FAR & WIDE
For most long-distance cruisers, the choice would have been less worrisome. But as we approached the North Carolina-Virginia border and had to decide whether to go through the Dismal Swamp as we continued northbound, we knew the waterway would rarely be more than 23 or 24 feet wide.
Our 34-foot PDQ power catamaran Thing 1 Thing 2 has a 17-foot beam. And the Dismal Swamp is a two-way run with oncoming boats.
This is, of course, the type of scenario that many longtime trawler owners fear when they think about power catamarans. Sure, the cats offer tons more onboard space for people and stowage that is a boon when you’re on the boat for weeks or months at a time, but the way cats are designed also poses challenges, particularly in narrow spots along the Intracoastal Waterway.
On that spring day, we thought about all that we’d heard about the Dismal Swamp’s beauty: The place is like a mangrove forest, but instead of mangroves, it’s cypress and
