Second hand First 47.7

[sepeteus]

Hi Paul. I bought our 47.7 five years ago. Ours was not the usual racing version, instead she had wing keel with draft only 1.95m which was excellent as we were really after yacht for fast cruising. I ended up spending far too much money on her...... sand blasted hull, painted below and above waterline, replaced all teak decking, installed diesel genset, installed high volume water maker, replaced standing rigging, doubled diesel capacity, obviously all new navigation electronics......
We paid AUD230k for her and were 3rd owner. I put all this lipstick on her and realised after that it was still the same pig before the refit works. This exercise cost me around AUD150k and bit the bullet, cut my losses..... bought passage maker cruising yacht....
1. I was never able to make our yacht water proof. I am not talking about water coming through the mast when it rains.... Mysteriously there was always massive amount of water in the bilge after days sailing. It was salt water and bear in mind we pulled this boat apart to pretty much to the last bolt and nut, even the keel came off.
2. Bigger seas sailing into the wind she was not comfortable with her round bottom, banging like hell. Also creaking noises were scary and felt like the hull was bending, please note nicn name 'Bendy Toy'
3. One really annoying design problem to 47.7's is that water doesn't drain from under the main head. I used to get my hand through tight hole from port side aft cabin floor and mop the water out. Did this maybe 1000 times and I still hate the job years after. Simply couldn't leave water there permanently as there was that smell!!!!!
4. All metal works were ridiculously low standard. When we replaced seacocks, realised that there were two different metals used for them as factory job. We had one seacock snapped off heading from Sydney to Adelaide... wasn't nice getting the yacht flooded banging into 30knts. We refitted all stanchions and the way they are done is just crap. They always move and end up leaking. All cleats are simply mounted on thin fiberglass with washers under!!
5. Overall everything is so cheaply done, no care what so ever.

Paul, as there is so much bad...... there must be something good too. When I dropped the keel and sand blasted the hull, there were no defects on the gelcoat. No delaminating or blisters anywhere. We painted new epoxy coating and she looked truly beautiful..... red lipstick on )
I traded her in and the guy still have her tied up front of his house in Mooloolabah Qld Australia. He is in England and is an older bloke who wants to quit all his assets here in OZ. Paul, if you really insist buying 47.7 this is the one to buy as I spent my pennies on it, however pls take my word.... get something better )
All the best what ever you choose
Cheers
Sepo

[barnakiel]

I think 40 and 47 are similar boats. If I am correct, you will want to read the final Cheeki Rafiki report.

b.

[sepeteus]

Hey Barnakiel, I think 44.7 and 47.7 are pretty much the same design from Bruce Farr
cheers
Sepo

[Cabrinha06]

Sepeteus>

Thanks a lot for your post, it's very informative indeed!
Sounds like a pretty bad experience. Don't understand how they managed to design and build such a boat if it has that much issues

[sepeteus]

........and one more annoying "water in bilge issue"
what ever water there is in the bilge..... it sits in very large area under floor boards and does NOT drain to the sump in the keel. I have heard other 47.7 owners share this frustration with me We had all the bilges forever wet, damp and smelly. In comparison to our current boat, there are none of those drain issues and everything is nice and dry. Dont know how other boat owners go with these dampness problems but I HATE that damp smell and just a thought of water sitting somewhere!!!!!
Cheers
Sepo

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Cabrinha06

Sepeteus>

Thanks a lot for your post, it's very informative indeed!
Sounds like a pretty bad experience. Don't understand how they managed to design and build such a boat if it has that much issues

Because it is not an out and out racing design. You push any other modern plastic fantastic to the same extent and you may get similar results. Read about damages to J-boats, e.g. They are fast light boats built to sail fast but still they are built so that the builder makes profit. Maximize the return to the stockholder if you know what this means.

Volksvagen is know for maximizing too. Just browse the news. Boats are just like cars.

If you want a s/h light fast boat that will give you some impression of safety, look for design and build features that are known to never have failed before.

b.

[Julesmoto]

Wow saw a couple of 47.7 s that appear to be a bargain and was starting to think about one but this is enough to turn me right off.

[psk125]

In 2021 we looked at a First 40.7 which, based on the photos in this thread, has a similar setup below. We noticed that despite there being three separate cabins, none of them had any real stowage space for anyone to put their gear. Hanging lockers (half high) was about all there was in the cabins. Below the berths aft were blackwater tanks, pumps and compressors, so no stowage there. Below the V-berths there may have been some accessible space. Below the settees: fuel and water. Behind the settee backs: space perhaps deep enough for some books or magazines placed flat against the hull. The salon table had space for half a case of wine bottles, and more bottle stowage was set up near the galley. There seemed to be space for perhaps only an overnight's foodstuffs outside of the refrigerator. (If you fill the fridge with drinks for eight thirsty crew there won't be much room for food in the fridge.) It seemed like the boat was set up for day racing, with everyone tossing their duffels into one of the quarter cabins and pulling their gear out of them as needed. While the sail-handling equipment and rig appeared powerful, beautifully designed and executed, extended cruising in a boat like this would seem to require eating meals in restaurants ashore and perhaps rotating small sets of clothes pre-positioned along the route so they would fit in the lockers.

[SV Tom Crean]

The 40.7 (and the 47.7) was never, ever designed or marketed as a cruising boat (I owned one for 5 years back in 2000). It's a Bruce Farr designed performance boat designed with racing in mind and to perform and rate we'll under IRC. Add in the 2.4m draft, big main and narrow entry up front and you've got a lot of features that don't work for cruisers

Short term cruising can be done on one but that's about it.

Originally Posted by psk125

In 2021 we looked at a First 40.7 which, based on the photos in this thread, has a similar setup below. We noticed that despite there being three separate cabins, none of them had any real stowage space for anyone to put their gear. Hanging lockers (half high) was about all there was in the cabins. Below the berths aft were blackwater tanks, pumps and compressors, so no stowage there. Below the V-berths there may have been some accessible space. Below the settees: fuel and water. Behind the settee backs: space perhaps deep enough for some books or magazines placed flat against the hull. The salon table had space for half a case of wine bottles, and more bottle stowage was set up near the galley. There seemed to be space for perhaps only an overnight's foodstuffs outside of the refrigerator. (If you fill the fridge with drinks for eight thirsty crew there won't be much room for food in the fridge.) It seemed like the boat was set up for day racing, with everyone tossing their duffels into one of the quarter cabins and pulling their gear out of them as needed. While the sail-handling equipment and rig appeared powerful, beautifully designed and executed, extended cruising in a boat like this would seem to require eating meals in restaurants ashore and perhaps rotating small sets of clothes pre-positioned along the route so they would fit in the lockers.