Multi-Hulls

The catamaran is a perfectly distinct variety of vessel, having its own peculiarities and characteristics, and any attempt to cross it with the old form of yacht results only in a mongrel production having none of the advantages that make the catamaran so attractive, and retaining all the bad qualities of the single-hulled yacht, with unwieldiness and ugliness combined. The catamaran should be preserved always in its pure form. ‘Tis a light, airy, fantastic machine for flying and floating… cruising in the catamaran is both pleasant and practicable.

Nathanael Herreshoff, The Catamaran Chronicle (1877) source