Atlantic 47 MastFoil boat of the year 2014

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by cwjohm

Well a slight modification. If I wait until 2015 then no duty will be payable. Perhaps that's a reason to wait right there.

I'm not sure why the duty free part is not applicable now but if you order it now then it won't be done till 2015 so everybody wins!!!! You save $60,000!!!!!

[downunder]

Originally Posted by cwjohm

In response

None of the technology itself is new but

The positioning and use of the sail plan on a cat is new and as yet not fully stood the test of time.

The use of carbon foils in this way is new and as yet fully tested. There have been some iterations made by Chris to date.

In my view you need time before talking to owners to see what breaks and what accessories give a problem, and here I am not talking about electronics. I am talking to those accessories that are unique to the boat.

The existence of a FTA with Chile means nothing. You still have to pay 5% duty and 10% GST on top of the boat if you have to bring it into Australia.

I am very interested in the boat mainly because it is a boat that can/should be able to be sailed by older people with little difficulty, but as I said until it is proven at sea over a couple of years I would not be putting down $1.2 mill plus $150K in importation costs,. but as always there are always the early adopters who are happy to do so.

Wrong. You will need to pay the 10% GST but not the 5% import duty.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by cwjohm

Notwithstanding that Sail magazine gave him the award for innovation and not necessarily practice. This is really an early adopter boat. I am not sure I would want to slap down U$1.2 mill to get an unproven design manufactured in the Southern reaches of Chile at this time.

That is not to say it may not be a fantastic innovation in the fullness of time.

The new design issues (rig etc, not hull although limited reports seem very favourable) I might agree with but I doubt there are any issues with Awoplast as a builder. They have built quite a few Chris White designs and others I think I recall a Crowther and a 55ft Malcom Tennant powercat. Several of the builds have been well documented.

They are however not a cheap builder. I expect the same design built in States would be similarly priced.

[cwjohm]

In regard to the point of the OP I think this boat should be looked at in the context of other competitive new offerings such as the Outremer 45 and the Alpha 42, both being less expensive, although as I said the Atlantic 47 Mastfoil is attractive as it certainly offers an excellent combination of speed and ease of sailing.

[downunder]

I would have thought the Alpha 42 is a much smaller vessel.

[cwjohm]

Yes, but the forward cockpit of the Atlantic takes up a lot of space affecting liveability and I have to consider two people here. If I decided to become a hermit in my old age I would buy a tri no question.

My starting point is an Orana and the interior is quite spacious, so anything new will be compared in great detail.

What I really need is a Tardis that is 30 feet long on the outside with razor thin hulls and 60 feet long and 30 feet wide on the inside. Maybe Chris White will work on a new design for me.

[delmarrey]

I really like the concept of the forward cockpit with pilot house controls.

[eiasu]

Would be great to read from somebody with direct experience of MastFoil, anybody out there?

[Sand crab]

Did you read this?
MastFoil(tm) patent pending sailing rig by Chris White Designs High Performance Seaworthy Sailing Yachts

[SVNeko]

Chris has been making Atlantic cats at Alwoplast for over 5 years now. It is a good yard and the boats are quite well built. There are two of them in the same marina I am in in La Paz right now and I drool over them everyday. There are only 2 47s built so far, both for older Americans and neither, to my knowledge, really put through its paces yet. I have some doubts about the power of the rig and the performance of the boats but hope to be proved wrong. When I asked Chris about it he said he thought they were as fast as a similarly sized, conventionally rigged Atlantic cat, but if not they could be practically as fast since the crew could sail closer to the rig's limits due to its ease of reefing. I think the fact that he has been able to raise the price by $200k since introduction and has several more in build is a testament to its desirability. Its quite windy here now and the 47's mast foils are weather cocking nicely. No one is aboard the boat.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by SVNeko

Chris has been making Atlantic cats at Alwoplast for over 5 years now. It is a good yard and the boats are quite well built. --- I think the fact that he has been able to raise the price by $200k since introduction and has several more in build is a testament to its desirability. ----

I believe you will find that it was Awolplast that raised the price. Chris White is the designer, not the builder, unless things changed while I wasn't looking.

[SVNeko]

Originally Posted by FSMike

I believe you will find that it was Awolplast that raised the price. Chris White is the designer, not the builder, unless things changed while I wasn't looking.

Technically, that is true, but Chris is running that show.

[DA Winston]

Quite a few videos of Escape's trip from Valdivia to the Galapogos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX9...JkvAgCA/videos

[downunder]

Originally Posted by FSMike

I believe you will find that it was Awolplast that raised the price. Chris White is the designer, not the builder, unless things changed while I wasn't looking.

Which ever way you look at it you won't get a cheap boat from Awolplast.

Quality vessel which you have to pay for.

[cwjohm]

Winston

Thank you for the reference to utube and blog for escape. Very informative.

I am afraid Alwoplast is the least of my worries. The exchange rate is what will kill all of us sailors in Aus.