440: 2nd hand L440 - performance?

[WingingIt]

Hi everyone,

We are considering (its on the list again) a L440 over a 50ft Admiral due to the space on the Lagoon. I'm worried about the Lagoon's performance though? Can you Lagoon ocean cruisers give me some advice. How does you Lagoon perform in different wind speeds? How well does it point to windward? What degree? How do you compare the internal size to bigger cats?

Thanks for any advice you've got. As im sure you're all aware, this is a tough decision with a lot of to and fro-ing.

Cheers

[Stingo]

In my humble opinion, Admiral don't have as good a reputation as Lagoon do. If I was spending your money, L44 is what I'd buy for you.

Saying that, both boats are cruising catamarans; you cannot expect Volvo 70 performance, but you should be able to average similar speeds to a similar sized cruising monohull given any wind direction, and you be able to leave your coffee mug on the saloon table without it spilling.

[2Wind]

Here is the link to the well know polar plot of the 440.
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/att...boats-p440.gif

In my experience (aside from the obvoius sailing skill, crew capability, sail condition and sail options) the two most influential factors on achieving best performance are sea state and props choice. Having just changed from the std two blade props to Autostream 3 blade folding props, I can testify there is 1 to 1.5 kts in the upgrade.
When sailing tight to windward and when sailing deep, the sea state (size, period, height and direction of both the sea and swell) have significant impact on both achieved tack angles and down wind speed.
Here there is a significant difference between what is achievable in deep water with extreme fetch (blue water ocean passagemaking) where swell dominates sea and coastal or estuarine conditions where sea dominates swell. The latter are more likely to generate lesser performance in adverse conditions. The boat loves to reach with gennake where I find there is less effect of sea state on boat speed, but there is windage to consider in the VMG stakes.

The boat's weight does demand more than light wind and when tight to windward in less than 8 kts slip becomes a significant factor and most would motor sail with one engine I suspect. Once you have wind of 8 - 20 kts the keels work reasonably well and higher angles and CMG are achievable. That is until sea state comes into play, usually above 20 kts. IMHO you'll see 30 apparent on your wind instrument, but the best you'll achieve when analysing your track will be tack angles of 80 - 100 depending on the sea. On a recent voyage due north up the South Queensland coast in 25-30 kts on the nose, we made 90 - 95 degrees with a short steep sea. Curiously she sailed slightly higher on a port tack which in retrospect, I think, related to the asymmetric sheet angles from taveller to boom favouring port over stbd in terms of sail twist and mainsail down haul.

My down wind experience is limited to main and gennaker on deep reaches and I'm sure a big asymmetric off the windward bow (being made as I write) or symmetrical Spi would make a big difference. Expect only infrequent surfing in favourable conditions (lots of wind +25-30kts, little sea, but big swell - think deep ocean where you might actually want to slow her down!)

Its all been said before, the 440 is well priced, very roomy, very comfortable at sea, a little heavy due to above, but has pretty good performance for its class tapering a little on tight or very deep wind angles. Nevertheless, I suspect that no one with a 440 really cares about those minor inadequacies.

Looking forward to other's views...

Cheers.