Leopard 44: Leopard 44

[Jim Woodall]

Another thought concerning windage is:

How will it affect the boat at anchor?

I know the owner of a Lagoon 380 who had a couple of nasty experiences dragging anchor while in the Pacific on the coconut milk run. He had a 60lbs. anchor with all chain. He quickly determined that a couple of relatively small awnings he had made to provide a little extra shade and water catchment created just enough extra windage to cause his boat to drag under conditions that had not been problematic prior to putting up the awnings. I can see the front cockpit catching lots of wind at anchor and being an issue on a cruising boat.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by cat man do

How the hell do you get this in efficient 44 ft hulls?

Actually they are only 42 ft long !

I was 1st mate on the delivery of hull #3 from S.A. to Gocek, Turkey. Got to spend roughly 10 weeks on board - all but 1 at sea. Peak winds in the low 30's, swell to 4 meters. Downwind to the Cape Verdes, after that the wind was a mix of direction and strength to Gibralter, then light in the med.

Very comfortable boat. Goes upwind like a cat. ie: No better, no worse than any other cat I've been on. (What can you really say about going up wind on a cat...other than it's better with a motor running.)

The fore saloon (Front porch) will definately be great at anchor in the Carib. Sunrise "breakfast nook" comes to mind, but just as good is the breeze that comes through with the door open making the interior much, much, more comfortable in the heat. I could live on this boat - easy!

We saw 17 knots on the GPS surfing waves with just a hanky of jib out, so she's pretty quick through the water. One motor at 1800 rpm will keep you at 6 knots in dead calm. Nice.

This is a sweet ride.

Dave L38 #38

[catabroker]

the Leopard 44' was just voted "2012 Best Cruising Multi-hull under 50' " by Sail magazine!

Best Boats 2012 Winner: The Leopard 44 (Cruising Multihull Under 50ft) | Sail Magazine


Peter Wiersema

Leopard specialist

peterw@yacht.com

[TimHough]

Just completed a delivery from FT. Lauderdale to Boston in often heavy nose on weather. Front cockpit never came close to filling with water or the door or front window spread being even a minor concern. The 44 is very solidly built. The only thing we lost was our bow light. These boats can be driven hard and when we did get favorable wind the boat sailed well on 40 degrees making 8-12 knots in the Gulf Stream.

[Mystic38]

I realise this is the multi-hulls room, and so all commentary is expected to be biased, but c'mon, someone who appears to have never heard of a dodger really shouldn't be commenting on monohulls ...

Originally Posted by jonno

This is my first post, hope i don't break any rules.

This makes the rear cockpit the nicest place to be in any wind, and one very major reason why cats just kill monohulls, i.e. to get out of the wind in a monohull you have to go down below (where you get seasick). With cats, you just go out the back where its always sheltered.

[muskoka]

The Chris White Atlantic cats have a forward cockpit - though it's a true cockpit and not a recreational area. I would imagine them to be pretty exhilarating to sail from up front. But they've moved the interior superstructure aft and pretty much dispensed with the aft cockpit.

Atlantic Catamarans by Chris White Designs Performance Luxury Catamaran

I'd guess this is Leopards answer to the flying bridges that are now popping up on all kinds of cats. I'm inclined to wait and see how other people get on with it.....

Cheers

[Southern Star]

Thanks to Tim and Dave for their hands-on accounts on the performance of the boat over relatively long distances and in varying conditions. It should correct the conclusion that was posted by Joli that I believe was based upon an erroneous assumption: that the performance numbers posted by Leopard were representative of the closest that one can sail the boat to the wind (i.e., 79 degrees TWA with an 8 knot boat speed and thus a maximum VMG to windward of approximately 1). In fact, the company simply gave performance numbers at that wind speed and that angle without in any way saying that this was as close-hauled as the boat could be sailed. Would I expect the boat to be as quick to windward in 10 knot winds as it is when reaching, as described? No. But this does not mean that the boat cannot be sailed closer to the wind, with a better VMG.

I love the concept of a forward cockpit and am glad to hear that it is solidly constructed and seems to remain reasonably free of water, even when going to windward in fairly heavy conditions. My concern is that the design seems to have extended the length of the bridgedeck in order to accomodate both cockpits; certainly it extends further forward than is the norm. I can't help but believe that this will increase pounding and would love to hear comments concerning that from those who have sailed one.

Brad

[marvinmartian]

It seems like Leopard took at look at the success of the Lagoon 440 (and above) with their forward lounge areas and said, "Oh yeah, how 'bout this!"

Anyone have some sales figures on the new L44 design? It's been out for a year or two now, no?

Why the heck don't manufacturers put entries up in Wikipedia? I mean, I'd love to be able to see the history of the various Leopards, when they were first launched, and what the differences / innovations are between them.

I mean, type in "E class" or "Porsche 911" into any search engine. You'll learn a lot.

Someone please pass the memo along to the various manufacturers. Even those with entries have kept them ridiculously thin on information.

Perhaps they're too busy sailing. ;-)

[Jim Woodall]

I think the next Leopard 44 (and the charter version 444) hull will be #114 or #115, so thus far it has been very, very successful.

[marvinmartian]

Originally Posted by Jim Woodall

I think the next Leopard 44 (and the charter version 444) hull will be #114 or #115, so thus far it has been very, very successful.

Then I congratulate them. From my perspective, they took a bit of a gamble and thought outside of "the box" with that new design.

Now if they could add a small auxiliary helm in the front cockpit (even a little electronic by-wire one) they'd have a real slam dunk.

;-)

[Sabbatical II]

Originally Posted by Dave

The fore saloon (Front porch) will definately be great at anchor in the Carib. Sunrise "breakfast nook" comes to mind, but just as good is the breeze that comes through with the door open making the interior much, much, more comfortable in the heat.Dave L38 #38

Maybe this is also the solution in heavy weather, leave the front door & the back door open and a boarding sea will go straight through ??

[ryon]

I just finished a moderately-sloppy Baja Bash aboard a Leopard 42, and I gotta say that forward cockpit looks like the cat's meow! It would give you a spot to relax that is somewhat connected to your environment. My biggest gripe about the 42 is that you feel like you're closed up in a hotel room, unless you're sitting up at the helm. We buried the nose(s) a few times, but I never saw green water coming up high enough to cause a problem. That's not to say you wouldn't get a good spray-down occasionally, but it's nice to have an option, no? As for the Leopard's ability to point into the wind, It easily beats almost every other boat I've sailed! (Of course, you have to consider what those other boats are, hee hee!)

[Jim Woodall]

I checked as best I could and the next hull for the Leopard 44 does appear to be # 115. I believe hull #115 represents the first hull in a new production run. I don't think there are any L44's coming off the line at the moment while R&C retools, as a few "new" things will be coming for the L44's in this production run. I believe there will be some minor modifications based on owner and charter feedback.

I think Leopard recognizes that the L44 has the potential to be one of their most successful catamarans and they are going to continue to improve and update this cat as its production cycle continues.

[Jim Woodall]

I think I was wrong on the Leopard 44 production numbers. There is a hull #126, it looks like #114 is one of the last UNSOLD L44's in the first production run. Wow, those are strong numbers in the first 3 - 4 years.

[Sailcraft]

Hi Everyone,
As I am about to purchase a Leopard 44 I would like to share my views on why I have changed my preference from the 46.
1, The front cockpit is great and nobody to date has mentioned why. Would you rather sit in a hot sun soaked lagoon, FP, Fusion 40 cabin with minimal ventilation or open the front door and hatches in the L 44 and let the breeze flow through with never any sun on the front windows?
2, Most owners fit shade cloth to the side windows, the vessel comes standard with rear cockpit shade cloth and side shades.
3, Having sailed most Leopard models for many miles, including Sydney to Adelaide last spring, rest assured she is a great boat. Six months previous I sailed a Fusion 40 Sydney to Esperance, around the bottom, fast, too light, scary and brilliant boat for a midget, not a 6ft 3 inch Aussie and I vowed never to sail another. Give me the extra
7 tonnes any day and I will happily sail a tad slower.
4, The front cockpit in a sea. The first time I saw the L 44 on the web, I had all the same questions as above. 2000 L 44 miles later, the fears are all a load of rubbish other than the very good point made about the Yamba bar, We have had many similar experiences in a mono on these bars. We punched the L 44 into some big seas in the southern ocean to try to fill the front cockpit, even have a video of the event. We managed to take a decent wave over the starboard bow, while sailing into it , 3 reefs in the main and 2 in the jib. Most of the water turned to froth/spray before it even landed on the floor, the amount that did enter was gone in seconds.
There is a very simple solution. Leopard do provide an option or a material cockpit cover, hooks up at the top of the front windows and door, anchors down around the deck at the front edge of the cockpit. I am happy with this but would go one step further and have a cover made the anchor at the front edge of the roof/overhang and anchor the leading edge to the trampoline rail, better angle to divert the water and would keep the entire front of the vessel protected and private in a marina.
5, The Leopards are now delivered from Cape Town to Australia via the roaring 40,s, even the last 39 came this way, rather than via Panama. Do I need to say more????
6, Why did I change from my beloved L 46 plan? I read a forum here re vision from inside the cabin. I sailed a 46 Brisbane to Vanuatu and was never comfortable with being on watch from in the saloon and always posted the OOW up at the steering station. If one had a remote for the pilot, by far the safer, warm and dry place to watch keep is in the saloon on the 44, peering out the all round full height windows.
7. Finally, if you are over 6 ft tall there is only one 44 ft (42ft 7 inch) cat to buy.
I hope my advice is of assistance.