Gemini Catamarans, America's Slip-Sized Cruising Cat

A Telstar builder, a fire and a boat named Phoenix

British multihull pioneer Tony Smith had already built more than 270 Telstar folding trimarans in England when he and his wife Sue moved to Mayo, Maryland, and set up shop. Cruising World dates the start to 1981; Smith's company, Performance Cruising, built the Telstar and early Gemini models there. A fire destroyed the factory and molds within months, and the first Gemini catamaran that came out of the rebuild was named Phoenix.

The design evolved through the 3000, 3200 and 3400, which shared molds, before Smith drew an all-new hull in 1995, the 105M. The 105Mc refined it from 2003. In 2008 and 2009, squeezed by the recession and tighter environmental rules, the business became Gemini Catamarans under The Catamaran Company, with Smith's daughter Laura Smith Hershfeld as president. The Gemini Legacy 35 followed in 2013, built first with Hunter Marine and then Marlow Hunter in Alachua, Florida, and in 2014 production moved to Catalina Yachts in Largo, Florida. Cruising World counted 1,193 Geminis sold by then. A pontoon-style open cockpit model, the Freestyle 37, debuted at Miami in 2016.

The 105Mc and the Gemini formula

The Gemini 105Mc is the model we cover, a 33 ft 6 in cat listed from 2003 to 2011 with a single Westerbeke 27 hp diesel on a retractable Sillette drive leg. Its 14 ft beam is the whole point. Most marinas charge catamarans for one and a half or two slips, but a Gemini fits a standard monohull berth, and with the boards up it floats in about 18 inches. That opens the Bahamas banks, the Keys backcountry and thin Chesapeake creeks to a family cruiser.

The trade-offs are just as clear. The narrow beam and low bridgedeck make for a lively motion and some slamming in a head sea, and the boat is not a bluewater passagemaker in the sense a Lagoon or Leopard owner would expect. For coastal and island cruising on a budget, nothing else offers so much cat for the money.

Buying a Gemini with no factory behind it

Geminis sell easily because so many buyers want an affordable, slip-friendly cat, and used 105Mc boats trade at roughly $60,000 to $150,000. Parts and know-how come from an active owner community and independent yards rather than a builder. Catalina, which hosted Gemini production from 2014, closed in 2025, so do not count on factory support.

On survey, focus on the Gemini-specific items:

• Sillette drive leg, lifting mechanism, seals and lower unit corrosion
• Centerboard trunks, pivots and lines, plus the kick-up rudders
• Balsa-cored deck and cabintop areas around hardware for moisture
• Bridgedeck underside for slamming damage and repairs
• Westerbeke engine hours, raw water cooling and exhaust
• Older boats with original wiring and aging chainplates