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Canibul · 11-05-2010, 04:49

For about five years my wife and I were convinced we wanted a Leopard 42. We loved the looks of the boat, and the reviews ( Boat of the year etc.) but we were living in NJ and not really set up for owning one. We had dreams of full time liveaboard. Who doesn't.

Finally, after moving to the islands and building a home here, we are looking to buy our first cruising catamaran. In Dec we went down to the USVI/BVI and chartered a Leopard 42, just the two of us and an ASA sailing instructor for our four basic ASA courses. We wanted to spend a week on the Leopard 42, and find out what it would be like for just the two of us. And we loved the boat.

And we have changed our choice to a Gemini 105 Mc.

Which you can buy for less than half the cost of a Leopard 42, and if you are not planning to cross major oceans..... but want to cruise the Bahamas, and Central America in addition to the Antilles...the Gemini will get you places the Leopard just simply cannot go.

Event_Horizon · 11-05-2010, 05:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tropical Home

Older ones? or Leopard 46? It is clearly stated they can, and I have done, with a brace on each end of course. Hmm Anyone else?

Leopard 46 if my favorite of the fleet. M&M did a great job designing it.

Tropical Home · 11-05-2010, 17:26

Here are some videos of us sailing from Hong Kong to Okinawa.

YouTube - MyLifeinJapan09's Channel

YouTube - MyLifeinJapan09's Channel

YouTube - MyLifeinJapan09's Channel

After the Typhoon we went through. Southern tip of Taiwan.
YouTube - MyLifeinJapan09's Channel

We plan to sail all over here, from Korea to Taiwan to Philippines!

Cheers

Tropical Home

Overlord · 17-05-2010, 14:36

Hi
I am happy to answer any questions you have on the 45. My email address is smith_tribe@hotmail.com
cheers

Overlord · 17-05-2010, 14:48

i Feel like i am on a landcruiser versus landrover forum ! Why mustang sally makes a un substantiated comment about chocking a leopard....is beyond me. In south africa , the leopard range is recognised as a more popular cat than the voyage due to the awards won and the publicity received via moorings. It is a better finished boat and the modular interior is far superior to the voyage and bear in mind that the first leopards were launched in 1997 and little has changed since then.
now ...with regards to chocking a leopard...they have sacrificial keels designed to be replaced under water if they are damaged. pretty nifty.
The owners manual says , sit the cat down with 50% weight on keels and 50 % on wooden chocks. No problem in any boat yard i have been in. In fact i have just had my 47 hauled in NC that way

jonarck · 16-10-2011, 19:54

We're starting to look at used 38-43' cats in anticipation of moving to West Palm Beach after retirement and have been attending Annapolis and Miami Boat Shows to augment reading and research (no bareboat charters yet).

Our Leopard dealer in Ft. Lauderdale pointed-out this feature, which would seem to be very beneficial in an area with coral heads and other obstructions.

Tropical Home · 16-10-2011, 20:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris smith

i Feel like i am on a landcruiser versus landrover forum ! Why mustang sally makes a un substantiated comment about chocking a leopard....is beyond me. In south africa , the leopard range is recognised as a more popular cat than the voyage due to the awards won and the publicity received via moorings. It is a better finished boat and the modular interior is far superior to the voyage and bear in mind that the first leopards were launched in 1997 and little has changed since then.
now ...with regards to chocking a leopard...they have sacrificial keels designed to be replaced under water if they are damaged. pretty nifty.
The owners manual says , sit the cat down with 50% weight on keels and 50 % on wooden chocks. No problem in any boat yard i have been in. In fact i have just had my 47 hauled in NC that way

I own a 2009 L 46 and can tell you the whole 18 tons goes on the keels. Then put supports under the bulkheads forward and aft. I have lifted my boat 4 times already for inspections and bottom painting etc. Do not put any weight on the support areas that show in the manual as those areas have no bulkheads. Right where the bulkhead is for the engine it is 2" thick! We had measured using a special tool to check the thickness of the hull to register the boat.
So all weight on the keels then at the very last put some wood supports front and aft where the bulkheads are and you're good.

Mustang Sally · 17-10-2011, 05:27

That may be correct for the 4600, but the the 38, 43, 45 or 47' cannot be stored on their keels...FACT. It's facinating the South African recognize their own boats. I wonder how many are truly in use in South Africa. As an engineer with extensive sailing experience including 6 years cruising the caribbean in a cat let me tell you a few things. Generally I have come to recognize the French cats are the best built. Awards are great, often from lots of paid advertising but last season in the BVI two 4700 had the floor break away and the lift rafts fall out, numerous had to completely unbolt their keels and rebolt as they were wobbling and headliners falling out are a constant. We were hired by a noted sailing magazine to sail in Tahiti and we were on a R&C 40, motored beautifully, I loved the layout especially the cockpit, sailed great off the wind, dreadfull to windward, squeeked like crazy and all the headliners had collapsed by the end of the week. Sailing awards where a boat is sailed for a day as a test is far different then actual years of hard use. I would consider owning a R&C but it is important to be aware of the issues. Really how many of you knew they had bolt on keels. I did not until a friend who had a 45' hanoticed the keels were moving when the boat was hauled and stored properly. And by properly it was blocked so that no weight was on the keels. It took him 4 days on land with proper equipment to undo each bolt, drop the keels, replace the stainless bolts as even stainless corrodes in salt water and reattach. Even he told me the replaceable keels were the dumbest idea ever, and he keeps his boat in mint condition with unlimited funds for maintenance.

Sand crab · 17-10-2011, 07:04

Can someone posts some pics of the sacrificial keels and the R&R job? Are there any other production cats with this feature? I'm not saying it's good or bad, I just want to see. Thanx BOB

catabroker · 17-10-2011, 07:36

Hello Forum,

attached a document that explains the usefulness of the sacrificial keels. Please review, and imagine what this yacht would have looked like if there were no sacrificial keels.

When it come to the opening life raft lockers on the Leopard 47 ( 2001-2006, Alex Simonis design), in the first year or 2 of production, the life raft locker under the cockpit floor had latches so it could be opened from underneath. Over time, the fittings gave out if neglected. From 2003 , the liferaft lockers were closed of and there was no door.

Kind regards,

Peter Wiersema - Leopard specialist Ft Lauderdale

954 260 4913 peterw (at) yacht.com

**James S** · 17-10-2011, 08:34

Interesting...looks like that design feature saved the boat.
Lucky the bouncing up and down on the reef wasn't a couple feet forward or aft.

CynthiaP · 17-10-2011, 09:51

I have a 2010 4600 Leopard in the Moorings program. Boat is based in BVI. We are very happy with the program, it is a great boat--in fact we were so happy that we wanted more! We fell so in love with sailing that we decided to move our date up.

There may be an opportunity to take over our contract at a very reduced price. Feel free to contact me if you would like details.

jzk · 18-10-2011, 12:49

The Leopard 47 is a great, strong boat. I would be much more concerned about problems such as having to re-seal the windows than the keels.

Jim Woodall · 18-10-2011, 15:27

Mustang Sally made a comment to the effect that French catamarans are generally the best built. I believed that too, at least until about three years ago. I was convinced that either a Lagoon or FP would be the cat my wife and I would untimately purchase and therefore those brands were our charter choices in the Caribbean and Med over several years. After sailing on three different Leopards, including two that were privately owned, we have re-evaluated the cats we are considering. The two Leopard owners are extremely happy with their boats, one is currently in the Pacific. Both owners feel their Leopards are more well-built than at least two French brands - Lagoon and FP.

I've done a very informal and unscientific survey. I have spoken with boatyard workers at Nanny Cay and Wickham's Cay on Tortola. I got very similar responses at both boatyards, Leopards are easier to work on, systems are more simple, they need fewer overall repairs and hold up as well or better than Lagoons or FP's. I thought the workers on Tortola might be spouting the company line because of the "Moorings influence" so I had the same conversation at one Florida yard and one in NC. The guy at the Florida yard gave a slight edge to the Leopards. The NC yard had only hauled and worked on one Leopard and "a couple" of FP's, and "several" Lagoons, but felt all three were good boats and noted the Leopard as "easier" to work on, and again with more simple, straight-forward systems. I never mentioned to any of the boatyard workers what anyone else had told me. After getting very similar responses from six different guys at four different yards, it convinced me that at least two French boats, Lagoon and FP, are more likely than not lesser boats when compared with Leopards.