Chartering a catamaran in the Bahamas is less a preference than a reading of the chart. The banks are shallow over enormous distances, the good Exuma anchorages are sand patches a metre or two deep, and the tide range is too small to wait your way out of trouble. A boat drawing about a metre goes over what a deeper one goes around.
Ask several charter companies what your week costs
The draught argument, in practice
Crossing the Great Bahama Bank in a shoal-draught boat is a straight line; in a deeper one it is a detour and a lot of watching the depth. Anchoring off Warderick Wells or Compass Cay in a catamaran means sitting over sand in clear water; in a monohull it often means anchoring further out and running the tender. Over a week those differences add up to a different holiday rather than a marginal convenience.
What it costs
The Moorings publishes $5,579 to $24,179 for a 7 day charter for 2 people in the Abacos without splitting hull types. Sunsail's published Caribbean figures give the clearest sense of what the second hull adds: about $3,500 for a low-season bareboat monohull against about $5,700 for a low-season catamaran, rising to about $7,000 and about $10,000 in high season.
What else the two hulls buy in this water
Shade, a swim platform and a flat boat at anchor, all of which matter more here than in the Mediterranean because the week is spent in the water. Four cabins with doors for a group of six or eight. And the ability to sit in two metres over sand for lunch, which is the single most Bahamian thing a charter boat can do.
Questions people ask about charter catamaran Bahamas
Why charter a catamaran in the Bahamas?
Draught. The banks and the best Exuma anchorages are shallow and a catamaran drawing about a metre reaches water a deeper monohull cannot.
How much is a Bahamian catamaran week?
The Moorings publishes $5,579 to $24,179 for a 7 day charter for 2 people in the Abacos across hull types; Sunsail's Caribbean figures put a low-season catamaran at about $5,700.
Is a monohull cheaper?
Yes, on Sunsail's published Caribbean figures about $3,500 low season against about $5,700 for a catamaran, but it reaches fewer Bahamian anchorages.