The Deans have been building cats for at least 15 years if not more.
I have been on several, but never sailed one.
Peter Dean is a knowledgeable
builder who builds boats targeted at a well defined market segment.
Private owners who want a very comfortable cruiser. Weight saving is not a key issue with these boats. Peter stated very clearly to me, that if I wanted to go more than around 11 knots, then his boats were not for me.
Great when the
builder salesman is honest an up front!
The emphasis on the boats seemed to me to be more towards the ladies, with lots of different table top samples,
wood trimming samples, curtain and upholstery materials to choose from.
I had the opportunity to crawl around a Prout
motor cat in
Cape Town last year, and the quality of the build once I got down under, in the
engine rooms and
storage rooms was very rough, pieces of
plywood unsealed etc.
The crew were not impressed with the build quality, with stuff pulling out of the decks etc.
You get alot of
boat for the
money, but the build quality I saw put me off. My impression is that they depreciate relatively more than some comparable boats, but I haven't seriously analysed it, so I might be wrong.
Alan