I spent the better part of the day at Strictly Sail today, the sailboat venue of the Miami International Boat Show, and as I was wandering through the docks I realized that virtually all of the boats on the north end of the marina were monohulls from builders like Hunter, Catalina, Island Packet, Tartan, and that nearly all of the boats on the other side of the marina were catamarans.

Now, this show is known as the Cat Capital, with more than 50 models of multihull on display.

But still, it seemed a little odd, as though the buyer was being asked to make that choice first, before all other considerations. Then I started counting boats on each "side" of the "hull-count" equation. Now, I'm a writer and decidedly not a mathematician, so don't quote me on the exact numbers, but I'm pretty sure there were as many catamarans as monohull sailboats – maybe more.

Catamarans are, of course, not new. They've been around in modern form since early in the 20th century and most of us who have sailed have known certain multi-hulls for many years; boats like the Hobie Cat gave many of us our first taste of wild speed under sail. And there have been larger, cat cruisers for many years. A look at a Miami show exhibitor list from 20 years ago shows some catamaran builders in evidence. But I certainly didn't expect to see more cats than monohulls when I went to the Miamarina at Bayside today.

There was another interesting phenomenon underway today. It seemed to me there were more younger families walking all over the cats than looking at the traditional sailboats. Does that mean that catamarans are for the young and monohulls are for older, more tradition-oriented sailors? I can't say based on one day's observations, but it's worth looking into. One might think that cats would draw an older buyer, someone looking for more stability and space.

Regardless of age, it is safe to say that cats offer more of both. The twin hulls of a cat make huge decks possible, along with large living and entertaining spaces, which is why cats dominate big charter outfits like The Moorings. A couple of families can easily charter a 40-foot Lagoon or Leopard but putting more than 4 people in a 40-foot monohull would require the people to actually be related.

Some of the newer cats are truly huge. The Catana 50 that I looked at on the dock today could probably host a family reunion. The hulls of these cats are big enough that the staterooms in them are truly comfortable too, something not always the case when a mattress gets jammed into a tiny hull and you have to figure out how to climb up into it without knocking hips and elbows into the bulkheads. And the salons on these boats remind you more of a family room than something on a sailboat.

Not everybody is in love with catamarans and the truth is they don't do everything well. Sailing a typical cat upwind can be something of a chore. And if you try to bring everything but the kitchen sink aboard that whole speed thing that cats are known for goes away pretty quickly. Some cats have awkward sail-handling arrangements, too, although that's more of an individual design deficiency than something necessarily peculiar to cats.

The truth is that catamarans do hold all the major circumnavigation and distance over duration speed records. The really big multi-hulls, sometimes trimarans, can speed faster than 30 knots when running at sea.

In the end, of course, whether to buy a multi-hull or a monohull will involve the same variables and key questions relevant to any boat purchase. What do you want to do with the boat? Where do you want to do it? How many people do you sail with and what is your performance preference?

But there's no doubt that cats are catching on, and that there are some serious cat lovers at this show.

TOM TRIPPHunter Monohulls Guard the North Side of Strictly Sail

TOM TRIPPCats Form Up to Defend the South

TOM TRIPPHatfields and McCoys Could Charter This Cat Together. Look at the Space!

TOM TRIPPSouth African Builders' Pavillion Features Catamarans