Catamarans - Current Market Situation

[D&D]

Originally Posted by Barra

the hunt is on for a french cat in earnest now!

Happy hunting Barra! You are certainly in a currency window of opportunity. Keep us posted on your progress...

[D&D]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

I'm just hoping I can get a lot of use out of our boat

That sounds a tough task, but y'know someone's gotta do it...

[girouxkj]

1999 Seawind 1000 - Boats.com

Check out my ad above on boats.com. No broker fees involved helps a lot since this boat was previuosly listed for $159,000 under a broker with my net the same. She was made in Austraila and is one of the most popular cats there. There are plenty for charter there or you could charter mine in Key Largo, FL for a day or two. They are selling for over $200,000 similar age, etc In Australia so if you want some blue water fun buy it here and sell it for a profit inAustralia or could even ship it and make money. Check out Katie Kat to read about a couple new to sailing who sailed around the pacific including Alaska.

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by Barra

Had a chuckle at this Dragonlady. AUD/EUR touched 81.7 today and the hunt is on for a french cat in earnest now! Been wading through this thread and the importing a boat one so hopefully im pretty well armed!

thanks

Yeah, but he who laughs last, well you know.
Looking at what's on offer now I think all the good deals have goooone.
So even though the dollar is higher you'll end up paying the same in the long run.
It will be interesting to see if FP and Lagoon start dropping their new prices.
Poor old Seawind have dropped theirs I don't know about Lightwave, things look tough for the Aussie boat builders.

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by girouxkj

1999 Seawind 1000 - Boats.com

Check out my ad above on boats.com. No broker fees involved helps a lot since this boat was previuosly listed for $159,000 under a broker with my net the same. She was made in Austraila and is one of the most popular cats there. There are plenty for charter there or you could charter mine in Key Largo, FL for a day or two. They are selling for over $200,000 similar age, etc In Australia so if you want some blue water fun buy it here and sell it for a profit inAustralia or could even ship it and make money. Check out Katie Kat to read about a couple new to sailing who sailed around the pacific including Alaska.

Sorry, I hate to rain on your parade mate, but these boats are now selling for under $200K AUD in OZ.
That doesn't leave much change to get back across the Pacific.
Don't forget you have to pay 10% GST even if it's made in Australia.
As I said,sorry

[Barra]

Hi DL

I reckon thats probably right for the USD boats but the EUR ones just got a chunk more accessable. I hedged at 81.40 so now im sweet to put in some offers. Going through the shipping and tax logistics starting a few headaches though... my god governments are greedy!

Dont feel too sorry for seawind they are building most of theor boats in vietnam now so should be in a similar position to other importers. Depending on your point of view by not aggresivly dropping prices they are either looking after their loyal customers resale value or being greedy.

[ausaviator]

So DL, how much do you think someone should spend on a Lavezzi 40 to get a "good" deal, I'm looking at them on the websites with some interest? Checked out one in St. Thomas that I liked a lot but am waiting to hear back as the seller had some things to sort out before he goes ahead.

[Ozbullwinkle]

Originally Posted by Barra

Hi DL

Dont feel too sorry for seawind they are building most of theor boats in vietnam now so should be in a similar position to other importers. Depending on your point of view by not aggresivly dropping prices they are either looking after their loyal customers resale value or being greedy.

Since when have Seawind been buiding their boats in Vietnam? As far as I am aware they are built at their factories at either Bellambi or Nowra. What evidence do you have about them being built in Vietnam?

[ausaviator]

Seems he might be confused about Corsair.

Seawind's new factory appears to be near Wollongong, read here:

Seawind Catamarans

[Ozbullwinkle]

That's correct, as I mentioned Seawinds are manufactured at Bellambi which is near Wollongong and at their new factory at Nowra both of which are in NSW Australia for the benefit of overseas readers.

People need to be carefull of what they say on a public forum like this as Seawind would not take very kindly to a totally incorrect statement like this which could damage their image and reputation internationally and you know how rumours start which can be often based on untruths.

[Sand crab]

So I saw a referance to Corsair which is built in Nam on the Seawind website. They were talking about the 1000XL. So, what's going on?

Lightweight Construction: Using the expertise at Corsair Marine, the Seawind 1000XL2 is now fully vacuum bagged using woven fibreglass materials. This technique not only makes the boat stronger but has also reduced overall weight by 500kg

http://www.seawindcats.com/index.pl?page=12

[Sand crab]

I found out that Seawind purchased Corsair last year. It was news to me.
Corsair Marine Trailerable Trimaran - News



"Seawind celebrated this year’s Pittwater Regatta on October 28-30th with the biggest turnout in the 13 year history of the event. With a total of 40 multihulls entered including 32 x Seawinds and 8 x Corsair Trimarans, who were invited for the first time following Seawind’s acquisition of the company last year, the regatta was a huge success and is the largest regatta of Multihulls above 20ft in the country and the largest regatta of its kind in the world.

[Sand crab]

This from Cruising World

Seawinds aren’t the least-expensive catamarans on the market—the French will likely stake this claim for the time being—but still, the company is hedging for the future. It recently bought Corsair, and Ward has outlined his plans to begin taking advantage of certain cost savings by manufacturing at least some Seawind components at the Corsair facility in Vietnam. In the meantime, Seawinds dominate Australian waters, a good proving ground for bluewater cats that can roam the globe.

Seawind 1250 Catamaran Sailboat Review | Cruising World

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by Barra

Hi DL

I reckon thats probably right for the USD boats but the EUR ones just got a chunk more accessable. I hedged at 81.40 so now im sweet to put in some offers. Going through the shipping and tax logistics starting a few headaches though... my god governments are greedy!

Hmmm, hedging is very expensive, if the dollar doesn't drop much in the short term you will loose money.
Best start moving real fast, the Pacific crossing window will close in a few months if you are coming across this year.
As far as governments go, I think the Australian government is not that bad really.
You will pay 5% duty on the boat cost and 10% on the total of your cost of the importation at the end.
A lot better than the 20% most Euro countries charge.

Good luck.

[Dragon Lady]

Lightweight Construction: Using the expertise at Corsair Marine, the Seawind 1000XL2 is now fully vacuum bagged using woven fibreglass materials. This technique not only makes the boat stronger but has also reduced overall weight by 500kg

About time, everyone else has been doing this for years now.
When are they going to design an integrated monolithic design like everyone else?
Those alloy cross beams went out of fashion last century.

Seawind are very smart operators, but their designs need to catch up with everyone else.