bit more space inside, but will not be as simple to build as the 5.20, and if you are going to build the Eco 5.5, then you may as well spend a little more time and money and build the Eco 6 because you get so much more boat. That is why I built the Eco 6 rather than the 5.5.

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That leaves the Duo 480. That really is quite a small boat for two people. I think that a little bit more investment in time and money would give the 5.20 which would be a more spacious boat. The 480 does have a very simple rig though with free standing masts, but then you need two of them.

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You talk about the cost of mooring a boat, and I guess that depends on mooring costs in your local area, but keep in mind that it is going to cost quite a lot of money for a suitable trailer. I like having our boat on a mooring. Our boat is kept in a local harbour with many beautiful beaches and islands close by. So on a Saturday morning we can leave home at 0900, and by 1000 we can be at anchor in a remote bay enjoy a morning cup of tea, (Photo attached), so for me the quick convenience of a mooring far outweighs keeping the boat on a trailer and having to launch every time I go sailing.

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And finally, as you pointed out you can go out a buy a ready made Tiki catamaran, That is a fairly quick solution and it is going to save you a lot of time and hard work. Tikis are good little catamarans, but they do not have the comfort and shelter that Bernd’s bridgedeck catamarans have. There are some other small catamaran designs available, but I do not think that any of them are as good as what Bernd has designed.

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Good luck figuring out just what you want to do.

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David