Howdy and Welcome Aboard CF!
You have a grand family, and a grand plan!
I am impressed that you and your family have traveled to so many countries so far! Wow! I wish I had that experience when I was a kid...or even now.
I will let the experienced
multihull owners answer your questions about the differences between the various models you proposed.
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My Observations based on my experience:
I recently (June 7th) finished a 620nm voyage
offshore on a 2016
Lagoon 52F
catamaran. I was helping the owner move the boat, I was crew.
This 52 foot
LOA, 29' beam boat is large, and luxurious sailing for a family. The owner and his wife and two young daughters lived on it for a year, sailing the
Bahamas. Because the boat has
electric winches and
electric bow thruster and two engines, it was remarkably easy to manage when
docking or maneuvering it or sailing it.
My impression is that a reasonably fit couple could manage this size boat themselves, in mild
weather, and moderate winds, but could use the help of some crew (older
children in your case) to help with tossing
dock lines and
rigging fenders, etc. Having two people on
deck tending lines and helping with distance to
dock while the
skipper maneuvers the boat is a good idea, but one person on deck (crew) could do it too, just running more.
The electric winches, electric
windlass, and bow thrusters and properly rigged and new
gear were helpful. Everything worked as it should.
Also, I liked the use of the
inflatable fenders, which were very large, but also light in weight, and easy to move about the boat. I have worked with smaller fenders that were much heavier (heavy PVC) that would probably be much harder for young teens to manage. This matters if you are storing your fenders and docklines in a deep forward compartment (often at the bow).
Pick appropriate sized docklines too. If your docklines are very thick, they can be very heavy and also hard for some
women and
children (or anyone with small hands) to handle or manage or carry or toss. I have seen this myself on other boats that had very thick and heavy (especially when wet) docklines.
Overall, I think a large cat as
liveaboard would be ideal for a family of your size. The "liveability" and space were very nice. The
galley was nice, and each
cabin had a
shower, and a double
bed mattress. It was comfortable.
On this particular boat, I was most impressed by the additional space and comfort provided by the flybridge, which had a cloth
Bimini top and cloth and eisenglass enclosures (soft
panels that can be raised or lowered). It made for a very nice place to sit while sailing, and was where the entire crew preferred to be when sailing. A flybridge is a somewhat controversial feature on cats, but in this case I could appreciate the appeal they have for some owners.
Finding a berth in a marina can be a challenge. Depending on where you go, it may be hard to find an opening and hard to maneuver to it and expensive. This has recently been discussed in the CF
Forums, so look for previous discussions in the forum
archives. I will send you a tip on how to do that.
Haul out fees can be expensive too. The owner of this boat was quoted $5,000+ for a
haul out.
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I am looking forward to getting more experience on large cats, and hope to crew for other owners or captains in the future, especially for longer voyages and cruises. I enjoyed my voyage on this 52 footer and can certainly appreciate why large cruising cats are so popular now.
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I hope these comments help.
Good luck on your boat hunt and I hope you enjoy your time on the forum.
Steadman