Confused Newbie

[Gludy]

I have looked at bridge deck clearance and spoken to users of these different boats. In fact both the Leopard and the St Francis have very good bridge deck clearance so I am surprised at your comments.

All these boats are delivered across the Atlantic and many set of on world cruises - I am in contact with a number of owners currently on such cruises.

My last boat was a Tarquin Trader 575 - the highest spec one they have ever built. I took delivery December 5th and yet was not able to escape the makers pontoon until 6 months later - what followed was a series of total disasters that ended with me totally rejecting the boat. It was a two year nightmare that made it to a TV show etc. However it is behind me now and I am being very careful.

If anyone can suggest another boat that is more suited than my short list i would consider it but to date I think I have looked at every option to get this far.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Gludy

I asked myself why not do almost the same speed but without the noise hence my conversion to a sailing cat.

I am sure you know also that sailing is much more physical work than is MoBoting.
All of my research has indicated that a boat of over 44ft or so is quite difficult for one person to handle. Having sailed only one 45 ft cat for a day I can only bow to the multitude of things I have read.

I am sure you know this already though.

Best of luck in finding something for you.

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by Gludy

I have looked at bridge deck clearance and spoken to users of these different boats. In fact both the Leopard and the St Francis have very good bridge deck clearance so I am surprised at your comments.

All these boats are delivered across the Atlantic and many set of on world cruises - I am in contact with a number of owners currently on such cruises.

My last boat was a Tarquin Trader 575 - the highest spec one they have ever built. I took delivery December 5th and yet was not able to escape the makers pontoon until 6 months later - what followed was a series of total disasters that ended with me totally rejecting the boat. It was a two year nightmare that made it to a TV show etc. However it is behind me now and I am being very careful.

If anyone can suggest another boat that is more suited than my short list i would consider it but to date I think I have looked at every option to get this far.

I looked it up - a very basic large displacement yacht made the 'old time' way with mat and roving hand layup. It should be very hard to screw up a building method and boat type in use for 50 years. How did they screw it up?

Stock catamarans all seem to be marconi sloops, so I'd keep on the small side, too. The marconi sloop rig isn't so easy to handle. I'd get one with ball bearing slides on the mainsail to minimize handling problems, and the smaller the jib, the better, IMHO. I'd also look for a rig that lets you let the mainsail right out to ninety degrees without being stopped by shrouds that lead a long way aft.

[roblanford]

Take a look at this builder:

Multihull Catamaran Sailing Yachts, Luxury Catamarans - Gunboat

click the 48 footer.

If I had the resources I would go for one of those.

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by roblanford

Take a look at this builder:

Multihull Catamaran Sailing Yachts, Luxury Catamarans - Gunboat

click the 48 footer.

If I had the resources I would go for one of those.

That would be a nice ride. I'd put in massive freeing ports in that cockpit, though.

[Aussiesuede]

Originally Posted by roblanford

Take a look at this builder:

Multihull Catamaran Sailing Yachts, Luxury Catamarans - Gunboat

click the 48 footer.

If I had the resources I would go for one of those.

She's no doubt a nice cat, but definitely proves the point that there is a boat to suit every taste. I personally don't like her lines. (not surprising considering I'm not a big fan of the Lagoon either) She's a bit too 'Boxy Racer' than 'Svelte' for my taste. Awesome boat !! , but for the money there are quite a number of others I'd prefer.

[Adaero]

Gludy

I had a good look at the St Francis at Miami in Feb this year, my comments are below: -
Superb finish internally and I believe you you can even get a bath tub if you so want. Did you have a look at Gideons St Francis 48 while you were in Amsterdam as the latest 50 is an extended version? Performance is better than all the rest on your shortlist with the standard of finish on a par with the Privilege. A couple of things on it would drive me nuts, no davits as it uses the same boom lift system as a Voyage, the rear platform can't be used when at sea due to your dink sitting on it, a massive step up from the rear deck to the sides, fine in a marina but a no-no at sea, you say your other half won't be pulling any sheets so you'd better get fit as you will need to get from one side of the boat to the other very quickly when single handed tacking, I believe bridge deck clearance is around 600mm so should be ok, step down from cockpit to saloon too big when in larger seas.
Just my 2 cents.
Regards
Adaero

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by BigCat

How did they screw it up?

Their is a thread (or 2!) on YBW.com.......

[Gludy]

Thanks for all the inputs.

I will tray and answer each point.

The Gunboat is not really a cruising boat with any sort of luxury - I understand they do not even fit generators because of the weight. It was looked at and discarded early. Its a great boat but not for what I want.

The MoBo that I rejected was extreme - the keel failed and was made from 1 mm of glass over a dry white powder - the twin 700 hp engines were attached to the boat via a drive bracket that was secured by a few screws through 1 cm of fibre glass into thin air - they detached themselves underway when doing 20 knots - the sea water was being directed into the ply flooring in the engine room saloon floor, the ply delaminated - the stern was attached in a butt joint but without any reinforcement it started to crack, that is detach itself - the list was endless.

Thanks for the comments on the St Francis, very helpful.

We went aboard the St Francis 48 footer for two or three minutes in Amsterdam. I had told Gideon that I could buy a new highly speced 50 footer for less than he was asking for the this five year old 48 footer so I do not think he was really concerned in showing it to us. He did say that he had controlled its production and that it was about half the weight that it would have been but it would not make economic sense to me to even consider it. He did also say that he was European agent for St Francis but I also knew that I was soon to test sail the 50 footer and was dealing with the factory/USA agent where I could test sail the latest boat. So I did not want to waste his time on a boat that we both knew was out of the question for me.

I am aware that sailing is more physical than motor boating - that is not a problem. I am test sailing to ensure that we can handle it and will ask for a lot of help is specifying the boat of my choice.

I think I have covered all the points made since my last post on this thread

[imagine2frolic]

I have to say this about Gunboat. I first saw one while cruising a canal in Islamaroda, the Keys. Just sitting there it looked FAST, and spartan.

[Gludy]

I saw one in English Harbour - yes, I agree Fast and Spartan.

The Fast is OK, its the Spartan bit that gets me

[ldrhawke]

Gludy,

Have you looked at Chris White's Atlantics, the 48' or 57'. One of my favorite catamarans. They are designed for short handed sailing. A cruising sailors Gunboat. Here is the Awolplast site showing them doing sea trials on a new 57'. A very well built cat, fast, well priced, and in all epoxy construction.

These are photos of the 57. The 48' is just as nice, about 1/2 million less in price, and a little easier to single hand with its forward cockpit having all the controls.

A family starting an around the world trip site on an Atlantic 48

Sea trials on Atlantic 57

More on Atlantic 57

A few snap shots:

[Gludy]

Those a worth a look at - where on the site did you find the pricing?I could not find it.

[ldrhawke]

Originally Posted by Gludy

Those a worth a look at - where on the site did you find the pricing?I could not find it.

Your not going to find pricing on the site since these are custom boats, and pricing will vary somewhat based on the cost of materials when it is built. A fixed price will be more than using the cost to build method for pricing. Last time I checked, the 48' is in the range of $870,000 and the 57' about $1/2 mil. more ready to sail. I believe the 57' has a back log of boats on order, but the 48' may be a shorter build time. One of the members on this list has a 57' on order. The 48 is being built in SA. Email or call Chris White directly to get more information and pricing.

[imagine2frolic]

I love the view of the steering station......EXCELLENT