I posted this on another thread:
I was on the
Lagoon 400 yesterday. Without a doubt, this was the worst
catamaran I have ever been on. I dislike writing that, but I was shocked at what I found and can't believe a manufacturer is trying to put something like that
boat out
for sale. This boat was designed only for sitting on a
dock, and it isn't even a good boat for that. I have become used to condomarans and
charter boats, and give them credit for filling their design goals and market niche. I can give no credit to the
Lagoon 400.
Where to start?
The
galley has zero (none, not even a teeny tiny bit) of
storage space. I thought maybe one could put a couple of dishes in the lone small ~18"x10" cupboard, but when I opened it, a tiny microwave was stuffed into it. The rest of the
galley cabinetry was filled with a fridge,
freezer and a small trash bin. Maybe future
Lagoon 400 owners only eat frozen burritos and have no need for dishes, pots, pans and silverware?
The stbd owners
hull is immense and open with no bulkheads dividing up the space (I am not listing this as a bad point - until later). However, the floorboards in the hulls creak, moan, move and spring as you walk on them. Really, really badly. None of them are secure, or can be secured, and I was concerned about falling through them they are so unsupported and
cheap. Did I mention
cheap?
The rest of the inside has similar cheap fit and finish throughout.
The
engine compartments are very deep and poorly sealed. The boat at the show was delivered by ship from
France to
Baltimore and motored the short trip down to
Annapolis, where the
mast was stepped and rigged. Both
engine compartments had leaked enough during the brief life of this boat that the
exhaust manifolds were rusted and the
exhaust elbows were severely rusted. There were no steps or easy access into or out of the ~6' deep engine compartments.
Walking up the starboard side
deck, I was surprised to find the
deck flexing and bouncing 1/8" like a trampoline! I weigh 160lbs wet and could deflect the deck 1/4" by gently bouncing up and down on it. Here is where having no bulkheads interfering with the
interior volume manifests itself.
Both
anchor rollers were pathetically undersized and installed on the cross beam with 1/4"
aluminum pop rivets. One of the rollers was already pulling out the rivets. The rollers are simply unusable - even for just displaying a small stainless
anchor at the
dock. The
fiberglass catwalk connecting the bridgedeck to the cross beam and guiding the anchor chain to the roller flexed alarmingly when stood on - probably 1" or more (again, I weigh 160lbs wet). The catwalk is designed mostly only for use as a chain guide, but it is going to be walked on because it is very wide and much more comfortable than the elastic fishnet Lagoon uses for the trampolines.
There is a
single large
storage locker in the bow with a very heavy lid. The lid has no handle or finger indent for using it. One opens it by getting your fingertips underneath the 1/8" gap between the lid and deck and pulling strongly with your fingernails. Once opened a bit, the gas struts take over and the lid comes up easily. Putting it back down is dangerous. When the lid gets 3/4 of the way down, the struts give up and the lid slams down hard. Right on your fingers because there is no handle or relief set into the lid. I almost
lost a finger, but pulled my hand away just in time. The lid/locker interface is of a guillotine design and someone will get hurt.
The bow seats built into the pulpits were simply a piece of
plywood cut to shape with the endgrains fully exposed. It was not sealed or coated in any way. I am giving Lagoon the benefit of the doubt here and thinking that they forgot to install the seats at the factory and the
plywood cutouts were done at the last minute at the show. Although forgetting to install a piece of the boat at the factory brings other doubts to mind.
The
helm design sweeping the
catamaran market is one of the helmsman being completely exposed to the elements so that the coachroof can be seamlessly extended back across the whole
cockpit. The Lagoon 4000 follows this trend. There is a cutout in the solid coachroof extension so that the poor
skipper can burn himself, freeze himself or soak himself (or herself, but most
women have more sense than to get on the
helm in these designs). The coach roof is so high that even standing up on the raised helm a 5'11" person (me) can't see the opposite corner or side of the boat. The helmseat is the ubiquitous bench seat with a small round cushioned bar hitting you in the back in just the right place to cause incredible pain. I have never understood these types of backrests, but they are on many boats. The bench seat provides no lateral support and, coupled with its height above
water, will be very uncomfortable and tiring in rough seas. But again, most of the
charter market boats have this type of seat, so maybe I'm missing their charms.
Of course, there was no way to evaluate the sailing performance, but I was standing next to a woman who asked the Lagoon rep how the boat handled storms. His response was "you won't need to worry about bad
weather because this boat can out-sail any storm". So I guess the sailing performance is superb and on par with the likes of Playstation.
The market competition for the Lagoon 400 is the FP
Lipari. The
Lipari also has a lot of flawed compromises, but it is a far, far superior boat than the Lagoon 400.
On the other hand, the Lagoon 400 was chock full of people drooling over it saying it is the best catamaran ever produced. So what do I know...
Just my observations and opinions,
Mark