Crowther 50'

[arizolac]

I live in California and will consider buying a Crowther Cat. I was told that Crowther is only the design, and the quality of the boat depends on the builder. Is that true?
Can anybody suggest a good reliable Broker in Australia?
Thanks for your help.
Cesar

[gosstyla]

Correct.

Crowther is a design company. "The" Crowther died several years ago, the company is now runned by the son. About a year or so ago they announced they were no longer designing "recreational" boats except on special request of 60ft or more.

I've seen a few Crowther cats around Newport Beach and Dana Point.

You might want to check with Alwoplast, they still build some Crowther cats.

http://www.alwoplast.cl/

[Lodesman]

There was a 45 foot Crowther Mk85 for sale on a previous thread http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ead.php?t=3377

Kevin

I know of several Crowther cats for sale including the vessel that Lock Crowther supervised in build just before he died. It is for sale. Now named Katani II she is in Townsville Queensland Australia. 57 foot of magnificent vessel and very well maintained. There is a Katana model for sale in Airlie Beach and seveal more close to me. Check out www.emultihulls.com and google Peter Hansen Yacht brokers and you will find a selection. Within sight of me as I write this is "Room with a View" a Crowther Pod racer about 52 foot i think. It is for sale now as well and just came off a major refit.

Feel free to contact me if you like. I know personally, many of the Crowthers on this coast, their history and condition. I do encourage buying in Australia, the craft design are excellent and the prices seem good in Australia relitively speaking.

[arizolac]

Thank you for your help. I have already contacted Alwoplast, I think I will go to Australia next year to look around, a guy from San Diego sailed to Australia and suggested their boats, I love their designs.
You guys are an encyclopedia of information.
Thanks.

[CaptainK]

With no mean of disrespect to the company Alwoplast, in the South American country of Chile.

You figure a 3rd world country. You figure you could buy cheap there. Think again?

For the Crowther 75? They wanted over a million dollars for that boat!!

So I dropped them off my list over three years ago.

[Steve Kidson]

Go to website www.boatpoint.com.au; it is an online boat sales site. Generally listings by brokers, but you can search with various filters that will give you a listing of boats close to your liking; ie multi-hulls, 40-50', price high to low.

Some advice from a friend of mine years ago that suggested the best buys can be found in North Queensland, as retiring couples from the south have headed north to the warmth and sun, wife has had enough by Queensland, and they decide to abondon idea of sailing around Australia/world/wherever, sell boat and go home. This meant a number of boats, well fitted out for cruising, can be available at good prices.

Good luck in your search, and enjoy Australia when you get here; allow plenty of time as there is much to see.

Fair winds

Steve

[dpollitt]

Hello Bob
I am going to sea trail a Crowther 47 here in the USA in Texas.....do you know anything about this vessel. And can you give me any yardsticks as to its performance? What would you be looking for? And how would you say these Crowthers compare to Catanas?

Many thanks
david

[Factor]

Also go to Boats for Sale - Yachts for Sale - Used & New Boats @ Yacht Hub Australia & New Zealand - good collection of boats for sale. As for brokers - Multihull Yacht Sales Australia have sold boats for me and I have bought boats through them. - The thing I think you need to know about the broker is how much multi knowledge they have. All three of the guys at MYSA have owned many multis in the past and all three currently own and sail a multi. I think that it is important that your broker knows what he is talking about.

[Tnflakbait]

Originally Posted by dpollitt

Hello Bob
I am going to sea trail a Crowther 47 here in the USA in Texas.....do you know anything about this vessel. And can you give me any yardsticks as to its performance? What would you be looking for? And how would you say these Crowthers compare to Catanas?

Many thanks
david

I could be mistaken but I believe Catana's original designs were designed by Crowther. His designs gave the cats a reputation of performance etc. A good, well built Crowther design should perform better than a modern Catana. Although, I'm sure he designed some slower cats as well.

[schoonerdog]

Many of the people recommending values in Australia are remembering that back in 2001 you could easily go down to Australia and buy a newish 40+ ft catamaran for the mid 200s because the exchange rate was 2 to 1 for the Australian Dollar vis a vis the USD. Now it's 1 to 1, so you are now looking at paying 250k more as prices have literally doubled for US buyers. Australia is no longer a bargain hunters paradise. However, the US IS a bargain hunters paradise for Australian buyers. Bargains for US buyers can be found in far and away anchorages like the Rio Dulce in Guatemala and Indonesia, but many of the better buys are now found in Florida and Annapolis for US buyers.

[ldrhawke]

Originally Posted by dpollitt

Hello Bob I am going to sea trail a Crowther 47 here in the USA in Texas.....do you know anything about this vessel. And can you give me any yardsticks as to its performance? What would you be looking for? And how would you say these Crowthers compare to Catanas? Many thanks david

I visited and inspected the Crowther 47 in Texas. A lot of boat for the money and it has some great live aboard and sailing features. Beautiful wood work and the raised cockpit is very nice. On the negatives it is very heavy ( will take a lot of wind to move it), has a very low bridge deck clearance ( wave slap will be a problem), it needs all of the aluminum on deck refinished, the hulls are poorly faired.

I felt the visual proportions on the boat looked bulky. It will need a lot of work. I took a lot of photos I can forward if you are interested, contact me off list.

From the looks stand point the same size Catana has it by a bunch...see to comparison photos below. Of course the Catana cost a lot more.

Crowther 47
Catana 471

[beiland]

Originally Posted by ldrhawke

I visited and inspected the Crowther 47 in Texas....it needs all of the aluminum on deck refinished, the hulls are poorly faired.

I took a lot of photos I can forward if you are interested, contact me off list.

Did you end up buying her? Is she built of alum?
I would like to see more of your info and photos.

Brian
brian.eiland@gmail.com

[ldrhawke]

Brian,

No I did not buy Canny Lass. She has a lot of nice features for the right owner. She is price right. I will leave the photos on this site for a week and then they will be removed. Canny Lass

[Robertcateran]

Can't see why you would add a pile of weight and spend a pile of money to disguise the fact that the welds look well done. The whole thing of trying to make all boats look like plastic is ridiculous. The Crowther looks like it is designed to work in nasty conditions rather than show off at a marina.