1994 37 Lagoon Good and Bad ?

[amphibious1]

Aloha All

I have found a 37 lagoon that I am very interested in. I am planing on flying down to go see it in the next 10 days or so.
It is a 1994 37 lagoon in granada you can see it on yachtworld. This is one of the 9 37 lagoon that was made in france. It is not the tpi american built cat.
I have done lots of research an talked to a couple of owners of 37 lagoons they all talk very well of their boats.

I wanted to know of the good bad and what to look for when viewing this Cat. The boat has been on the hard for 3 years. I don't like that but it is what it is. I do plan on having a professional survey. But not till I look it over very well.

My girlfriend and I are setting out to do a 5 year down wind circumnavigation. If you have owned one how do you thing the 37 lagoon would do on this trip?

Thanks for your information and time.
Jack

[ausaviator]

As I understand it the Lagoon 37 is BALSA core beneath the epoxy glass versus the 38 that is foam cored. All Fountaine's are foam if I am not mistaken.

[tamicatana]

Balsa schmalsa, so what? Foam rots too. If you have water incursion in your core, it's not a good thing no matter what the core is made of. Even solid fibreglass has voids which wick moisture, causing delamination.


OP:

Go here, this is helpful. This fella covers a lot of what you need to look for initially.
How To Do your Own Marine Survey by a Marine Surveyor

It's not a terribly bad thing that the boat's been on the hard, unless it was stored badly, so look at the supported areas - if they're not at bulkheads, you might see indentations from the weight pressure. Look for big stress cracks at beams etc and know the difference between a serious stress crack and cosmetic fractures.

Bring binocs and look at the rigging aloft as best you can. I've seen where the rigging looked good at deck level and had broken strands at the mast.

Stick your head in every little cranny, and don't be afraid to poke and prod at things. Pull dipsticks and look at engine fluids. Pull up the floorboards and look in the bilges. Look at the electrical systems. Look for rusty weeping at bolts, backing plates, swages, chainplates. Ask to have things turned on that should be able to turn on, given the boat is on the hard obviously you can't crank the engines. Look at the tankage. Look at through-hulls and fittings.

Best advice I can give: even if you have to fly him in, get the best possible surveyor you can. A few hundred or even a grand or so extra in travel costs could save you much more in trouble and cost

[JusDreaming]

check the bolts holding the pulleys under the helm for the steering cables, and check where the tramp track bolts to the hull for intrusion, and check where the anchor roller bolts to cross beam. The one other thing I can think of is the escape hatches. A lot of owners have actually had the glassed over!! Ours is a TPI version but some similarities.
But over all they are well built strong boats that sail very well and are good liv-a-bord boats.
The one French boat that I know of is "Mother Ocean", a search should find you some info as Dan is some what active on line

[JerseyMermaid]

Originally Posted by tamif27

OP:

Go here, this is helpful. This fella covers a lot of what you need to look for initially.
How To Do your Own Marine Survey by a Marine Surveyor

Thank you SO much for this link!

I'm looking at buying a boat shortly and while not in the +30' range yet, we don't know a lick about boats and our budget is around $4k, so surveys may/may not be in the picture. I still want to know what I should be looking for and this was a GREAT resource.

~Danielle

[Dulcesuenos]

You have a pm Jack :-)

[amphibious1]

Originally Posted by tamif27

Balsa schmalsa, so what? Foam rots too. If you have water incursion in your core, it's not a good thing no matter what the core is made of. Even solid fibreglass has voids which wick moisture, causing delamination.


OP:

Go here, this is helpful. This fella covers a lot of what you need to look for initially.
How To Do your Own Marine Survey by a Marine Surveyor

It's not a terribly bad thing that the boat's been on the hard, unless it was stored badly, so look at the supported areas - if they're not at bulkheads, you might see indentations from the weight pressure. Look for big stress cracks at beams etc and know the difference between a serious stress crack and cosmetic fractures.

Bring binocs and look at the rigging aloft as best you can. I've seen where the rigging looked good at deck level and had broken strands at the mast.

Stick your head in every little cranny, and don't be afraid to poke and prod at things. Pull dipsticks and look at engine fluids. Pull up the floorboards and look in the bilges. Look at the electrical systems. Look for rusty weeping at bolts, backing plates, swages, chainplates. Ask to have things turned on that should be able to turn on, given the boat is on the hard obviously you can't crank the engines. Look at the tankage. Look at through-hulls and fittings.

Best advice I can give: even if you have to fly him in, get the best possible surveyor you can. A few hundred or even a grand or so extra in travel costs could save you much more in trouble and cost

Aloha tamif27

Thank you for all the great information. I am one of those guys that looks thru everything I can get a mirror and light in to. The way I see it, find it now when it is small or it will be screaming at you soon. I like the self survey site it makes for a great check list.
This boat is kinda odd as the owner has passed on an the family is over seas.
There is no one to show the boat. It will just be me and the broker than me and the surveyor if i proceed. I will play it cautiously ..

Thanks again
Jack

[amphibious1]

Originally Posted by JusDreaming

check the bolts holding the pulleys under the helm for the steering cables, and check where the tramp track bolts to the hull for intrusion, and check where the anchor roller bolts to cross beam. The one other thing I can think of is the escape hatches. A lot of owners have actually had the glassed over!! Ours is a TPI version but some similarities.
But over all they are well built strong boats that sail very well and are good liv-a-bord boats.
The one French boat that I know of is "Mother Ocean", a search should find you some info as Dan is some what active on line

Aloha JusDreaming

Thank you big time it is good to hear from another Lagoon 37 owner. It really sounds like every one is happy with the boat. Even the people that had to sell their boat. I will check the things you mentioned. I think I will do the same with glassing over the escape hatches like lots of owners have. My big concern is the boat has been on the hard for 3 years. It really sets it up for lots of things to go wrong when you start to use them....

Well thanks again for all of your insight. If you know of anyone selling in the 120k range please let me know. I am offering a $500. reward. You can see my post on the CF classified.
I know of Wanda Jane in Panama she is closing the sale on the 1st of september..

Thank you much
jack

[Cheechako]

I'm pretty sure my TPI 42 was solid below the waterline and balsa above. I have heard of core issues on the French boats (only). The 37 and 42 were great designs. Which engines does it have? The formed plexi windows on these boats are getting pretty old and may be pretty crazed. Headliners were foam backed vynil and the foam turns to dust from heat and the headliners start coming down. Give that a look because there is a LOT of headliner in a cat like that!

[amphibious1]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I'm pretty sure my TPI 42 was solid below the waterline and balsa above. I have heard of core issues on the French boats (only). The 37 and 42 were great designs. Which engines does it have? The formed plexi windows on these boats are getting pretty old and may be pretty crazed. Headliners were foam backed vynil and the foam turns to dust from heat and the headliners start coming down. Give that a look because there is a LOT of headliner in a cat like that!

Thanks for the info. It still has the original 18hp yanmar. The boat has been
on the hard for 3 years so i would assume they have not been started in 3 years. The hole on the hard for 3 year I do not like. The head liner is doing just as you say. I am planing a trip to go see the boat. I will get a getter idea on inspection,
Thank you for your info
Jack

[gspeak]

The headliner issue is also happening to my 380. It's not a big deal tho, just vacuum off all the decayed foam & glue the headliner back up with contact cement. You may have to unscrew it to do a neat job.

Dave

L380 # 241

[ausaviator]

Both the 37 and 42 TPI's are of balsa core construction.

For example:
Lagoon 42 for sale in the Grenadines

The optimized hull construction uses balsa and vinyl ester resin which saves weight and improves performance and sea-keeping.

[Notyet]

I have spoken to somebody who has seen the 37. Don't ask me for details, but the asking price is much too high. Get at least one third off the price. Have fun!

[grenadines]

Originally Posted by ausaviator

Both the 37 and 42 TPI's are of balsa core construction.

For example:
Lagoon 42 for sale in the Grenadines

Hi all, I am new to this forum, aviator put this link, which is to the website I am webmaster off. I own a different Lagoon 42TPI myself, am very happy with it. All points posted by ausaviator are correct.
I do not know how the French boats were built in that time (1994), but if it was 3 years on the hard you may as well want to rip out all the headliner, Grenada has quite a bit of rain/humidity.
I will be there in 2 weeks to inspect the above yacht, we could meet?

[Zonker]

Originally Posted by amphibious1

Aloha All

I have found a 37 lagoon that I am very interested in. I am planing on flying down to go see it in the next 10 days or so.
It is a 1994 37 lagoon in granada you can see it on yachtworld. This is one of the 9 37 lagoon that was made in france. It is not the tpi american built cat.

Would be interested to hear what you think about that boat.