Catamarans - Current Market Situation

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by 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.

Depends on the boat doesn't it.
Remember that the boats coming out of charter are usually sold at asking price as they don't negotiate on price, though they do fix defects found on the survey if they agree it is a defect.

I saw Lav40s as low as $119K Euro, but the cheapest now is $145 Euro and that's in the med which is going to cost more to get to Oz.

Obviously these are charter boats if you want a private owners version it will cost you a fair bit more.

[smj]

Originally Posted by 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.

When you have a winning design why change. It seems to me that everyone else is putting out heavier boats with all the emphasis on accommodation and very little on sailing abilitys. I'm glad a few of the boat builders are producing boats that actually sail.

[Dragon Lady]

It's especially good if you have an old boat as they don't get superseded by the new model.
Don't get me wrong I love old designs, I have an Etchells.
But the majority of people who buy new boats(not me) want a floating condo with more room and features ( I won't mention the air conditioning again).
Just saying.

[Seblawris]

Hi Guys, with your experience, a leopard 45, built in 2000...ex charter...what would be a reasonable price? And also, has anyone seen any of the Leopards 45 with damage to the bulk heads over the doors to the front cabins? The one I am looking at has cracks on the trim, and when it is available, we would like to take the trim off and check underneath to see if the bulkhead is intact...anyone with related info greatly welcome.

[Morrissey]

Cracks on the L45 have gotten a bit of air time eg link below

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...a-69939-2.html

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

Depends on the boat doesn't it.
Remember that the boats coming out of charter are usually sold at asking price as they don't negotiate on price, though they do fix defects found on the survey if they agree it is a defect.

I saw Lav40s as low as $119K Euro, but the cheapest now is $145 Euro and that's in the med which is going to cost more to get to Oz.

Obviously these are charter boats if you want a private owners version it will cost you a fair bit more.

So you feel prices are rising? Or is it that all the bargains are gone?

[Dragon Lady]

I'd say the bargains are gone, that and the market knows the Aussies have strong buying power and can pay more.
Probably a bit like the Japanese were many years ago now.

[Seblawris]

Originally Posted by Armagh

Cracks on the L45 have gotten a bit of air time eg link below

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...a-69939-2.html

Thanks Armagh...I have followed the link...but cannot see the photos that Chris Smith talks about...how do I see the photos?

[ausaviator]

I'm not convinced. There is a lot of supply and boats are still going cheap. You're probably not looking as hard now that you have one. It's like buying a house, we are all experts in our area until we buy then we lose track.

[Morrissey]

Originally Posted by Seblawris

Thanks Armagh...I have followed the link...but cannot see the photos that Chris Smith talks about...how do I see the photos?

I believe they are the pics in post #1 of that thread. Later Chris says that they were one he took and that he has a lot more. Perhaps contact him, or ask a question on that thread? You might trigger more discussion there....

[Seblawris]

Thanks again Armagh. I had just sent Chris a message, and also added a post on that chat. I am also showing the crack that we found here. We did not have time to remove the trim and inspect what is behind it and also check the bulkhead. has anyone seen this before? Any comments welcome.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by ausaviator

I'm not convinced. There is a lot of supply and boats are still going cheap. You're probably not looking as hard now that you have one. It's like buying a house, we are all experts in our area until we buy then we lose track.

Without a doubt. Where I dock my boat the harbor is filled with them. They sit year after year waiting until the current owner realizes it's not worth what the charter company says he should sell it for.

With my model, they have come down in average price several hundred thousand dollars since I purchased. The only saving grace I have is that I bought at the depressed price, which is now "normal". I would guess boats are going down an average of 10% per year from their actual selling price, not listing (ie: dreaming) price.

[Morrissey]

I agree that a lot of the FP Marquises has shown big drops in price. It really was the standout in that regard. Palarran, maybe your purchase demonstrated what the market price was! Price movements for other models don't seem to have changed all that much, relatively small reductions seems the norm.

Palarran, can you tell me whether all Marquises are '5 double cabin', or is there a conventional 4 cabin version? Some of the listings are a bit confusing.

[Palarran]

It wasn't just the Marquises. The Lagoon 57's dropped as well as many of the larger crewed charter cats. The smaller mid-40'rs had already dropped around 2008.

The simple fact to me is that not that many people are going to spend $500k to $1m on a depreciating asset that is very expensive to maintain when they can get some pretty kick ass beach front property for about 1/2 price instead.

I've only seen one Marquises that was a 5 cabin. Usually they are 4 cabins with two queens and two doubles plus a captains berth in the port stern. They also have a port v-berth that can be used by the hostess/cook.

[Morrissey]

Originally Posted by Palarran

edit...

I've only seen one Marquises that was a 5 cabin. Usually they are 4 cabins with two queens and two doubles plus a captains berth in the port stern. They also have a port v-berth that can be used by the hostess/cook.

OK, my terminology was wrong. What I meant was, do they always have that captains berth?